Review Rafter & Rose Cafe - Ipswich

Really beautiful ambience here, the food is well presented and tasty. The coffee with caramel sauce is incredible. The picture of my food is half consumed because it was impossible to resist and I just dug right in. This place obviously has it's regular customers who walk directly to a table and reserve it with their bags. I found that a little off-putting and inconsiderate as they were single customers with a coffee sitting at a table for 4 and we were a couple eating a meal on the sofa. Maybe a few more smaller tables for those dining alone so that those who need the table space can get it. The table full of cheerful ladies laughing their heads off enjoying each other's company without a mobile phone in sight were an absolute delight. Overall a really nice place with lovely tasting food and drinks. Prices are a little steep, but worth it.

Such a cute place! Plants, art and vintage decor matched with delicious food. Can become a little cramped in poor weather as outdoor seating cannot be utilised. Definitely worth a visit.

The staff are friendly and welcoming, with treats in the cabinet being a rustic homestyle hit of nostalgia. The lemon bar is so damn delicious. The menu is pretty comprehensive with a little bit of everything. Breakfast has the usual suspects alongside some solid takes on brunch items. Coffee was served up fast, fresh, and tasty. We split a Cubano- which while not as loaded as we were expecting was a good start to the day. Will we return in the next couple of mornings we are in town? Quite possibly.

Wow! This place is an amazing hidden gem right in the heart of Ipswich 😁 it was extremely busy today and the wait ended up being half an hour for food. We were warned of this when we ordered which is amazing customer service. We ordered a banana smoothie and a bahama smoothie which are both highly recommended. We ordered the vege toastie and the house toastie which were delectable with the perfect crunch and flavours. We will be back 😁 next time I will remember to take photos before I start eating!

Lovely garden atmosphere surrounds you everywhere within this quaint coffee nook. Although on a busy road, the noise doesn't filter in. Dine inside or outside in the alleyway. Access for people with all abilities, however there are a few steps to negotiate to use the toilet. The menu is not extensive which is always a good sign. You don't need much to do it well and indeed they do. We enjoyed eggs on sourdough with mushrooms added. Delightful breakfast washed down with an excellent pour over coffee. Treats on the counter and in the display cabinet if you're after a morning tea break. Lovely staff top off a wonderful break from this crazy world 😉

What a delightful place. Lovely staff. Fantastic choices on the menu. Deliciously decadent homemade pastries, cakes, and slices.

I just love love LOVE this place! Quirky cottage cosy feel, fabulous healthy food and juices, coffee is great too. Never feel like going back to work after lunch here. Best to book a table to avoid disappointment.

Such a beautiful little cafe with the best white chocolate cheesecake I have ever had. Unfortunately this morning though put a bit of a dampener on my past experiences. I got a flat white, an iced coffee and a muffin which cost me $20. The muffin was $6 so that means the coffees were $14. I can't justify that kind kind of price so might have to come every few months for my cheesecake fix.

The big brekky and Boston beans were great. Great portion size and fresh flavours. I'm a bacon jam convert! The lemon peach iced tea was beautiful and my coffee was the best I've had in a long time. Will definitely be back. Could sit and hang there for hours amongst the quirky decor and greenery ❤️

Wonderful meal! The mushrooms on toast (with extra haloumi) was delicious and a very generous serving size. I also had a "dirty" monkey which is a banana milkshake with espresso - certainly something I would have again. Thank you for such a lovely place to have breakfast.

Just amazing!!! This place has gone from strength to strength!!! It has always been a favourite and every time I'm there for a quick coffee, takeaway goodies or enjoying morning breaky everyone is always so polite the place looks amazing and food is devine!! Worth a check out if you are within the area!!

Was looking forward to breakfast and left very un happy! My bacon was all fatty and my eggs were hard as a rock for poached eggs and to top it off we got here at 10.30 waited an hour for breakfast to be delivered.. orange juice was nice but that’s about the only thing I enjoyed about this place..

Great atmosphere. I love the plants, the pots and the furniture. The food is delicious and the iced tea is fruity and refeshing. I'd say its probably the best iced tea I've ever tasted.

