Vroom...restaurant where I caught up with my female friends for brunches at weekends, had lunches a few times in workweek and drinks with my colleagues after work.

For the fact I have visited the restaurant endless times, I would like to highlight things that I would never forget about it.

My totally first impression that I am able to recall was "overpriced". Back then I did not realise Fortitude Valley / New Farm are placed on the top of most expensive suburbs in Brisbane. Brunches that I have had where well presented, fresh and very tasty. I have had savoury brunches such as scrambled eggs served with turkish bread, smoked salmon, mushrooms, asparagus etc. Very nice anytime I had any of the sort of brunch.

Friends and colleagues I have gone with here, liked the freshness of meals as much I did. I loved garlic prawns that were absolutely unbeatable. Pity, they took them out of menu that they renewed a few months ago. I even mentioned it to owner. He said they replaced the dish with salad of prawns that I have tried later on. It was nice but cannot beat the garlic prawns. I have tried also a feta-spinach pizza that disappointed me on the other hand. It did not have much topping as a result tasted more after dough than anything. Therefore, I have never had pizza there since...and do not even want to try my luck.

What I love is service. Staff is very friendly and acknowledges regular customers. As I work for company located nearby, our staff have been going there quite often. For that reason, I believe, I was a direct witness of very pleasant marketing strategy. Me and bunch of my colleagues got together for Friday drinks after hours. Majority of them were already seated. My colleague / friend and I joined them slightly later. While we were purchasing ginger beer from bar, I asked for a price of great looking muffins they had on counter. I believe it was Greg who served us at the time. He asked me if I like some and I responded "maybe"...but still insisted to know the price. He simply put one in front of me saying it was mine. I could not believe it and ensured by asking over again if he was serious. So I shared the muffin with one of my friend / colleague.
I still do not know the price of muffin but would think in range of $5-6. I enjoyed every bit of it though. It was not a muffin looking a bit greasy that you can buy in bakeries of grocery shop. It was a huge muffin and light. I tempted to buy one since then...or even try their gigantic doughnut but I am still resisting in success. Do not ask me how long for :-D

Vroom is definitely a place to enjoy food any time in a day. The only one thing I would not like to happen there again was a cockroach crawling where outdoor seating is. Yet, that is understandable because you would be VERY lucky if you did not see a cockroach in Brisbane at the night.

Approximate cost: $20-30

I could not help myself not to read others' experiences prior writing my own. I personally tried only smoothie and gelatti for that reason I am writing a review based on my first impression of their products and service.

At first, I purchased mango smoothie for morning tea last week. I was looking at their menu of smoothies for a little while before standing closer to counter to order. Once I decided, I walked in closer to counter were two girls facing me, were preparing sandwiches for lunches. They had their faces buried in their work, however, knew about me standing right in front of them as they looked up at me a couple of times. No word...no apology for waiting...not saying they would serve me shortly...no good morning...no word at all. Another two girls were doing something backs facing to me. Yet, they walked around these girls at front, even looked at me. Nobody said a word but had a bit smile on each other. I was literally standing and looking at them for about 3 minutes before I was served. I personally hate that sort of behaviour. And believe me, I usually walk away when I am not served or at least acknowledged verbally within understandable period of time. Yet, I did not do it this time. Perhaps the curiosity of knowing how long it takes them to serve me, was holding me there. It was only myself standing and waiting to order. There was only a guy standing aside awaiting his drink to be prepared by one of those two girls in background. So there was no excuse for ignoring me.
After say the three minutes or so, one of them put her head up and decided to serve me. I ordered mango smoothie, paid and left. I had seen her pulling out frozen mango from freezer so it is definitely made from fruit. It truly tasted like a frozen fruit...would even say very little sugar added, if any.

The second time round, my partner decided to try their banana smoothie while we had lunch in James Market court. I was not there when he was ordering and paying so I could not tell how they treated him. It was much busier at that moment too. He came back in reasonable time with his smoothie and small bowl of mango gelatti. Gelatti was absolutely wonderful. Banana smoothie also tasted like a real banana. On my question of their service he said they had served him with no issues. I guess it might have been because of lunch time...if they did not serve their customers promptly, they would loose not just one but a whole bunch of them.

