London
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13 Charlotte Place
London W1T 1SN
+44 (0) 20 7637 3347
Comfy and laid-back Austrailian cafe.
1 review
1 review 2 reviews 2 reviews 1 review 5 reviews 1 review 2 reviews 1 review
0 reviews
October 13, 2011
Tried to order a muffin and the useless employee at the counter just completely ignored me and did not serve me or say anything back. They must be making a lot of money from people with lower standards for customer service, because I found this unbelievable.
November 28, 2010
Your experience depends on what you want and expect. We want very good espresso and satisfying food and pastries. This place supplies both admirably. In London (and all of Europe, for that matter) we don't expect American glittering smiles and hyper-friendly service, and this place doesn't bother with that--nor should they be expected to. I've been several times now and enjoyed every visit. Relax, accept, and you'll do the same.
June 25, 2010
I work near Lantana and had it recommended by an Aussie mate. Took a friend to lunch and although the food was good my god did it take forever to arrive. We were on the point of going somewhere else as we were really hungry and didn't have much time. The staff were not terribly bothered by this. I returned another time with my sister and the same thing happened - in what way is waiting 45 mins for a salad acceptable?? OK so the place was busy - far too many seats in there as everyone is so cramped and there's nowhere to put coats - but that's no excuse for them losing our order. And you have to shout due to music and other people also raising their voices to overcome the din. Food good but they need to pay more attention to customers if they want to survive: London is a harsh judge to under-performers and I note several reviews here are not positive...
June 18, 2010
Expect the same treatment you would have at Fawlty Towers but without the laughs. The coffee to take away was stone cold. Weird place, will never go back.
May 18, 2010
I want to like Lantana, I really do. I adore the food, which I suppose is the main point of cafes - but... I just find the whole experience a little disconcerting because of the attitude of some of the staff. I've given it a couple of chances now - both sitting down and getting a takeaway - and each time I've left feeling as if I've offended the staff in some way or behaved strangely even when I've just asked for a sandwich or tried to hand over money. I don't know whether it's the way they look at you or how they sort of loiter around you, but the overwhelming feeling I get is that I don't really belong there and I'm a nuisance. And I hate to bring gender into this, but I found the women staff to be guilty of this attitude far more than the men.
I'm pretty certain it's not me - I mean, I don;t have that vibe off people when I go to other places. And my companions have noticed the same thing too.
Since the food and coffee is so good, I guess I'll just have to grow a thicker skin and ignore the discomforting attitude.
April 16, 2010
I've had lunch and breakfast here a few times over the past year and it's always good. The menu is healthy and tasty and the coffee is excellent and well deserving of their best new coffee shop accolade from Time Out. Just a couple of grumbles - the service is slow and they quite often forget what you've ordered, either bringing the wrong thing or having to come back and ask 10-15 minutes later. All done with a smile and politely but still annoying when you're hungry. Also on a cold winter's morning having breakfast the door was left open all the time and it was me rather than the staff who had to keep getting up to shut it to keep the heat in.
They are good but they're not the only Antipodean style coffee shop around. With more springing up in the area over the past few months, Kaffeine on Grt Titchfield Street and Tapped and Packed on Rathbone Place they could do with sharpening up a little.
October 10, 2009
One of the best in town.
June 14, 2009
Lantana is the first place I've visited on the basis of Tipped recommendations. I'm looking for a new breakfast haunt and Lantana's Australian menu with its mixture of British, American and Pacific food looked like a welcome break. Hard to beat a blogging cafe owner as well for an insight into what the place is likely.
Physically its a small but light place on Charlotte's Place surrounded by gourmet butchers, Italian delis and other upmarket shops. The atmosphere is relaxed and inviting.
The food is expensive and I think you have to know what to pick to get a good deal. The baked beans and spinach are great and the sourcing of the meat is excellent as well. A lot of the choices are underwhelming though, the corn fritters lack both seasoning and just picked freshness. There's a reason that potato is more commonly used in the same role in the UK.
I've been a couple of times and while I plan to return I am left wondering whether you could better spend the money on buying expensive bacon and sausage and dropping some feta into the baked beans yourself. It's a treat but lacks anything that really compels me to come back.