The food was amazing well presented an a lot for the price but the glasses smelt like raw egg An the water bottles has rust around the brim from the lids to many plants so I was fighting little bugs off my food

Best little cafe find in Ipswich with gorgeous food, and stellar service. Thank you for your little laneway - best cafe find in Ipswich ���

Nowhere else has food & atmosphere like this. This little cafe is a one-of-a-kind. Amazing food, service & staff.

What excellent customer service. My partner’s order in the mix of things was missed and we were kindly offered a beautiful chocolate brownie with multiple apologies. We didn’t even wait that long before my partner’s meal was brought out. The food is beautiful, lovely atmosphere and kind and thoughtful waitstaff! Thanks so much!

Love � awesome service , great food and coffee � love reading all the little quotes through out store . Highly recommend {especially the steak sandwich �}

I was a little disappointed there was no turmeric for the turmeric latte on the menu (I really wanted to try it!) and my meal came out 10 minutes before the others at my table, but other than that lovely atmosphere and food and the coffee was really good 👍

Great food, service and ambience. Took a while to get food, as it was very busy, but this was communicated at time of order. Huge gluten free options for coeliacs. Everything else perfect so easy to forgive long wait.

Awesome coffee with the best almond milk, milklab!! Friendly staff!! Awesome

My favourite place to eat in Ippy with my mum when out and about locally ... and now my husband (who has coeliac disease) is also hooked. Loved his lunch today and thrilled to find somewhere that doesn't charge extra for GF items! Quaint and rustic and just lovely �

Great atmosphere, love the plants! Staff were all lovely! Food was amazing! I had a burger with bacon, egg, tomato and baby spinach etc. Delicious!! My daughter had cake and she (and I!) loved it! Pineapple and coconut whip was delicious! Love this place!

I ordered 2 coffees, and was given my slice of $8 gluten free cake to carry to my table. We finished the cake before our coffees arrived. My coffee was $6 as I had lactose free milk. This is the most expensive coffee I have ever paid for in the Brisbane/ Ipswich area. The coffee was nice, but the 25 minute wait was a little too long. It's a beautiful ambience with the plants and courtyard. I wouldn't go back.

Service was slow, food was good except lots of fat on the bacon . The bin outside the very cool toilet overflowing with used hand tissue. Loved the garden atmosphere and decor but tables and chairs on side walk need stabilising - table was wobbly and twice almost fell backwards on my chair <br/>As I said food and price was good

My first visit - unfortunately my friend could not make it so I was on my own with my brand new 8 week old puppy (this was a socialisation outing) and two waitresses were so helpful and made us so welcome. We had a lovely breakfast in their gorgeous little ‘laneway’ and really enjoyed the experience- 10/10 recommend this place

Very busy cafe in a cute alleyway in Ipswich central. Decorated with lots of plants. Very inviting. The big breaky had lots to it but was average tasting. The pancakes however were fluffy and delicious. Had lots of elements to compliment the dish with mousse and crunchy honeycomb and edible flowers. The endless summer drink was well enjoyed by my husband but was too sour for me. The deconstructed chai latte was very interesting but was nothing special in tasty. The espresso coffee that came with the chai was very fragrant though which is a plus.

First time visiting Ipswich and got to try Rafter & Rose. It was one of the most prettiest cafe I've ever seen in Australia. The cafe literally screams green with every items and decor they have, with a little botanic garden in the laneway and warm and greenery vibe filling the inside of the restaurant. Tried the Rafter burger and loved it. The burger patty was thick and moist. Loved the turkish roll and all the condiments inside he burger, giving all sorts of savoury, sour, and sweet flavours together. The food came pretty late however the staff service was quite nice. Overall, it was a good lunch.

First time visiting Rafter + Rose. Three of us had breakfast & drinks. Top service, meals very fast being served, meals were great in taste + well presented, good price, beautiful green clean atmosphere. Would 100% reccomend this place to anyone. About $20-$30 for a meal and drink depending on choice.

