Fresh User Reviews for Hip and Trendy in Gold Coast

9.5 Highly Recommended

Food  10      Ambience  8      Service  10      Value  10     

Delicious food and cocktail list! The aroma when our mains were brought out was sensational. Great value for money offering a 2 course set menu for $29 and looking after me for my birthday.

Friendly staff and cool atmosphere to start a night out. Will definitely be back to try a different meal!

May 20, 2012

9 Highly Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  10      Service  7      Value  10     

We recently had dinner at East on a Thursday night. They have this great promotion where it's half price off your total bill. This is a great deal, and we made the most of it, keeping the bartenders busy supplying us with yummy cocktails! We also made the most of the deal and had a bunch of entrees to share.

The food was great! The food took a while to get to the table (it was a busy night), but we were cool with this, as Sex n Chocolate were on stage keeping every one entertained. We had a great night, and will be back, next time we will get the babysitter to stay a bit later so we can enjoy the late night club!

May 09, 2012

8.8 Highly Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  8      Service  9      Value  9     

We had a fabulous time at East last night. Drinks were great and the food was wonderful. The place was packed out too.

Not having been to east before, I was blown away by the design and ambience of the restaurant. I was even more surprised by the transition to a nightclub. We had no choice but to stick around for drinks after dinner.

All in all, I really enjoyed my time at East. We have already booked again for next Thursday. Loved Sex and Chocolate too :)

May 04, 2012

1 Not Recommended

Food  1      Ambience  1      Service  1      Value  1     

Recycled food. Staff tried to give me my takeaway order that had been returned by another customer. No food health and safety standards.

Apr 15, 2012

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

8 Recommended

Food  7      Ambience  6      Service  9      Value  10     

My not so hungry buddy and I used a pre paid discount coupon costing only $27 for the 2 of us for a pleasant and fresh 4 course lunch.

The location is small cafe in arcade type, with a few tables also out side the shop in the arcade. Ambience inside is very casual and relaxed cafe style, no table cloths and, simple table accomplements.

The interior is decorated with the usual japanese bits and pieces to set the mood. The young waiter in traditional but casual costume greeted us in a charming manner, and as we had brought our own cold beers, offered us chilled glasses from the frig, and placed our other beers in the frig to stay cold.

The set meal started arriving via same waiter promptly, starting with a chilled and fresh green salad with an unusual dressing I could not identify. Next was a small entree of soup with large pieces of Tofu, very tasty.

The main course arrived next with a bowl of plain Rice each, a Miso soup each and a large plate of their speciality Teriyaki chicken in chunks to be shared, it was moist and tasty, but not in the BBq style I was expecting of Yakitori but still was plentiful moist and pleasantly garnished. I have had tastier Miso.
Tea and dessert were offered but we passed on those, as what we had already was very filling.

Chilled Local and Japanese Beer $5/$8, also saki etc are available for sale.
Overall, good value, fresh tasting food, very casual a place, and as I noticed the waiter later handling a stringed musical instrument, perhaps, a live performance on occasion.

Mar 22, 2012

2.8 Below Average

Quality  1      Food  1      Drinks  6      Ambience  5      Service  1      Value  3     

Don't Bother! This restaurant used to have fantastic food and lovely management, we were frequent customers. Sadly that has changed for the worse.

We booked a birthday dinner and our night was spoiled by the terrible food, which was tasteless and took 90 minutes to arrive at our table, terrible service, slow, unfriendly staff, who completed the credit card transaction at our table (how rude) and took forever to take our orders, and the other staff - who forgot 2 meals and they said the kitchen was small, that's why things were taking so long. Totally unbelievable! There were only about 15 people in the restaurant!

At the end of the night, the only compensation made was not charging for a meal that was forgotten (I should think so!) and giving us 2 bottles of water free of charge, how pathetic. The management did not even come to apologise and tried to ignore us as we left.

The Birthday dinner was a total disaster, our night was ruined and I was embarrassed for inviting everyone there. After one of our party contacted the management about our poor experience, he was given a short sharp reply that was a personal attack, rather than an apology or explanation. Clearly the management have no concern about the quality or reputation of their restaurant.

We will never go back there again, and I urge any potential customers to stay away. If you want good food and exceptional service, go somewhere else at Sanctuary Cove.

Feb 21, 2012

4 Below Average

Food  8      Ambience  4      Service  1      Value  3     

As it is often said it doesn't matter how nice the food is if the service isn't there it spoils the whole experience. This was definitely the case for us. I never write reviews and quite honestly do not have that high expectations but our experience was far from good and feel its necessary.

I had first booked for a party of 9 to celebrate my partners 25th birthday, I called about an hour ahead to add 1 more person only to get a call back saying because we now had a group of 10 on a Saturday we would have to order from the set menu, we mostly didn't mind except one couple who were not expecting to have a large meal but what restaurant cannot accommodate for 10 people a la carte?

