Local Press Kingston Pt 2

Canberra has so many great cafes and to expand on my succinct comments on this cafe, here are some reasons why I won't be going back to Local Press.

1. Disorganised seating arrangements

The cafe was heaving, there was no way of knowing how to get a table. 

You need to talk to Ollie, I was told by several staff. Once I found Ollie he took my name for a table for two. Problem was, the rest of the people arriving didn't understand that they had to talk to Ollie so just sat at the tables as they became available. 

When I tried to point this out to staff, I was told I had to talk to Ollie...I ended up as the unpaid hostess, explaining to puzzling newcomers that they needed to put their names on the list and I introduced them to the busy Ollie.

2. Ridiculous locally sourced sourced, seasonal schtick (mixed with faux shabby chic vibe)

I'm not going to go on about this even though there was a whole section in their menu about the importance of seasonal. To me, a cafe who is serious about seasonal also sources local (or at the very least, boutique producers).

With that in mind, a cafe that is going for a certain look to match the seasonal fresh theme should probably not use giant plastic Lemnos tubs to store their cutlery...just saying.

3. The use of cheap mass produced feta on the food

Speaking of food...macerated avocado is not a pleasant description. Balsamic glaze should only ever be used for flavour and not to make a savoury pancake look like an early Jackson Pollack. Plus that feta was dry and cheap.

4. Bad coffee

It didn't help that they got the order wrong and mixed the soy flat white with the skim latte. And while it was great to take the flat white away because it was wrong, maybe, just maybe, also take the other wrong coffee away? Or not!

Either way, the corrected coffee by all reports was sub par. 

5. Paying the bill

We didn't even bother to ask for the bill, and went straight to counter to pay. Again chaos. No space for the long line of people desperately trying to hand over money, staff trying to navigate the line to get to the waiting coffees....and a long long wait. 

Good stuff: The cold press juices are great. The jars are pretty. We pointed out the bad coffee and they were taken off the bill. The company was great. It was sunny. I never need to go back there again.