Austral Hotel

Usually love the Austral. My husband is coeliac & its hard to find places that have GF options. Usually I can talk with staff at the order counter & check what is still gf on the menu. They usually check with the kitchen to make sure & make a note of his allergy. Now they force you to order from the table with your phone. If you place the filter as gf you only get the choice of grilled fish yet we know he can have a steak & the sauces there are all gf. A big plus is that the chips are gf & cooked in a seperate fryer than any other food. When you have a food allergy it is important to have face to face contact when ordering a meal. What a backward step to now inforce this kind of contactless ordering. I also notice that through the app they slug you with a surcharge as well fir using your card. Austral & Alh lift your game & go back to some face to face service. The staff are so lovely but im afraid we may not be back.

As travellers finding a good place to eat isn't always easy, and being gluten free makes it even more difficult. Thankfully when we arrived I mentioned to the lovely young man who apologise for the lack of sitting in the dinning room, explaining we would need to sit in the bar area to eat. That I had a gluten intolerance. Straight away Roxy came to the rescue explaining exactly what I could have with their menu, Roxy made our drink order, delivered our meals, and even came out afterwards to check if we enjoyed them. Considering how busy the place was with so many dinners to be given so much attention was really appreciated! So much so we returned to eat there again before leaving Mackay, again Roxy gave impeccable service, with a smile... Great food, excellent service...😃