Pulp Kitchen

9 Highly Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  9      Service  9      Value  9     

We came for their early bird special (3 courses for $49) We had the mushroom entree, calamari entree, beef tenderloins, semifroddo and bread/butter pudding. Entrees were fantastic and yummy. The tenderloins were cooked perfectly, (though mash would have been better then "maccas" style shoestring fries). The bread and butter pudding was one of the best we've ever had. The semifroddo was disappointing, the rocky road bits in it were too hard. But overall very impressive meal. Great value, service prompt but unintrusive and unpretentious.

Sep 08, 2011 

9 Highly Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  9      Service  9      Value  9     

I've always had wonderful experiences at Pulp, and have dined there quite a few times. The food is delicious, with some interesting/original options and a brilliant wine list to match. I really enjoy the vibe of the place - it's always quite busy, and sitting outside in the warmer months is just lovely. Highly recommended.

Sep 02, 2011 

8 Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  7      Service  8      Value  8     

Pulp Kitchen is a smart dining experience, from it's carefully-thought out menu to the casual cool of the interior. Yes it's on the pricey side, but if you want Macdonald's then it's probably not the place for you.

The food never fails to please (and as a locoal I've eaten there quite a few times since it opened in 2006), the service is consistent, efficient, and understated. They obviously take good service seriously, relying on a core roster of professional staff rather than casually employed uni students.

The wine list is as strong as the menu, which varies seasonally. The owner and chef has pasted articles reflecting on his food philosophy on the Pulp Kitchen website, which are an interesting to read if you value sustainable dining.

All in all I'd say this is my favourite eatery in Canberra. It's unpretentious, the food tastes good, and the service is what it should be.

Apr 21, 2011 

6.8 Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  6      Service  7      Value  5     

All the food we had was delicious. I'm not a big eater but the large meatballs and pasta was tiny and pretty damn expensive. Friendly waiters but service is cafe style with fine dining prices. E.g. meals arrived and had to go and look for waiter to get the cutlery, they either have to up the cheap cafe style (service/decor etc) to something more special or lower the prices to make it a nice inexpensive dining option.

Jun 17, 2010 

8 Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  8      Service  6      Value  9     

We were a bit skeptical trying this restaurant after mixed reviews, but we will certainly be returning for the excellent food. We were greeted promptly, and orders were taken immediately. It was a busy Saturday night, so we had anticipated the small delay with getting the meals out. What we hadn't anticipated was 3 dishes being sold out early on one of their busiest nights of the week.

The flavours were well thought out, and the food was presented beautifully. The standout dishes in our group were the oysters with Bloody Mary, the asparagus risotto, and the pannacotta with pear poached in gluwein.

The service was a bit of a let down towards the end of the meal, with incorrect cutlery being provided, and the waitstaff leaning across the table when they could have walked around, but I guess this is part and parcel of a casual suburban restaurant. It certainly didn't detract from the food, and we look forward to returning soon.

Jul 13, 2009 

8.3 Highly Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  7      Service  8      Value  9     

We eat here at least once a fortnight so we obviously consider the food and service to be excellent. It's not always cheap (but can be depending on what you order) we've always found ourselves walking away feeling pleasantly full and have eaten and enjoyed things we'd normally never try.

The food is simple but original, the quality excellent and the preparation/presentation spot on. It is noisy, it is busy but it's a great menu, it changes regularly, and it's a guaranteed good night out. The only time it's ever cost us $500 there were 7 of us, 3 courses each and probably too much to drink

May 06, 2009 

6.8 Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  6      Service  6      Value  7     

We've eaten here a number of times and (mostly) love it. The steak I had last time was aged and could have been cut with a fork, the sauce was delicious. It would be nice to see some variation in the menu to reflect the seasons. Last time, service was not as good as previously, two (I suspect insufficiently trained) waitstaff were very offhand, redeemed, however, by the wonderful lady in charge.

The place is noisy, thats the nature of the place, so be alerted! But it does have a wonderfully busy vibe and everyone seems to enjoy themselves.

Mar 21, 2009 

2.5 Not Recommended

Food  1      Ambience  3      Service  5      Value  1     

II recently had the 'experience' of dining at Pulp Kitchen in Canberra and the inverted comma's are there for a reason! Having travelled extensively and dined out very regularly I am yet to come across a restaurant of this standard. Since when does seafood bisque mean a quarter of an inch of tomato sauce with a heavily crumbed and overcooked soft (!?) shell crab and a marinara mix all congealed into one deep fried mess and plonked on top of said sauce come close to a seafood bisque? It was inedible.

Canberra must grow very small lambs because I am yet to see shanks that small - boned or not. Beef medallions do not translate to a tiny piece of poorly chosen and woefully cooked steak WITH frozen chips. Oh please! This restaurant - and I use the term loosely and facetiously is pretentious and the food and cost simply ridiculous. I think they must have taken their inspiration from Pulp Fiction the movie - a deeply disturbing experience.

Mar 17, 2009 

5.3 Average

Food  8      Ambience  6      Service  1      Value  6     

As someone who values quality customer service just as much as quality food, I was appalled at the service that we received whilst at Pulp Kitchen. We arrived late to our reservation due to circumstances, completely out of our control. On ordering we requested a particular item on the menu, we were told that they had sold out.

I commented that it was a shame as this particular menu item looked delicious and, to my surprise, I was told by the waitress "yeah well, that's what you get when you're 20 minutes late!" as she walked away from the table. This was not the last of poor service that we experienced that night. When querying the difference between the main size and entree size of the spaghetti and meatballs that arrived at our table, we were advised that there was one meatball difference between the 2 meals.

This seemed unreasonable given that there was $10 difference between the 2 sizes. The waiter begrudgingly retrieved 2 extra meatballs from the kitchen and dumped them on the table with contempt. Surely this was enough for the evening. Clearly not. When conducting a conversation with staff in regards to BYO and confusion amongst the table, the waiter responded with annoyance and walked away.

Needless to say this level of customer service, or lack thereof, is a total deterrent to ever returning to Pulp Kitchen. Such a shame too as the quality of the food was good. Pulp Kitchen is a decent place to go if all you have to do is eat the food and not have any interaction with the staff.

Feb 26, 2009 

4 Below Average

Food  5      Ambience  5      Service  5      Value  1     

Sorry, very disappointed, we eat out twice a week so know canberra well. Our bill was almost $400 for 5 of us and we bought our own wine, 2 courses each. The bill was added up by hand and I did not check it myself as I did not want to make a fuss in front of guests. (My loss) Maybe added up wrongly so check before leaving. Every thing average many places in canberra north to visit before pulp.

Jan 29, 2009