March 20, 2009
I have finally got round to writing a review for Lantana, having had lunch there with friends numerous times. My boyfriend is addicted to the hummingbird cakes (he says highly recommended!) and one friend keeps having the skewers and salad because it's so good she can't move on. The service is always friendly and they'll happily recommend stuff to you. I really love this place: I have recommended it to all my friends (who have all loved it and keep going back). The food is fabulous, the service is very friendly and it’s just a great place offering interesting food outside the normal breakfast/brunch offerings in London. Oh, and interesting fact for Cafe Oasis, lantana is not an invasive weed in it's native Mediterranean, just Australia. May explain why my friend from Barcelona adores this place!
March 07, 2009
My boyfriend and I were thrilled when we discovered this place as we live around the corner and the food here is good, honest stuff (the sort of place you can trust that the sausages are good.) We are self employed so often go in there for brunch or a coffee, read the newspapers they provide, and chill out. The staff were always friendly and the cakes very inviting. We had one issue when a bean-sized pebble was found in my boyfriend's food, but the lady said sorry and that it must have come from the rocket - and that's fine as these things happen.
However, this morning (Saturday) I went there to meet a girlfriend for brunch. My friend was half and hour late so I had a 2 cappuccinos while I waited but didn't order 'til she arrived. We both had massive fry-ups, extra side orders after we had finished we continued to order more coffees and mineral water. It got a bit busy, being Saturday and as we were on a table that could seat 4 we were asked a few times if we minded sharing, which of course we didn't. We shifted up but other tables got free so we never actually had to share the table.
One time the waitress came over and asked if we wanted anything else as there were people waiting for a table (I couldn't see them) but we ordered further drinks and carried on chatting away. There was a table seating four that was free for ages. Then the waitress came over and seated some people there and said they were a party of 8 and would need our table. I assumed she meant for us to budge up but then realised there was nowhere for us to move to and that she meant she wanted our seats. At this point my friend still had half a cup of coffee and I had a bottle of mineral water so I asked the waitress if she meant she wanted us to go. She said that it was difficult to watch us sit there for such a long time when the cafe was so busy. I was very shocked as we had ordered plenty to eat and drink and still had drinks. As I tried to explain this she said she could move us downstairs and I said not to worry, that we would have the bill and go. She then responded by showing me the hand and walking off! She then went to the counter and started bitching about us to the other 2 members of staff there. When she came back I thought I must have misunderstood and tried to explain that we had been ordering food and still had drinks, and that we were a little bemused and offended by her attitude, to which she barked that I had upset her and she walked off again! At this point the 4 people sat at the table next to us and said their friends wouldn't be there for a while yet (I now wonder if there were more friends coming?) and we just laughed and tried not to show our embarrassment.
A different waitress brought us the bill and I said I was sorry (yes I was STILL trying to be affable and I was apologising?!) if I had upset her friend but that I was a little offended and that we are regular customers here and all we wanted to do was finish our drinks and not be kicked out. She then replied very gruffly that yes I had upset her, that the other lady is the owner and that Lantana is her baby, and how hard she tries to make it work. Again, not a very customer -service friendly response.
My friend finished her coffee (and I took my mineral water with me) and we left. All in all I feel very hurt that we were treated this way. We were made to feel very unwelcome and every time I tried to speak to the waitress/manageress she walked away making the issue very dramatic and made it look to other people that I was kicking up a fuss. I clearly have made the wrong assumption - I thought this was a lovely little cafe that prides itself on its chilled out, cosy, welcoming vibe. Sometimes it gets busy and I have waited my turn and happily queued for a table previously, and would never expect staff to tell those with tables to drink up and get out. They provide papers and magazines and offer you pitchers of tap water and I assumed that this meant they want you to stick around and relax. This is what I was doing (while still ordering more drinks!) and feel wholeheartedly sad that I have been treated like vermin and cannot go back to my (previously) favourite new place. A note to the owner - do not work in customer service if you don't like people. Try to manage any problems rather than just sticking your hand up and storming off. Furthermore, if you are working hard to make Lantana a success, it might be an idea to be nice to regular customers and encourage them to enjoy your cafe, rather than humiliating them and shoo-ing them away.