Yet, customer as customer...in any time of the day. Am I not right?! If I would go back? I would love to try some other smoothies or gelatti but I am not that tempted. I would rather go where I know I get served better for the same price (or even less).

I have gone to Spoon in James St Market a few times already. At the start I would be meeting my partner for lunch there. We used to bring our own salads in lunch-boxes and purchased smoothies from them. As a result we were able to sit in court of Spoon. Smoothies were always very nice and filling for that reason we kept having lunches that way there.

One day we decided to spoil ourselves for that reason left our lunch-boxes at home and tried their salads. I had pumpkin-spinach salad with chicken, while my partner another salad (do not remember what kind) with smoked salmon. He also bought himself smoothie. Both meals and a drink cost slightly over $40. My dish was absolutely outstanding. Pumpkin must have been mashed up with some sour cream that gave it creamy flavour. I have never had better spinach-pumpkin salad than right there. My partner liked his meal as well...but stated it was really a treat because of the pricing.

My colleague and I were planning to catch up for lunch one day. So we made it in Spoon. I decided to taste a bit something different for that reason asked for half continental salad and half spinach-pumpkin salad of the large portion. My friend had also spinach-pumpkin salad (small portion) that I recommended, with a beef-tart topped up with mashed sweet-potato. When a waitress brought us our meals, I had to express my disappointment of my portion. It was on large plate, however had hardly the same size of salad I'd had the other day. Because I had known what size to expect, I returned it back with request to top it up to large portion. When I looked at my friend's portion, I would also say something as it was tiny portion (handful)...not small to me considering I'd registered how small plate looks. And the salad should correspond to that size. Yet, he did not complain so I did not get to proactive. About 5 minutes later the waitress came back, slightly upset I could tell, with portion more large-like. I was happy customer until I tasted the salads. My favourite had too far from taste that had the other day. It was simply steamed pumpkin mixed up with all other ingredients...nothing outstanding. And the continental salad disappointed me for big chunks of fried bread that were very hard to chew. I think they must have used stale bread and fried it in bacon fat as it had the smell and taste. Someone may like it but I did not. A big no! ...what is more bacon bits were over the salad. If I had known it had bacon, I would not had ordered it. And the interestingly looking chunks of bread also were not enjoyable as I hoped.

Since then I have not eaten there. It is a bit pricey place but not to bad considering the area it is situated. I assess it as average because service is average, smoothies I have had are very nice and food can be beautifully done but obviously they have different chefs...so it is a matter of luck, I guess.

Approximate cost: $10-30

I have been going here a few times for treatment - seeing physiotherapist and doctor with my knee and back issues later on. I was very impressed by Dr Saul Geffen's knowledge when he was investigating what exactly happened with my back. He was able to tell me in no time (cca 5-10mins) of massaging my upper back, what happened and explained it to me on a model of spine.
I found also a physiotherapist Nathan good enough to assist me with post-treatment. Unfortunately, I have not managed to do exercises as often as I am supposed to do...as a result I still do experience pain occasionally. Yet, that is me to be blamed.

My husband as well as mum-in-low have been eventually going for treatment there. They were the ones who recommended me to visit the clinic...and I would also recommend them to anyone.

Approximate cost: $65-90

I went with my colleague / friend for lunch to Waterloo Hotel in workweek. We had acknowledged a waitress we had only a hour off work for lunch. Waitress was very nice and as we said, she managed to bring starter very shortly after the order...and shortly then she brought main meals. We both ordered Fisherman's basket. My bad I had not asked what it was as I simply assumed it was a basket of fresh seafood. What the disappointment! :-( Yet, my mistake.

Otherwise I must admit crumbled seafood was definitely fresh. We were asked if we wanted some dessert but because we were running out of our time, we paid and left quickly.

I would not mind going back there and try another dish that I would enjoy better. Service was very friendly, restaurant looking quite cosy too.

Approximate cost: $15-30

My partner decided to treat me with lovely lunch as a gift for my name day in Sirromet Restaurant. He was planning to go for dinner, however, they were completely booked out for Friday's and Saturday's evenings.
He has been there a number of times already for that reason had known what to expect. We both dressed smart casual. Our table was booked from 12:30pm and we did not leave until nearly 3pm. Restaurant was about half-occupied.

We were seated in "sunroom" where windows were all around as a result we had beautiful view at winery and rich-green hills.