Ordered a JC Special with a sweet potato rosti, was served something resembling raw sweet potato salad instead. Was told I didn't know what a rosti was if I was expecting it to be anything other than what was on my plate (see image lol). Asked for toast to replace the "rosti", was told it would be $3 per slice. I politely declined and we ate our overcooked haloumi, miniature bacon and hard poached egg in peace. To compensate, they are very generous with the spinach leaves! Yum!<br/>Food average, staff worse. Decor and coffee lovely.

The coffee at R&R is probably the second best in Ipswich and is of very good quality even when compared to the high standards continually being raised in Brisbane and Sydney.<br/><br/>I personally prefer a stronger coffee flavour, brightness/ fruity notes in the bean balanced with a slight brooding sweetness.<br/><br/>The coffee at R&R tends to be made well, but a little milky, so either accept it or ask for 3/4 full as you wish. They open earlier than Cactus, so at 6:30 am it's the best in the street!<br/><br/>The food is tasty, but a little pricey and the interior is cool, quirky and enveloping in a good way. I'd return for the food if there were more meals that were less carb-loaded. The frittata was my pick to avoid this, but too pricey to do day-in day-out.<br/><br/>Perhaps a smallish, (thin puff pastry) bacon and egg or truffled/mushroom and egg breakfast tart could combat carb-heavy options and cost?<br/>

I came here for lunch and while the cafe is beautiful and the staff very friendly the food was a let down. My friend and I both ordered the house toastie. While mine had everything in it described on the menu my friends was served without the ham on it, considering ham is the main ingredient of the toastie I thought that was quite disappointing.

I had brunch with my girlfriends at Rafter and Rose on Sunday and had a great meal. We arrived at Rafter and Rose and found the place very busy, we were lucky a couple gave us a big table for our smaller table so we had enough space for all of us. I had the eggs benedict with bacon and halumi. The serving size was quite large and I couldn't get through the whole meal! Definitely worth the drive out to dine at this hip little cafe.

It had a cool name and it had a quaint but awesome atmosphere but was super disappointed after reading all the reviews for this place after detouring out to Ipswich for a feed - The food was really sub-par, costly and lacking in portion size. Would come here for coffee but scratch the feed.

This is a beautiful little cafe, I was simply blown away by the amount of thought that has gone into creating such a lovely space. The coffee here is fantastic and I highly recommend trying the pumpkin cake that they have, it's absolutely delicious as are all of their baked goods. Staff here are lovely and the whole place has a really cheerful atmosphere even on busy days. This is where you take friends from out of town to show them that Ipswich is actually pretty awesome.

My wife and I came in for breakfast yesterday morning. It was nice and busy for a sunday morning which is always a good sign. The space is a little cramped, but not uncomfortably so. There's some larger tables to the back of the indoor seating and plenty of space in the laneway, so if you had a large group for breakfast or a pram, I would imagine you'd still find adequate seating. <br/><br/>I had the Eggs Benedict while my wife ordered the DC Special. Both arrived in an acceptable amount of time considering the sunday crowd. While ordering, the attendant was very thorough in explaining options and suggestions for our meals. When my dirty chai came to the table deconstructed, she also went through the optimum time to let it steep and what colours to look for, as well as the process for adding components to get the best overall flavour. It's the sort of knowledge from experience that tells a customer that the person serving them knows what they're talking about.<br/><br/>Neither meal could be faulted by us. There were plenty of GF/VF/DF options available that you could bring any dietary restricted friend here and they would have something satisfying to eat. I imagine we'll be back to try the menu again soon enough.

Had a great experience for our Sunday breakfast! We arrived early so parking (out the back), and finding a table was easy. <br/>I am obsessed with the decor- the greenery and rustic items that fill the laneway. Then indoors, the quaint seating areas and nooks with books and cushions. <br/>The menu is very appealing and the husband and I both enjoyed our meals. While I see others did not enjoy the bed of salad/spinach leaves with their breakfast, I did! Only very minor issues noted- poached eggs slightly overcooked and lots of non-rendered bacon fat/rind with one of the meals. But overall, great!<br/>Prices are reasonable, the small pot of tea perhaps the only thing I thought was a bit expensive ($5).<br/>The service was friendly and efficient. <br/>We would definitely revisit and recommend Rafter & Rose.

