Poets Restaurant and Cafe & Main Street Gallery

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#10 of 14 Restaurants in MontvilleCafe, Australian, $$ - $$$

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Poets Restaurant and Cafe & Main Street Gallery

Review

At a glance

Open until 9:00 PM

, 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM

Website

+61 7 5478 5479Improve this listing

About

Features

CUISINES

Cafe, Australian

Meal types

Breakfast, Lunch, Brunch, After-hours

Special Diets

Vegetarian friendly, Gluten free options

FEATURES

Accepts Credit Cards

Outdoor Seating

Reservations

Seating

Serves Alcohol

Table Service

Wheelchair Accessible

Location

167 Main St, Montville, Queensland 4560 Australia

Is this restaurant wheelchair accessible?

Yes

Unsure

Save this restaurant

Hours

Suggest an edit

Open until 9:00 PM

Sunday

9:00 am - 9:00 pm

Monday

9:00 am - 5:00 pm

Tuesday

9:00 am - 5:00 pm

Wednesday

9:00 am - 5:00 pm

Thursday

9:00 am - 5:00 pm

Friday

9:00 am - 9:00 pm

Saturday

9:00 am - 9:00 pm

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3.2

847 reviews

Excellent

227

Very good

212

Average

117

Poor

123

Terrible

168

chef ela

11 contributions

Is it a Banger?

Nov 2021 • couples

Made the day trip to Montville and decided to swing in for lunch. We ordered the Bangers and Mash and the Sweet Chilli Calamari. Both meals definitely hit the spot. The bangers and mash had the perfect mix of flavour and creaminess with a touch of caramelised onion and asparagus. The Calamari was pan fried so you didn’t walk away feeling fatty and or greased out. Both meals were defiantly ‘Americanised’ given how much was on our plates and the drinks were in tall glasses too. Both dishes arrived very quickly which did raise some eyebrows initially but we were happy with our meals so there was nothing to complain about there. The prices were a little steep but given the portion size and that there’s not much else around they can charge what they like. Overall we would return again!

Written 27 November 2021

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Noddy47

Mildura230 contributions

Lovely from the outside, nicer inside

June 2022 • none

The exterior of Poets is lovely. And when you step inside and get a glimpse of the scenery and are greeted by a friendly staff member you know you have made a good choice in this tourist destination. We were fortunate to be placed at one of the tables that runs along the balcony thus being able to enjoy the view. We all chose the special of the day prawns and linguine with cherry tomatoes. Our waitress came back and apologized that they had run our of chorizo and would proscuitto suffice. We were happy with that. When our dishes arrived there were little nuggets of chorizo in among the pasta. The pasta was cooked perfectly, the dish was not oily. A couple of us had the hummingbird cake and it was delicious. Wines by the glass affordable and good selection to choose from. There is one thing to be aware of and that is there is a water station inside so you have to fill you water glasses in there.

Written 8 June 2022

Aussiesinice

Brisbane216 contributions

Food and view is Sublime

May 2021 • none

The view here particularly on a quieter day is a delight. I had the Mussels and my partner had chicken breast which was the best I had. On another day mid week, we returned to have the same meal, but the Mussels were unavailable due to the cafe ordering of supplies not arriving and the chicken was a leg, not a chicken breast as the menu suggested. Still very nice and we had lovely table #3 with a fab view but were just a teeny bit disappointed that we did not get a discount on the food as it was different from stated on the menu.

Written 9 May 2021

Julie H

Brisbane3 contributions

Very happy with our Poets experience today

Aug 2024 • friends

Our group descended on Poets today without any warning, after our plans to attend another venue were thwarted!! About 20 of us and we were warmly welcomed by Emily. She quickly set about arranging tables and chairs to accommodate us all - the smile never left her face. We have varied tastes, some just have a beverage, others include a snack and some a meal. Our group, meet up each week at a different venue over the coast, so we have frequented many venues between Coolum, Glasshouse Mountains and Golden Beach. Poets standard of - service, food and beverages and of course the location compares very favourably with others we go to. The pricing???? I read some previous reviews complaining about the pricing, I don't know the type of place those people go to, but I can assure you Poets is definitely not overpriced. Lochlan, the manager, was also very welcoming and agreed to take our bookings for any future events!!! We will definitely return.

