Rooster, The

6.3 Average

Food  6      Ambience  6      Service  8      Value  5     

Dined here tonight for our 12th anniversary. There was a review I read about the Rooster that summarized our dinner almost to the letter. I ordered the rabbit terrine and the duck a la orange. The rabbit was rather bland, the duck was drenched in this sweet orange sauce (mind you the portion size was pretty reasonable).

The accompanying vegetables were over cooked and looked like hospital food. Against my better judgement my partner ordered the creme brûlée to be presented with a dish that could only be described as scorched sugar which permeated the room. The waiter, while attentive was very over zealous in refilling our water resulting in an ever growing puddle on the table.

We also managed to hear Vivaldi's 'Spring' 3 times during our meal (shuffle anyone?). At $85 a head for 3 courses for the equivalent of pub grub, I'd venture that the food quality was highly aspirational.

May 26, 2012 

8.5 Highly Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  10      Service  9      Value  7     

Great ambience. Pick a cold evening so that you are greeted with log fires, a nice bottle of red and hearty meals. We had the lamb and veal mains and they were great. The creme brulee is great and the crepes were good too. Contrary to some of the comments below, I found the service to be more than acceptable, and their waiting style matches the theme perfectly. Visit for the experience and worry less about the value.

May 21, 2012 

4.8 Average

Food  2      Ambience  7      Service  8      Value  2     

We ate recently at the Rooster Restaurant, its priced like a fine dining restaurant at $72 for two courses but the food was very ordinary and would be more accurately priced at $40-45 for two courses and even then you would come away somewhat disappointed.

The souffle was deflated and a bit chewy, the smoked salmon was nice but the plate looked like something of the 80's with garnishing of tomatoes and wilted lettuce. The mains of pepper steak was something like you would have at a club with lashings of gravy that tasted commercial, the rack of Lamb (the signature dish) was better but again overpowered by a commercial tasting gravy and I was frankly scared to eat the "Courgette Timbal" after the first taste. But the real disappointment was the vegetables, the potato gratin was reheated from the day before or longer and tasted awful!

I almost forgot, the sourdough bread that was so hard you had to saw of pieces off with the knife! So sorry to sound negative but there really wasn't much to be positive about except maybe the waiter who deserved to be serving better food to match his courteous service, the ambience of the heritage building and position which couldn't be brought down by the dismal food.

I'm a mum who loves to eat out and appreciates good food and the opportunity to go to a nice Restaurant but its not such a treat when you can make better yourself at home for a weeknight meal!

May 12, 2012 

3.3 Below Average

Food  3      Ambience  4      Service  3      Value  3     

We were looking forward to have a great birthday night at Rooster, we have been a lot of time before and it was great. But this time it was a great disappointment. Except bread and butter and a little soup starters food was not tasty. Steaks were not done properly and the meat was a wrong cut, seafood was not fresh and the waiter was arrogant. Not on our list anymore for sure.

Apr 07, 2012 

5.5 Average

Food  8      Ambience  8      Service  1      Value  5     

The food was brilliant and an excellent menu to match. The view was magnificent and over all a very French restaurant so French in fact the Roster even has snooty waiters who are extremely arrogant and not very helpful (like the French). This was the downside to the Roster, while the food was brilliant the service and mannerisms of the waiters were not. We had a table of seven each spending a little over $115 each and still the waiters looked down their noses at us, amusing really as they would earn half of the lowest earning person at our table. All in all, brilliant food, extremely poor service, definitely a once off.

Feb 28, 2012 

6.8 Recommended

Food  4      Ambience  10      Service  10      Value  3     

I would not go again. It is over-priced for the food you order. Whilst service and setting is great the food does not match its expectations. We ordered escargot which was beautiful dipped with some sour dough bread. Though the snails were no longer juicy.

The fowl Terraine was horrible we, perhaps, took two bites. We did not expect it come out as a pate almost like a liver pate. No matter what you tried to put on it, it really was foul. Just wish the menu had written it was not going to be proper meat servings.

For the mains we ordered seafood and lamb rack. Lamb was cooked medium rare, not that there was an option given. Though it was beautiful. Expect in the gravy to one side there was just a bit too much of red wine. Other than that it was beautiful.

The seafood was ok. It was like seafood dumped in bake bean sauce. The scallop was good. The mussel was good. Salmon was cooked well though still smelt fishy. Prawns were too dry and overcooked. The fillet of fish was horrible it was slimy and not cooked well and tasted horrible. The fishy odour still lingered and almost made you feel sick.

The side dish of vegetables given was only a small amount as if it were for a size 6 diet. Cooked well though but nothing special, just expected a bigger portion.

Service was great the waiter had a lovely poshy accent which added to the experience to the place. Really felt like you were in another country. For the experience it was good. But I wouldn't go back. Due to the experience with our food we stopped at mains and did not try their dessert.

Jan 18, 2012 

8.3 Highly Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  9      Service  8      Value  8     

We have been twice, a year apart, and will be back again. The ambience and service make the place. That may seem an insult to the food, but it isn't. Many places fail on ambience and service, so it is worth mentioning. Is the food outstanding? Sometimes, yes, and for some dishes. Perhaps not always outstanding, but it is always good. This is traditional old style French. Modern palates may find the sauces somewhat heavy and seet, but they are done well. It is especially great on a wintery night (of which there are happily many up that way!). Beware of overdoing the alcohol if you are driving, as it is easy to do. If you can stay there, or get a cab, do that and then you can relax, imbibe and enjoy it fully. Take it slowly, enjoy the robust meals, and then be pleased as the reasonable prices. Its old world French, and thank goodness it can still be found.

Oct 17, 2011 

4.5 Below Average

Food  5      Ambience  5      Service  5      Value  3     

If you have ever watched all 12 episodes of Fawlty Towers you will see some common themes being channeled at The Rooster, the tall waiter reminds me of Basil Fawlty, although a little more charm and less abrasion, the kind of guy who has worked in silver service his whole life at the world's top restaurants and has decided to take it back a notch before retirement, the smaller more rotund waiter, a little more like Manuel, you can tell in this joint it's Basil who's leading the charge.

The food? It's okay, but I was having early childhood flashbacks all the while, salmon terrine, heavily peppered fillet mignon sauces, and strawberries Romanov. I enjoyed the time warp while it lasted, but was glad to get back to 2011.

Oct 08, 2011 

8.8 Highly Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  9      Service  9      Value  8     

Loved everything about the restaurant and the accommodation. Would highly recommend having the weekend.

Sep 26, 2011 

7.8 Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  8      Service  8      Value  7     

We arrived on a Friday night without a booking. There were four other couples there soon after 6pm. The atmosphere was special We had a lovely evening. It was quite expensive but I think we will go back in the future. The Severin 2007 sav blanc was a great discovery. May 2012.

May 29, 2011