Rafter and rose though looks very pleasing and attracts a crowd was very underwhelming once we received our breakfast and drinks.The food lacks flare and was very blan and lacked creativity and flavour!!Our plates were bombarded which a lettuce mix that just made a mess of our meals and looked unappealing! Unfortunately this was felt throughout the table of 4 as they all had similar feed back about both there food and drinks!!One of us got over charged for a serve of bacon that he had no intention to order which we found quite deceptive and rude to say that least.It's ashame that the food and drink element to this cafe was a let down as the cafe has great potential and is quite pleasing to the eye.We won't be returning rafter and rose.

A funky cafe in Ipswich. The coffee and food fantastic. It's difficult to get a good table here but when you do, it's very enjoyable. Sometimes there's some live music, not the most enjoyable music but nice enough. I like how they also have some organic produce for sale. We bought some honey and was delicious.

Rafter and Rose make very good coffee and their Vegan treats are fantastic. The staff are very pleasant and I would certainly return. It has a good location as well.

My favourite cafe, hands down. Consistently amazing food, great coffee. My partner and I visit at least every few weeks - its our favourite place to go out on the weekend, even if just for a coffee and a scone (don't get me started on the baked goods!!). Our favourite place to take visitors. The little laneway filled with plants, rustic (but authentic-feeling) decor, friendly service, local produce for sale all add to the experience. A must do!

Rafter & Rose is a family-run café occupying a tiny shop and its adjoining plant-clad laneway.  House-made cakes and muffins line the counter top where we line up to order our food, the busyness a great sign of the café’s popularity. It may be lunchtime, but everyone’s still eating from the ‘all day breakfast’ menu, a town tradition, it seems. Sourcing meat directly from farmers and making all the jams and relishes in house leads to a superior product, packed with flavour. The steak sandwich is one of the best we’ve tasted, with tender meat, delicious bacon jam, aioli and salad sandwiched into an artisan milk bun. Together with the fruit whip smoothies we order, it’s a perfect brunch. Rafter & Rose also serves juices, shakes and excellent Padre and Uncle Joe’s coffee.

Such a cute and unassuming little cafe. So much to take in visually when you walk in. Love the little alley leading to the entrance of the cafe. There is a rack of pumpkins and a few other goodies at the front for sale as well as organic products for sale inside. A very country, rustic feel - felt right at home when we walked in.<br/><br/>Seating is quite problematic inside - too many tables making it a tight squeeze! I was fighting flies the whole time too which got a little frustrating while we were trying to eat. The service on the other hand was great - very friendly.<br/><br/>The food and coffee was ok. I found that my brekky had way too much salad - so much so that the rest of the things on my plate - the sweet potato hash brown, haloumi, poached eggs, avocado etc only seemed like extras. It was almost like I had ordered a rocket salad with a few extras. I didn't particularly like the rind being left on the bacon - I had to cut@ this off and the fat on the bacon hadn't rendered down enough so it was a little chewy. It was a decent experience - certainly room for improvement.

Good experience. Very busy and very limit seating, eventually found a seat inside.<br/><br/>Firstly the improvements that could be made, all tables inside had not been cleared and they where the only tables available, they stayed uncleared for sometime. Then the battle with the flies, heaps of them!! oh my life please please go to bunnings and buy some fly catchers. The bacon also needs to be cooked for longer and the rind removed.<br/><br/>Now the positives, absolute awesome decor and atmosphere WELL DONE! quick service, beautiful strong coffee, the main breakfast was brilliant. The use of letters instead of table numbers when ordering food is great! Didn't think a cafe like this could exist in ipswich and can see why it is very popular.

Rafter and Rose are exceptional. The decor, atmosphere, service and food are all fantastic!! Always busy, sometimes hard to get a table inside. It's the best cafe in town at this time. Congrats to the owners, you got it all right!!

Pretty good first experience, friendly staff and loved the setting! Great food would definitely go back for more! Bit pricey but worth it!!!

