Bazaar Interactive Marketplace

9.3 Highly Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  10      Service  9      Value  9     

On a weekend away in Surfers after much investigation for great restaurants I'd stumbled across write-ups for this place time and time again. But a buffet? I'd always considered hotel buffets as trough-food but Bazaar did look to be different.

Walking into the foyer of QT we see the Stingray bar alive and kicking inviting us in, but we left it late and had to get upstairs for our 7:15 booking. The first impression was excellent, a maitre d' who walked us through the concept of chefs who interact with the patron, the different offerings and to ask the chefs to cook for you and they all will cook anything they can if possible.

The first waitress was also exceptional, congenial and genuinely welcoming after ordering a great South Aussie Momo Shiraz for under $40 (we had two). But the food is infinite. Not always top notch in quality, but far exceeding in comparison to even a buffet at say the Sheraton or the Hilton.

Starting with Asian of beef stir fry and a plate of steamed scallops cooked to order with soy and spring onion was brilliant, then the cold offers of seafood including the obligatory buffet prawns, grilled scallops served cold and oysters (I could bang on for ages), and then on to the mainstay of the hearty meats.

You could go sideways for the cold cuts of different salamis and the pizza bar, but we went straight in for a stew of braised beef cheeks (nice), the lamb shanks were meltingly tender alas no flavour, but when we looked at some sample plates of what we could order, the chef offered a 'sample plate' for two and to return in 10 minutes. What a plate, the pork belly squares with crispy crackling was my favourite food of the night (and I never eat crackling), the zucchini flower lovely, and really all the food prepared at the ready was amazing.

What is the most clever thing here is basically we were stuffed by then, and I took the tip from a blogger to leave at least 10 minutes between courses so you can run the marathon better, is the dessert. No bain-marie of heavy puddings, every dessert was in miniature, so you could easily sample everything. Way too many to list, but even so, it'd be rude not to try most.

The service was brilliant (eg, waitress sees us with prawns and whisks out a hot lemon finger bowl and a big bowl to catch the discards) and this was a Friday night. I think I'm tripping over my tongue talking this place up. The venue itself seems busier and more interesting than what it is. There was even a station in the corner making designer mini ice creams that we didn't manage to get to.

Someone needs to get off and open up a branch in Sydney. Totally impressed.

Mar 26, 2012 

9.3 Highly Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  9      Service  9      Value  10     

“A Passport on your Plate”. Starting with Stingray Lounge, this amazing new Californian inspired lounge bar has a cool and funky vibe! Nothing has been missed, everything from the cool décor, sexy/cool cocktail dresses, smooth tunes from the in-house DJ and amazing cocktails! My one issue here is which cocktail to choose.

Here’s where I get really excited! Wander upstairs after sipping cocktails and your senses will be pleasantly surprised with the delicious aromas of an internationally inspired Market Bazaar Kitchen.

Crack open a bottle of great wine from the hand selected range! My personal favourite to sip on whilst experiencing Bazaar is the “Leeuwin Estate” Art Series Riesling, which is a refreshing crisp, subtle sweet wine that suits most dishes on offer! Wood fired pizza’s from open ovens, classic pot roasts, organic salads, scallops to die for, pork belly (oh stop me)!

The dumplings are divine and there are some cool tempura zucchini flower assortments. Just as you think you’ve finished there’s an Asian station with great noodles and spices to match!

Did I mention breakfast? What a cracking breakfast, best I’ve had and I’ve been to a few! Fresh fruits and juices, Asian style breakky for the internationals, fresh grain breads and some little surprises I’ll let you find out for yourself!

Overall this place has taken dining experiences to a new level! An all-round passport to your palate, with great customer service which is hard to find on the Gold Coast. Thank’s for the extra calories, well worth it!

Jan 21, 2012 

7.8 Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  7      Service  8      Value  8     

Fabulous breakfast array, range of cooking stations serving diverse range. Omelettes and poached eggs on demand, great fresh juices and pastries plus the more normal breakfast buffet fare. The quality and style make this a great breakfast feast.

Been there once at night as well. Similiar cooking sections with diverse range. Roast pork (from the pig we saw hanging in the cold room that morning), small pieces of fillet cooked to order, good quality seafood, couple of chefs on the woks cooking to order.

Desserts were delightful and there was an enormous range. Staff did reasonable job keeping the plates turning over. Drink service was a bit erratic. Chefs were eager to please.

Good spot for group with diverse tastes as there is something for every one and it was all good quality produce well prepared. A novel and superior approach to " buffet" which is a style I usually avoid.

Jan 07, 2012 

8.5 Highly Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  9      Service  7      Value  9     

This is by far the best buffet stye restaurant we've been to... better than Versace's buffet. The food here is clearly of superior quality to that of any other buffet style restaurant we've been to. One meal alone is of impressive quality & enough to adequately satisfy, so I would consider the $65 per head for meats, seafood & desserts to be of excellent value. The only slight downside is that the service could have been better & more prompt. Overall though, we loved this place and are looking forward to the next time we come back.

Jan 06, 2012 

6.8 Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  6      Service  3      Value  9     

Food is some of the best you will find in Surfers. Creative and varied, something for everyone. Perfect for groups with different dietary needs. At $65 per head you are easily getting better value than having a 3 course meal anywhere else. The made to order specials are divine especially the soft shell crab.

Now to the service......its disappointing! Having been here several times now it is clear we didn't just get a bad waiter once. Drinks take forever to come so order as soon as you can. The first time we went we had a group of 10 and ordered a bottle of champagne to start the evening, when it arrived over 30 minutes later we were a little annoyed. Then when the next two bottle of wine took the same amount of time to come out we inquired as to whether their cellar was offsite and were responded with a very succinct "nup" and then the guy walked off.

The other service faults we have encountered is waiting for nearly 15 minutes in a queue going up the stairs to get our table that could only be booked for 5.30pm. The reason for the delay, the host, instead of doing his job and dealing with the paying customers waiting was discussing a possible booking for 1 month away that the lady didn't even end up making. Priorities people!

And now to my pet hate which I know is not the restaurants fault but they have to do something about this sort of thing as it is getting out of control. The child on the table 3 away from us was a brat of the first order being encouraged (or ignored depending) by his parents and his grandmother to use the banquette seating that serviced 4 other tables besides theirs as a trampoline and a landing pad to jump off the back of the seat.

Not one staff member did a thing and by god if I had been at one of the neighbouring tables that was obviously feeling every bounce as they ate I would have throttled the kid. I realise staff are in a difficult position but this was beyond a joke and needed a manager to speak to the table to say either stop damaging our furniture or stopping disturbing the other guests but to do nothing?

Anyway, with the lack of quality dining available in Surfers if you can suffer the disappointing service then this is a dining experience well worth having.

Jan 05, 2012 

10 Highly Recommended

Food  10      Ambience  10      Service  10      Value  10     

Bazaar is unlike any other restaurant I've eaten in. I visited with a group of friends and it was just beyond our greatest expectations! To begin with, the service was fantastic. The staff are very attentive and casual yet classy. We were always checked out by out waitress who ensured we had everything we needed.


The food was just unbelievable. You cannot call this place a buffet. And if it is, it's the very best buffet you can possibly imagine. There are cooking stations where you watch the chef make your food before your eyes, there is fresh seafood straight out of the fish market by the looks of things, there is a slow cooking station for the most beautiful spanish food I've ever eaten. The salad bar was enormous, and the dessert! A haven of bite size bits and pieces! The pannacotta is just heavenly and a chef specialty apparently. Plus we got a free glass of wine with each of our meals!

Jul 13, 2011