We chose the Shingle Inn for a light lunch because of its long association with Brisbane and its reputation for good, if staid, food. My partner ordered scrambled eggs from the 'All Day' breakfast menu in a very specific way to avoid bacon, mushrooms and garlic. I ordered the turkey sandwich. We ordered capuccinos 'in cups'.The coffee arrived having been spilt into the saucers (the barista was blamed). My partner's food arrived with bacon, mushrooms and garlic (my partner was blamed for the 'error' because scrambled eggs in the 'all day' menu come with bacon, mushrooms and garlic). The replacement scrambled eggs looked and tasted as if they had been micro-waved, or had been re-cycled. My sou...
I hadn't read any reviews prior to visiting but rather remembered reading about it as an historical tea house from the 1930's. So we decided to pop in for a Devonshire Tea given its historical heritage, in respect to staff, some were more, shall i say enthusiastic than others, and detected a note of the 'Seven Dwarfs' syndrome (no guesses which one!), although the place was not full the service was slow and staff appeared uncoordinated for some reason, anyhow the Darjeeling and English Breakfast teas arrived followed (not closely mind) by the hot scones, jam and cream - these were nice and so was the tea. My son got his Quesadilla after we had finished but he did enjoy them. Overall, the set...
The decor is lovely. The service is slow. The food was bad. I ordered a Quinoi, beetroot, sweet potato, feta and pine needles salad - doesn't this sound lovely ? However there was no quinoui - instead a large amount of not very fresh salad leaves, mostly rocket which I picked out and left. This meant all I had to eat was about 2 tablespoons of the other ingredients which they were very ungenerous with. I was so hungry after I that had to go and buy a sandwich somewhere else. My husband had a waldorf salad which contained the correct ingredients but which was very small. No bread was offered to fill us up
As residents of Brisbane we just love trying different food spots around town. l must admit this one needs help ! From the staff 'meet and greet' point to when you leave, seems a shambles. High tea for the price you pay is not worth it. Staff seem like they have no direction when dealing with clientel. We were served by three/four different staff members through out the high tea which left the experience confusing by all. Management need to step 'in and up' and guide his staff. The staff seem lovely but not very informative about the high tea experience, or the heritage of City Hall or the restaurant.
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Visiting from interstate, remembered the restaurant from earlier times. Ambience good, waitress pleasant, seated quickly and order taken in good time. Ordered scones, jam and cream, with tea. The scones were inedible - undercooked, sent back. Quite a long wait for the server to return from the kitchen to tell us that they had been sent back to the bakers. Of course we weren't charged for the scones, but would have been nice if the very young waitress had not been left to deal with it. Manager or senior staffer maybe?We left hungry.
I thought I would treat some visiting colleagues to morning tea but the experience was far from a treat. The service was quite gruff and very slow (there was only 1 elderly lady serving by herself!). Scones were delivered by someone who obviously wasn't a waitress because there was no cutlery delivered and a coffee didn't arrive at all - we had to ask for it as we were leaving after 45mins and it was given to us at no charge. Don't bother eating at this venue - it's only good for take out cakes.
The atmosphere is great however the lunch food is poor. Ordered a Toasted Chicken and Mayonniase Turkish Sandwich which consisted of some dry chicken and nothing else! My partner ordered Salt and Pepper Calamari which consisted of about six pieces of calamari and a container of chips.
Always love coming here for a good coffee and a sweet treat when in the area. Such a quaint little cafe tucked quietly away in City Hall. Always great service.
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NOT the same as the real shop that was in Edward St, this is a POR imitation **** food and way too expensive fo what is eventually served...
Great to see the gold services and friendly staff and very help full and a lovely cafe I have ever seen u enjoy it