I'm starting to think that the people who run this cafe, know me better than my own family....they even recommend what they think I might like, based on remembering what I ordered previously. Seriously, they're like food angels from some mythical epicurean planet!! The food is always perfect. I mean....really really perfect. So yeah, it's not super quick to arrive on the table....but when you're getting a plate of perfection, do you mind waiting a little extra? I think not. <br/>Breakfast people. Do yourselves a favour and visit this place. Everything is good, you can't pick a bad meal here.

Coffee exceptional, service sincere, food delicious and prepared with care, decor and ambience fantastic. In town four days over the Christmas period, they were open, explained they were running a reduced menu and service would be delayed before taking our orders, which was very much appreciated, even though in comparison to other waits elsewhere for breakfast the service was fast! A hidden gem in what is becoming a very hipster, modern Ipswich.

Delicious gluten and dairy free cakes and scrumptious breakfasts that are simple yet special. Rafter and Rose have had my heart since they opened. Ellie and Candy are so welcoming, as are their staff. The atmosphere feels a bit like home. A real compliment to Ipswich 😊

Amazing service and food! Definitely a place I would go to on the regular! Would definitely recommend the eggs benne with salmon! So delicious!

Nearly walked right on pass but I'm glad I took the time to come in! Such a beautiful cafe nestled away in an old laneway. Something you'd see everyday in Brisbane cbd or Melbourne, but very surprising in Ipswich. Beautiful welcoming entrance with vibrant bouquets of flowers along with lovely locally made jam and fresh produce as you walk in the door. Menu was on par to any other cafe with breakfast and lunch, and surprisingly some of the best coffee I've had in a while. Definitely worth a pit stop next time you're in the heart of Ipswich!

One of my work friends stumbled across this charming European styled cafe when working out at Ipswich for the day so we decided to head there for a late  lunch. We were greeted by a range of baked cakes which were all made in house - we'll get around to that later. I'm a diehard breakfast fan so when I saw that their breakfast menu ran all day I couldn't deny the thought of Eggs Benedict at 2 o'clock in the afternoon. First of all, the serving size was very generous and second of all, every single item on the plate was absolutely faultless - especially that thick slice of fresh sourdough. We received our lunch within ten to fifteen minutes, was probably a quieter part of the day as we stopped in late. After devouring lunch, we shared a piece of their house made Rosewater and Pistachio cake. If I had to nitpick, I'd say that the cake was probably too hard and crusty around the edges but once we got around that the centre was perfectly cooked and contained just the right amount of rosewater. If ever you're in Ipswich, this cafe would be my first recommendation. 

Have actually been to this cafe before when it was under another name (think it was Laneway or something similar?) They have made the little laneway very rustic now with lots of foliage & flowers. The coffee was passable, but not as good as when we first came here. Was a bit insipid, not a lot of coffee flavor. The house made sweets here are a different story. Those muffins & scones are just amazing-takes one back to Mums straight from the oven experiences of childhood!

What a find in Ipswich! Rafter & Rose is a quaint little establishment on Ellenborough street. Tucked away and with beautiful facade, it was worth the ponder inside. I had the sandwich special for the day, which was a great steak sandwich with spinach, tomato and the house dressing, while my work mate had the eggs benedict. We shared a mouthwatering rose water and pistachio cake after our meals. The opening times are short but if you live in Ipswich or keen to go there for a day, this is a cafe that has it all

This cafe deserves to be given top marks for effort. The menu is compact but thoughtful, the food is always delicious and well presented. It has atmosphere and the laneway entrance is quirky. Well done all and we will be returning.

What a sweet little cafe, spilling out onto the lane and into the next-door room. Very tasty food, great coffee, and a really nice spot to lunch with the kids!

Amazing Cafe - one of the best!. My partner and I come here every weekend for coffee and usually can't resist their delicious food and tasty pastries. The coffee is exceptional every time - the food is very reasonably priced for how amazing it tastes and the service is friendly and sophisticated.

Charming & delightful. I took my 8yo daughter for breakfast and we received top class service. Staff are warm and friendly and the food was delicious. I enjoyed a fantastic coffee while my daughter was spoilt with a hot chocolate.. Reasonably priced menu items are displayed charmingly on a paper scroll hanging from the wall, perfectly rustic. I highly recommend this little treasure.