We shared entree that my partner selected - taste plate - that contained a scallop, asian pickled salad, prawn on coles salad, vegetables in rice paper, falatel-like-looking ball and pork on brown rice. I liked only a half of the dish due to my personal preferences.
It would be a sin if we did not have a glass of wine each to taste. I was tempted to try something I have never tried before but waitress persuaded me to have rather the sort I liked.
As a main dish I had seafood on Spanish style with paella, whereas my partner chose medium rare steak with mashed potato in tart. He said his steak was prepared like medium, not medium rare. I could not remember if he asked waitress for medium rare one while we were ordering. My dish was very nice, prawns very fresh.
After main meal, I had enough. I should have stopped right there. Unfortunately, I let myself tempted to try French crepes...so we ended up sharing dessert. Crepes were decorated with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream blueberries, strawberries and caramelised banana. I loved the dish apart from ice-cream that I would expect to taste more luxurious (question is whether plain vanilla ice-cream can be any luxurious)...and again I was talked into having some drink to it...so had a mug of chai latte.

In overall, we had absolutely outstanding service. The waitress who was serving us the whole time never forgot to stop by to ask whether we needed anything...and if we were happy with food. I cannot remember when last time I was served by such a great waitress...she was very professional, possessed great knowledge of wines and food they offered. At the end she took a photo of us.

If I could, I would post photos of food we had. They present meals very well. It is that sort of dinning when you do not have full plate but you leave restaurant with eyes and belly satisfied nicely (if you do not overeat like myself :( ).
I personally ended up being stuffed. Next time I would definitely skip entree or desert.

Approximate cost: $37-40

My partner and I visited Pokolbin Village on Sunday morning when we were planning to buy something for breakfast from local tiny grocery shop. A simple sandwich of cheese and ham for $6 - 6.50 (?!) No, thanks! What is more the little shop was very limited in selection of food as well. As soon as we reviewed their prices, we decided to look around. For that reason we ended up going to Vittorio Restaurant for breakfast. Poached eggs on turkish bread with salmon sounded lovely, although the price $16 did not catch our eyes as such. Yet, the offer on their menu was also so limited that we decided this could be a good choice.

We were one of the first customers, plus slightly running out of time for wine group tour so we were slightly in rush. It took them about 10-15minutes to bring two plates with cut English muffin in half, covered with a bit of smoked salmon, two poached eggs, poured over with holland mayonnaise and decorated with sweet-pea plant leafs.
First of all, English muffin was not listed on menu but turkish bread. Therefore my partner asked why we were served English muffin. They apparently ran out of turkish bread that they replaced by English muffin ("fair enough")... My partner dropped a hint to waitress they could apply a discount of two dollars at least as they have not provided what was listed. She commented that English muffin used to be a part of this dish on former menu before it got changed ("who cares what was on menu a while ago?!").
Second of all, as far as I am aware, poached eggs are meant to have a little runny yolk. These had yolks were soft, orange-yellow coloured but not runny at all.

As soon as waitress walked out, I saw her talking to another waitress perhaps about the discussion with us. I thought naively they were discussing discount to our bill. Shortly afterwards we walked to a counter where we were going to fix our bill. While my partner was paying, I noticed two long rolls of turkish bread lying on cooking bench right in front of cook. I did not say a word as my partner tried to negotiate balance of our bill. They basically did not even correspond to the hint, did not say a word but the total price.

Once we got to our card, I looked back for a moment and saw two waitresses looking our way, having heads together and talking (pretty obviously about us). I personally did not like the atmosphere, felt rudeness in expression of waitress who brought us plates with food...and the fact there was turkish bread supplied to them even though we were said it was not (?!)
Basically overpriced for service that deliver. Food is nice and fresh but you may not get what is stated on menu. We did not and would not go back there ever again.

Approximate cost: $20-30

I would classify this cafe 5 points for everything but pricing. I visited this cafe with my partner for brunch on Easter Monday. As it was public holiday, the place was very busy, however we still received outstanding service and did not have to wait long for meal (cca 15 mins) considering a number of guests.

When we approached door of cafe, a waitress welcomed us with smile and let us to sit wherever we wanted. Then we were sent to counter to order and make a payment. Looking through menu displayed above counter as well as on sheet of paper we were given, pricing was higher than what we were used to in Brisbane (considering also fancy area of James Street). Yet, we both were so hungry that did not want to wonder around for better pricing.

