Attitude served cold @ cafe Koukla

Perhaps I should have referred to Urbanspoon before I decided to visit Koukla, because it appears that their level of service or rather lack of, seems all too common a gripe. The same cannot be said of all the staff, but the cashier ruined what was already a run of the mill dinning experience. What sets restaurants apart other than their food, is the service that they provide and Koukla was by far, yards away from meeting the mark.

Koukla, part of the Frangos & Frangos establishment is situated in a beautiful building, shaded by leafy vines. That is exactly what drew K and I in for a spot of brunch, on a sunny Monday morning. We were actually hoping to have a late brekky, but nearing noon we were out of luck. There was a sign at the door, 'staff wanted,' it said and this was definitely true. There were two waitresses at count and the place was absolutely bustling, one poor waitress was looking utterly confused, buzzing around, struggling to cope without adequate support.

Browsing their menu we settled upon a pair of cappuccinos ($3.80 each) and the only two brunch items they had on their menu. K chose to go with the zucchini and corn fritters, with chilli, fried egg, bacon and roquette ($15.90). I ordered Jim's Greek omelette with tomato, potato, red onion and feta, served with a slice of sourdough toast. ($15.90) I also requested a side of avocado, which I found came to a whopping $5.00 for a mere half.

The drinks came first. As far as doing the best in Daylesford, Larder ranked higher in my book, nonetheless Koukla still did a decent cup. The meals didn't take too long to come out, despite the waitresses looking absolutely run off their feet. The omelette arrived sizzling hot in the pan in which it was made, rustic charm at its best. The meals were also more than generous in size, with my omelette being big enough for two to share. Unfortunately, what they made up for in appearance, they lacked in flavour. Both dishes were average, rather bland and I couldn't even taste any fetta in my omelette.

After a rather lackluster meal, we proceeded to the counter to pay the bill. The cashier told us the cost of our meal was $49.70, which didn't quite add up in my head, so I asked her if she could double check. She looked rather annoyed and rattled off two cappuccinos and the two meals we had ordered and then promptly disappeared. When I questioned another staff member about it, she called the cashier over, who looked even more unfriendly than the first time. Without checking the bill, the cashier dipped into the tip money jar and then opened up the cash register and took out some further loose change and gave it to me with a dirty look on her face. Not so much as a word from her explaining what went wrong, or even a sorry. The other staff member (who unlike her colleague, did her best to be helpful) said it appeared I had been charged for someone else's coffee, yet the rude cashier knowingly omitted telling me that I was being charged for 3 coffees when I requested she confirm the order. Furthermore, she still failed to give me the correct change, at which point K and I could not be bothered and just left. We left feeling very annoyed that anybody would deem it acceptable to treat their customers as a nuisance when they themselves were actually in the wrong, and more importantly I do not understand how they could be so up themselves that they wont even dignify you with a response, other than slamming money at you, basically telling you to piss off. 

Koukla was all in all, a failure. Whoever the brown haired middle aged cashier/waitress was, you are a disgrace to the cafe and could benefit from learning some manners. With mediocre food, and service to put you in a foul mood, I'd recommend you spend your money elsewhere.











My Rating: 3.5/10