Hog’s Breath Cafe North Lakes

Look, I know, It’s not fine dining. It doesn’t pretend to be. Yes, their food aside from the steak is a bit below par. But their steak is quite good. Tragically, it’s exactly like a good steak is supposed to be, but so many restaurants find so hard to do. Use decent cuts, and cook it appropriately for that cut.
The service is always friendly, and helpful. The place is always clean, and tidy. It’s a well run, cost appropriate family quality restaurant. I wouldn’t choose it for a date night, but I happily dine there with the tribe, and with friends.

The Hog’s Breath Café is one of the few places I can coax my husband to take me to without too much fuss. Why? You know you’re not taking a risk with the food quality and serving size. The downside is the meals are comparatively expensive.
We liked the new-​ish Mango Hill franchise very much. Greeted by a giant gorilla and the usual hipster server, we ordered lunch and found ourselves eating promptly. We both got lunch specials which were pleasantly large servings given they were about half the price of the regular menu.
I had a chicken wrap whilst husband enjoyed his Brie chicken schnitzel. Both were presented with the inescapable curly fries that are the signature of the brand. The food was good, but nothing amazing or incredible.
What I do like about Hog’s Breath besides the quirky, crazy stuff all over the walls is the American style service. The staff are always very attentive and helpful.
We are considering joining their VIP club to access a discount in future!

The Short: Great value, family oriented service.
The Long:
It was Christmas Eve Eve, and we wanted to give Hogs Breath another go after being put off with service at the Indooroopilly store a long, long time ago. The service at the North Lakes store was very, very efficient. Harry, our server, did a great job of making us welcome, and explained the deals of the day (Kids Eat Free Monday’s and Tuesday’s). In fact, Harry’s service throughout the course of our meal was timely.
It was very busy when we arrived, but we got a generous booth seat near the window overlooking the carpark. That doesn’t sound that good, but you do get a lot of natural light and it’s just another interesting thing kids can look at while you wait for meals. It also seems to be the designated «kids zone» in the restaurant (to contain the mess better).
We ordered strategically from the menu so we would just qualify for the Kids eat free deal (main meal order over $ 20 for each child to get a free kids meal). For the record, it is more economical to take advantage of this deal than it is to use either the Entertainment Book offer (25% off the total order), or your Hogs Breath Loyalty Card.
I ordered a Steak Burger, which was massive. So massive, it had two pieces of steak like a «Double Whopper on Steroids». It also had this spicy onion sauce which was a real highlight. I opted for the curly hogs tail fries (you just can’t not have these, even if you are trying to be good). I also ordered a Cracked Pepper sauce which was very peppery spicy (about $ 22). My wife ordered a signature slow cooked steak, but a lite version (which means the steak is smaller, with curly fries and salad about $ 25). Her chips were slightly cold compared to mine, but the steak was great.
The kids both had Chicken Nuggets with curly fries. The kids meals are big: if you are with light eaters, perhaps one kids meal might be enough. You also get two small scoops of Ice Cream and a kids drink with the meals. They represent great value for families, particularly on the deal days. There wasn’t much left on the kids’ plates once we finished.
We’ll be going again when we want to take the kids out for a family friendly outing.