We took up a table on patio where live music was playing. The music absolutely suited the place and atmosphere.

In say 15 minutes a waitress brought us our portions of Big Breakfasts, asked if we wanted cracked pepper or anything else. My partner was going to get a bottle of water that the waitress offered to bring. Dishes we had were very well prepared and tasty. Before we finished, we had been asked if all were good etc. I noticed a waitress was walking circles and was observing whatever customers needed or did not. Staff wore smiles on their faces which were not fake but very genuine.

When we finished our food and drinks, we still needed to stay seated to plan our visits of wineries. Although we sat with no other purchased refreshment and cafe was still very busy for lunches, nobody pushed us out of there.

I personally must say I was happy to pay the twenty bucks for great tasting food and absolutely outstanding customer service. I cannot remember any catering staff smiling so nicely and genuinely. I hope the staff there get higher rewards than usual.

Approximate cost: $20

The best way how to describe my visits of French Twist is "by accident". I did not find it any special first round but came back to try different sinful products.

When I was passing the bakery section in James Street Market a in November, I bought myself a loaf of fruit bread. As I love fruit bread, I find myself being quite tolerant to quality, however not the pricing if it exceeds regular price. Bread was tasty but not very fresh. It was also a bit pricey ($5.50) considering the quality.
I had not come back there until I was going to please my partner who loves macaroons. The ones they sell looked very appealing so I bought a pistachio and caramel flavoured ones. My partner and I agreed after tasting them, they were dry and hardly as nice as in another places...and again quality did not correspond to price (two macaroons cost $6.80).

Yesterday I was taken there for something sweet after lunch. I would not have gone on my own but since I was invited, I did not mind. They had macaroons in hot-cross-bun flavour displayed as well as one cut for tasting. I love hot-cross-buns, therefore I could not resist and had a bit. Macaroon had beautiful flavour but consistence was not any better since I had tasted their macaroons first time. I was asked to pick some sweet treat so I got myself a macaroon in passionfruit flavour for very interesting colouring (dark purple biscuit with yellow cream) and a shared a profiterole with my friend. I was not impressed by macaroon as I did not expect to be. Profiterole tasted well and probably was also very well made but I found out if I did not have it, I would not be sorry...definitely not my favourite treat.

Today I came back there for hot-cross-bun flavoured macaroon for my friend to Easter celebration. I would have not even thought of going there, if I had not mentioned to him the unusual flavour I have come across. He wanted one so badly that he convinced me to get some. Unfortunately, they did not have them today. I was persuaded to take salted-caramel macaroon instead.
At that time I was also tempted to try their hot-cross bun so I purchased one for myself. What a disappointment! A regular size bun cost me $2 which would be alright if it taste equally to the price. I personally find 6pack hot-cross buns from Coles or Woolworths much better than from this bakery. Do not tell me that is not bad (!). It is! It was the stalest hot-cross bun I have ever had.

A colleague of mine bought herself a piece of red velvet cake and chocolate pecan fudge that she assessed very well. I personally am not much into rich deserts so for breads and buns this bakery is a huge disappointment to me...especially for prices they charge.

I know I will not be going back as I never find their products to be worth of the money.

I have visited Sugar Jar twice up today. I noticed my colleagues have been going there since I started working in Fortitude Valley but never thought of trying their food...until I made a lunch date with my colleague/friend who pulled me in.

I must admit it is a little bar hardly noticeable from street view. I personally would struggle to find it according to address. It is located in heart of building 19 James Street.

I have tasted chicken salad sandwich in pumpkin bread and chicken sandwich with Swiss cheese and avocado. In spite of them having all sandwiches freshly prepared and wrapped up, you can dine in if you wish. You are welcome to get yourself a sandwich slightly tailored as they are flexible as much as they can be.
Be aware they tend to spread butter on outside surface of wrapped sandwiches that I personally do not like. When I ordered my chicken sandwich and asked for no butter, they prepared it fresh on spot for me.

Their service is spectacular and fast considering they can be very busy for breakfasts and lunches. Staff is very approachable, friendly and professional. I like the area also because it is slightly hidden as a result you cannot hear traffic of James Street that is interrupting at that time of a day.

Approximate cost: $6-9