Written 20 August 2024

Diablo J

2 contributions

Mutton dressed up as lamb

Oct 2023 • family

Whilst the chips and scones were excellent the potato fritters tasted like regurgitated baby food. We were appalled we were charged $30 for a kid's milkshake and a kid's smoothie! When I asked if we could move to another table that wasn't drenched in sunlight, the waitress declined advising the owners would not approve because we had 3 kids with us. It felt as if we had been excluded from sitting next to the couples because of our kids

Written 11 November 2023

Dorset_Solo_traveller

Dorset2218 contributions

Try somewhere else

July 2023 • solo

I stopped in Montville on the way back to the coast from a visit to the Maleny Botanic Gardens. It was lunchtime and from the outside this looked like a pretty place to eat. It was after 2 when I arrived and while it had been very busy, it was clear that many people were finishing up. The waitress who seated me was not very friendly and when I asked to sit at one of the tables on the verandah with a view, she said they were all booked. So I sat inside, was given a menu and then ignored for a while. Meanwhile more and more of the tables on the verandah were becoming vacant, so I asked a friendlier looking waitress if I could move out onto the verandah, which I could. And also gave her my order, as she asked for it. No sign of the original waitress, but I am sure that her attitude was because I am a solo diner and older woman eating on my own. I had been on the verge of leaving. A group of six were seated at the table next to me but got up to leave because of the prices. The cafe is quite pricey with salads at more than $30 and toasted sandwiches $25 and up. I had a roast beef baguette which was $32, no salad or chips accompanying. It was fine but not special. I should have checked the reviews on here before eating as there are obviously many better places I could have eaten in Montville.

Written 30 July 2023

Anmaree

Sydney8 contributions

Poets Cafe Montville

Aug 2023 • friends

Called in to Poets Cafe at Montville Qld for coffee & tea to end our lovely day out for lunch at Stonebridge Gardens Sunshine Coast Qld. Our lunch at the Gardens was lovely. A must to visit. The staff gave excellent service, lunch was tasty, the setting was beautifully tranquil & with reasonable pricing. Sadly our experience at Poets Cafe clouded the end of our day. On leaving I was asked to pay $9:50 for a large cappuccino. In total shock, I said to the cashier that the average price in Sydney for the same size ranged from $5:80 to $6:50. I was promptly told the price was stated on the menu. Then my friend was charged $7:00 for a peppermint tea, standard size teacup with a sachet of honey. To which my friend said the tea was not pleasant tasting at all!! As we knew what we wanted & did not view a menu, the pricing was a total shock. If I had sighted the menu & pricing initially, we would have left the cafe at the beginning. I would not recommend Poets Cafe at Montville & on visiting Montville again I will definitely not be supporting Poets Cafe nor would I recommend it to anyone.

Written 27 August 2023

Huw W

Perth15 contributions

The most expensive coffee in Australia?

Mar 2023 • none

Definitely read the reviews in relation to how overpriced this place is. Grabbing a couple of coffees, I would never normally think about checking the menu first or even checking my bill - even when you have coffee at iconic locations and you know you're paying for the view. However, on this occasion I had to make sure the very nice waitress had the right table when I was told that two coffees was $20! I know that many establishments have had it tough during the past few years and that’s why we wanted to visit Montville to support the locals. However, this is ridiculously overpriced. I felt as though I’d been mugged in broad daylight!

Written 12 March 2023

Tommo_Travel_Pix

Balgowlah47 contributions

Poor Service

May 2023 • family

For a restaurant that charges near $30 for a toasted baguette, and $35-$50 for a main we found the service really poor. The lo-light was waiting for our table to be cleared from previous patrons. Was cleared in stages over a period of about 10 minutes, with one of the waitresses leaving the cloth on the table and disappearing. We ended up cleaning the table and also searching for menus ourselves.

Written 13 May 2023

Emma

2 contributions

Poor reception

Jan 2023 • couples

Revisited poets cafe for lunch based on previous experience and was met by an annoyed looking man (waitstaff?) who didn’t say anything. He waved at us to follow him with the menus, led us to a dirty table, gave it a half hearted attempt to wipe it and threw the menus on the table. Still nothing was said to us. We were left pretty shocked and confused. We looked at the menu and it became clear that there are new owners and menu with ridiculously over inflated prices. Hence, we left. Very sad as it holds great memories from previous visits.

Written 6 January 2023

PaulK1960

Auckland Central161 contributions

If you want some unique entertainment, ask to be served by the old guy

Sept 2022 • none

Our family group of eight people were looking for a lunch location. This establishment looked attractive from the outside. The waiter who greeted us for table seating was very friendly and helpful, and told us that there was not enough space inside for us but that we could sit outside (all the outside tables were unused). The largest table was only suitable for six chairs so we asked if we could move one of the adjacent small tables, which he said was fine. We had just finished sitting down and started looking through the food options when an older man came over to us and asked if we were with eight people. It was fairly obvious that we were, but he then started counting “one, two, three…” up to “eight” while pointing at each of us in turn, and then told us that the seating was only for six people because the tables were not allowed to be moved. From his demeanour and appearance I literally thought that he was a homeless person who had wandered past and was having a joke, but it turns out that he was being serious. He then said something along the lines of “You are absolutely not allowed to move any tables but if you really must then I supposed I can’t stop you doing it”. I have never encountered anyone in the hospitality industry like this person. It was a real shame, since the place looked nice and the waiter who seated us was very friendly. They either need to remove this older person from the establishment or advertise that they are offering some sort of Fawlty Towers reality experience.

