Last Sunday, I had just run a half marathon so all that was on my mind was having an amazing breakfast. We chose Clover and Rye because unlike a lot of the decent cafes in Richmond, it is nice and big and was able to accommodate our big party of 8. It is also worth mentioning my mum and sister had been here the week prior and were really happy with the food and service.

That being said, I was fairly disappointed with Clover and Rye. It was a busy Sunday morning, but there were empty tables yet it took us probably close to 30 minutes to receive our coffees, and it was around an hour between ordering our meals and receiving them, and even then they came haphazardly rather than altogether. Thankfully, the food was good - I had the french toast with poached pear and honeyed ricotta with pistachios. However, I find it pretty inexcusable that we would wait an hour for our meals without any kind of acknowledgement or apology from the wait staff. Coffee was okay, but certainly not the best.

I am always willing to give establishments the benefit of the doubt where possible, because I know sometimes they just have off days, but it says a lot about a cafe when they acknowledge a delay or mistake and I think they underestimate how far a simple gesture such as a coffee on the house can go towards reinstating good will.

Finding myself in Richmond again, and so close to a number of other great cafes, I am not sure I would return to Clover and Rye but I did see they do lunches and evening meals so maybe may be worthwhile trying that instead.

Great food, okay coffee, customer service requires work.

Approximate cost: $17

This place has a huge menu full of to die for food options making trying to decide on something to eat an absolute nightmare! It has decor that embodies its Americana theme while also looking modern and clean.

Arriving on a busy Saturday night (foolishly) without a booking, we were told it was a 45 min wait. Our lovely server called us in around 15 min though which was a pleasant surprise

We ended up deciding on the pork belly and ribs, with the sweet potato fries as a side. We could have ordered 10 things though! All of it was amazingly delicious, great flavors and decent serve sizes. Also the pale ale on the menu was really yummy - I can't remember what the brand was.

I can't wait to go back here and try some other menu items! This place is a welcome addition to the south bank dining precinct which is flooded with overpriced and low quality restaurants. Very happy.

Approximate cost: $18

Was passing through Coff Harbour driving from Brisbane to Canberra and came across Old John's. The staff were so lovely as we arrived right on 7am and I was excited to have a coffee as we'd seen they use 5 Senses, which some of our favorite places in Brisbane use.

Menu is very tempting with a number of great options, including their shakes and smoothies (raspberry and rosewater sounded particularly yummy!)

We both ended up getting the ricotta hotcakes which were amazing - very rich with the butter and syrup but no complaints here. Great value for money too - I was stuffed afterwards.

Coffee was tasty but a little too weak for my liking - easily fixed by the ordering of an extra shot. Overall a great experience, kind of sad I won't get a chance to go back anytime soon! It's so great finding these quality places in small regional towns!

Approximate cost: $16

My boyfriend has just moved to Canberra so we're both excited to try a whole range of new cafes in his local area. We had seen a little of Lonsdale on social media via a friend and thought it looked amazing!

Their menu is diverse, attractive and I think really good value. My boyfriend got the big break and I ordered the duck schnitzel. Unfortunately we were advised that is no longer on the menu so I had to go with the stuffed shroom burger. My bf was very happy with his meal - I wasn't super happy with mine. The stuffed shroom referred to two portobello mushrooms stuffed with cheese and then coated in panko breadcrumbs and deep fried. Although it had a yummy brioche bun, relish and pickles the overall effect was much too heavy and the mushrooms were under seasoned.

Coffee was strong but a little too bitter for my liking but all these things considered I saw countless other items on the menu that I would like to try and as such would love to go back. I'm not discouraged in any way!

Underwhelming first impression but lots of room to improve!

Approximate cost: $16

Been meaning to go to Top Paddock for a while now, and never found an occasion until early last week when I went there with my brother and my partner. It was a Monday morning so we were lucky to get a slightly quieter cafe experience than what we might have experience on a weekend. Top Paddock's aesthetic is so lovely, it's big and spacious, with split levels, cool decor and communal tables - I really liked it.

Their menu is extensive (breaky is all day) and really reasonably priced. This was impressive given how amazing our meals were. Good coffee obviously, and all our breakys were delish. I had the drunken gingerbread, my brother the giant ricotta pancake and my partner had the big breakfast equivalent. All amazing, and too big to finish.

Top Paddock is one of those great places that serves up food that really feels much too fancy for the $17-18 you're paying and kind of exemplifies why high end restaurants can struggle these days. Who would pay exorbitant amounts of money when you can get this kind of quality for $25 or less?

Staff were lovely too - no qualms there. I assume this place is frantic of a weekend, so I'd say try and get here during the week! If not, go on the weekend anyway - I think it's worth it.

Approximate cost: $17

Chinta Ria do Malaysian food, and it's pretty good. But unfortunately businesses need to do more than make good food to be considered worthy of patronage.

I came to Chinta Ria for my work Christmas party over the weekend and we booked for 20 people or so. We arrived at 6, but did not receive our entrees until after 7, and no main meals arrived until at least 7.30. It was 8pm before we had enough food on the table to get our fill.

This was frustrating as we made a booking, and as such the kitchen and restaurant would have and should have been prepared. I consider myself reasonably patient and understanding but I don't think it is unreasonable to expect to eat something within an hour of arriving at a restaurant.