Written 4 September 2022

Kassidy A

1 contribution

Weird Policy/Owner and Overpriced

Mar 2023 • solo

I went there to have a coffee and do some work on my laptop and got seated and proceeded to get my laptop out and sat it on the table. Then a waitress came to take my order. I opened up my laptop to do some work. Not two minutes later she came back to tell me that “you can’t use laptops here. the owner has a thing about laptops and he’s sitting right behind you”. She was very apologetic and when I inquired why they had this policy she didn’t seem to have an answer just that the owner doesn’t like it. I told her that was very strange. I got a distinct feeling that she was warning me about the owner more than anything and she said she wouldn’t ask me to put it away otherwise if not for the owner being right there. I put my laptop away feeling pretty weird about it all and my coffee came not long after. I wish I had the chance to cancel my order, as I only went there to grab a coffee and do some work and maybe have a snack. I would understand more if it was busy or if I had been there for a long time without ordering anything but it wasn’t busy and i didn’t plan on being there for long. The iced coffee was $15 which is absolutely ridiculous and it certainly wasn’t anything special. I felt very uncomfortable using my phone too after that and sitting there was unpleasant with the owner behind me. I skulled it down and promptly left, asking on the way out to the cashier why there was a no laptop policy. He said, “I wish I could tell you” he didn’t seem to understand the policy either and seemed pretty annoyed that they had to enforce it. I then proceeded to go sit on a park bench not far from the cafe and the owner kept staring at me from his table even after I had caught him. I left feeling very uncomfortable and like I’d been tricked into buying a $15 coffee when they could see I was intending to use my laptop, without letting me know the policy. I had intended to spend more money there as well, however I definitely wasn’t going to after that.

Written 15 March 2023

Joanna D

1 contribution

Rude and poor service from cafe owner!

Jan 2022 • family

Do yourself a favour and don’t go here if you have young children!! We had an awful experience here! My husband and I came here for morning tea with our two young boys. My 2 year old son was starting to cry and my husband was standing next to my son to take him out. As this was happening, the store manager came over to our table and said, “Can you please stop him crying because people are starting to leave because of him" (they weren’t). Anyone with the slightest social awareness would know that we were handling the situation by removing my son from the cafe. My other son and I decided to remain in the cafe and finish our food. Subsequently, the cafe manager sent a number of his waitresses to our table to expedite the process for us to leave by printing our receipt and attempting to clean our table. All this while I was still sitting and finishing my tea. This experience has left a bitter taste in our mouth and to add fuel to the fire, the coffees and cakes are significantly over-priced!!

Written 8 January 2022

Adriano T

2 contributions

Terrible customer service by a male barista

Dec 2022 • couples

Great location and amazing views! Food was average and our experience was ruined by a very rude male barista with terrible customer service skills. He was abrupt and rude to us and brought us the incorrect order and while we were at this venue he mistreated 2 other customers. He absolutely made our experience not enjoyable, we left this venue extremely upset.

Written 11 December 2022

mel0772015

Brisbane9 contributions

Disappointed!

Oct 2022 • friends

I have always wanted to go to the Poet’s cafe. Inspired by the magnificent building and view. Yesterday while showing my visitors Montville it was a perfect opportunity. It was a late lunch as we arrived at about 1.40pm and was quickly shown to our table and our drink and food order was taken. Half an hour later our drinks had not arrived. So I went to the bar to enquire. Our order taken manually did not go through the computer system!. Our drinks were re-ordered and then the waitress came to our table to retake our food order. One would expect that we the customer would be compensated for their lack of attention to their slack hospitality. ‘A drink on the house’ maybe to sweeten the blow. No, our meals and drinks, we’re charged at normal top dollar, for over priced food and service. I remarked on the lack of service and an expectation of some compensation giving them an opportunity to make good a bad situation. However we were left with a staff remarking ‘we are only human and mistakes can happen’. Yes we certainly made a mistake not reading the bad reviews on this cafe, and now reading the reviews this cafe are making mistakes every day. From a Continuous Quality Improvement professional of 30 years. Poet’s Cafe management and staff may want to start listening and learning from their customers and analysing their own customer journey processes. Great Candidate for Colin Fassnidge’s new show. Not likely ever to return!

Written 26 October 2022