I'm also sorry to say the staff didn't do a very good job either, they would put food on our table, then take it away to another table. Or put it down on one table and when some of the food had been taken, would bring it across to another. They were doing a very average job of managing their food distribution.

I'm willing to appreciate that the problem may have been our large group and contributed to the long waits, and as such, since the food was pretty good, would be willing to come back. But it is also disappointing to not get so much as an apology when you're kept waiting so long. It's easy to walk out when it's just you, or you and another person but a group of 20 people can't leave.

Approximate cost: $20

Touchwood is a new cafe in Richmond set up by the owners of a number of other popular and successful cafes in Richmond and Prahran (including a favourite of mine) so I had decent expectations of Touchwood.

It is a huge cafe (can seat 120) and the fact we had to wait for a table is a testament to its popularity, which appears warranted going by the food we received.

I had the peanut butter and jelly waffles, which are just as amazing as something with that description sounds like it would be. My friend had the avocado on toast, which was spruced up with some lime, pickled cabbage and other goodies. Coffee is good too.

The cafe is open and spacious, with friendly staff who did not overwhelm. The wait was not overly long given how busy the cafe was.

Very, very happy with our experience here - so many promising new cafes fall short in quality, or staff or in any number of other areas. Content that I chose Touchwood on Saturday morning!

Approximate cost: $17

I was recently faced with the daunting task of finding a new hairdresser in Brisbane - a task I always hate, particularly when I was unable to find anyone who could recommend me a decent one in my area.

What my search told me was that you're hard pressed to find a hairdresser for females who cuts for under 70-80, which I don't mind paying, as long as I know I'll get an amazing cut.

I ended up choosing Oscar Oscar, because I had a 25% off voucher for them that expired in December. I'm SO glad I did - my haircut is one of the best I've had in a long time!

I feel awful because I have completely forgotten the name of the lovely lady who did my hair, but she was a senior stylist. She first sat me down to chat about what I wanted to do with my hair, before giving me a shoulder massage. I got my hair washed twice, and then she gave me the aforementioned amazing haircut.

Oscar Oscar is so great - the price of your haircut includes all of the above, and a coffee/juice/tea of your choice (and a cookie!). It is a large, spacious salon with lots of friendly staff. Even without the discount I'd say I'll definitely be going back again to get my hair done there. Give them a try!

Approximate cost: $95

Was really disappointed about our experience at the Meatball Company - we had heard a lot of good things and they had been getting some good noise made about them around Brisbane. Having dined in a similar restaurant in Melbourne, I had high hopes. Unfortunately, instead we got bland, undercooked and overpriced food and mediocre service.

For starters I have to say I think the pricing in here is a little ovedone - you get three meatballs for 15, all sides are 8. Meatballs are pretty small. I'd say judging by the meatballs we ordered (I got the lamb, and my friends got the seafood and pork respectively) that they are pre-prepared and reheated, which I know from working in hospitality can be fine, but the meatballs were underheated and tough, not to mention bland. Reheated I can handle - what I suspect is prebought, I can't, not for these prices.

I thought the sides weren't outlined clearly enough on the menu - I ordered the quinoa, barley and wild rice, which was yum but it was served cold and full of sultanas. I think those kind of things need to be mentioned because it can be a dealbreaker for people. Similarly, my friend tried to clarify whether the side of pasta came with its own sauce - our waitress indicated that it did, but it arrived served with nothing more than some olive oil and a couple of chives.

Which brings me to my final complaint - the service. Our waitress, while friendly, was either very inexperienced or facing some language barriers. As mentioned above, she was pretty misleading about our meals, had trouble taking our drinks orders (the bar men had to come over to our table to clarify which beers we wanted) and just generally seemed uncomfortable and unsure of what she was doing.

I hate to be the person who complains so liberally about a place, but it's hard when it's had such good reviews and is so disappointing and overpriced. Maybe we should have taken a hint though - at 7.30 on a Saturday night, the place was 3/4 empty.

We went next door to have a drink afterwards and the menu there looked much more enticing - maybe if you're in the area try there instead.

Approximate cost: $15

Peel Street Kitchen had been getting some good write ups so we decided to wander down there for dinner after catching a movie the other weekend. It was reasonably late, I think around 9, so we were unsure if the kitchen would still be open. We were told that they were only doing pizzas and fries, which was fine by us.

Staff were all really friendly and helpful. I also liked the atmosphere and decor inside the venue - nothing to complain about here.

We ordered the wagyu pizza with some of their hand cut chips and banana salsa(?). To be fair, I found both kind of underwhelming - the pizza was yummy, but not the kind of thing I was envisaging. The flavours were just a bit meh and the wagyu a bit tough. The chips were good but neither my partner and I were a fan of the banana dipping sauce.

I had a watermelon cocktail and that was delicious - packed full of real watermelon, it was refreshing and tasty.

I can say categorically I will go back to Peel Street Kitchen to try the rest of their menu, because it looked amazing. Lots of fresh and tasty produce - we arrived at an awkward time which may have accounted for our lacklustre food. Another reason I'd be happy to go back would be for the friendly owner, who brought us out the food and had a chat with us as we paid the bill - he was so lovely, and I'd be happy to support his business.

Approximate cost: $18