We arrived to find the place not very busy. When we asked if just 2 of our guests could order off the main menu the reply was "no it will be too difficult for us with the bill"! (how hard could it be).

When we sat down with only half of our table there (5 minutes past the time we reserved) our waitress came to the table and asked if we were ready to order? we said no as not all of our party were here yet (obviously) and she rudely asked how long the rest will be. Once the rest of our group arrived, straight away as soon as they sat down she came over and asked if we were ready to order to which one person replied "I have just sat down, can I take a look at a menu first please?".

The food was lovely and we could not fault it, however, our waitress was not friendly at all and very unprofessional. Drinks were expensive and the wait at the bar was long. After we finished the cake, we were Told they needed to move the tables to make way for the dance floor, poor customer service, we had just spent a lot of money at the restaurant you would think the least they could do is to politely let us know and offer us an alternative like a booth.

We would normally stick around and have a few more drinks and a dance but we finished our drinks and left as soon as we could and went to a different bar. I was embarrassed that I had chosen such a poor place to celebrate my partners birthday with friends, I am local and will not go back and definitely do not recommend this restaurant to any of my friends or family.

Feb 20, 2012

1 Not Recommended

Food  1      Ambience  1      Service  1      Value  1     

Tonight we tried to celebrate my sisters 24th birthday at your restaurant. My sister left upset and nearly crying after paying a extra $50.00 on top of her food and drinks for some of her guest not being able to get to the venue in time for dinner as they were in the emergency room in Brisbane.

The night firstly started off with the manager telling me that he did not know we were bringing a cake (to a birthday dinner) and that it will cost us $3.00 per person to cut the cake, I accepted that charge and was happy to pay it but when it came time for the cake to be cut a stuff member by the name of Elode or something similar rudely said "No that was not part of your package" to which I replied the manager said that it was okay and that we would just have to pay a cutting fee. She then stormed off immaturely mumbling "fine what ever". The same staff member also started to raise her voice at my sister when she was talking to the manager about a charge on the bill (extremely unprofessional).

Also the floor was extremely sticky around our tables and when I pointed it out I was replied to in a rude manner which the staff said was the cleaners fault they had not buffed the floor.

And to top it off it took them forever to take orders, it was 9 o'clock when we got our food (after a 7pm arrival) and they got one meal wrong, served all three tables at ridiculously spaced out different times and even forgot a meal and had to come and ask the person what they had ordered.

All in all I have never had a worst dinning experience and are completely and utterly disgraced in this restaurant's lack of class and consideration for there customers.

Jan 22, 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

6.3 Average

Food  6      Ambience  6      Service  6      Value  7     

Coming from Sydney, I love Crust it's almost a ritual night in dinner. Though all crust I have ever been to in Sydney I loved, this would not be par to crust standards. The recipe is slightly different especially the pesto sauce on the vegetarian. I think with time, they should get the hang of it. But the base is close to crust perfect.

Dec 22, 2011

1.8 Not Recommended

Food  2      Ambience  1      Service  1      Value  3     

I too bought a voucher through Groupon for a meal deal for 4 and we were excited about going there as looked forward to the european dishes. Disappointing to say the least was our experience. We were forgotten as we sat outside (there is only about 6 tables in the whole place, 3 of which are outside) and we announced when we arrived we would sit outside.

We were basically the only people eating there. I was told when I went back inside after waiting awhile to ask if we could order now "Oh sorry, outta sight outta mind". Really? After starting to order, pretty much everything we wanted wasn't available. No stuffed cabbage rolls, no stuffed capiscums, no crocodile, no scollopini marsala pasta, no garlic prawns, only one serving of meatball spaghetti left etc which really left very little else to choose from and odd excuses as to why nothing was available.

It was a frustrating experience to order anything. Why have it on the permanant menu if its not made everyday? My mother had her pasta dish slopped all over white trousers when it was served to her. Very little apology. The meals were served higgledypiggledy, no particular order and a couple of the pizza's weren't what we ordered as well as one of the pasta's.

The goulash which pretty much was all that was available of their signiture dishes was like a bolognaise sauce with tiny chunks of meat in it and served with spaghetti. Never had such an awful goulash. They had their opportunity to impress new diners to their little establishment but, unfortunately, for them we won't bother going there again.

I also would never recommend anyone going there unless you're happy with very average food, a menu that which seems to be pot luck if what is advertised on it is actually available and dreadful service.

Response from Management:
A number of errors by this person. There were 10 people sharing meals for 8 people. The restaurant had 37 diners at the same time as this group and they were most definitely not the only ones there. We didn’t know this group were outside because they forgot to tell anyone. We thought they had left. There are 8 large tables and 37 chairs. All meals were available for them except crocodile and chicken breasts. The mother did not have a past dish slopped all over here, but she did have some sauce spill off the plate as it was handed to her because she moved and bumped the waiter. The group ordered 4 pizzas, four pasta dishes and two European meals and they ATE THE LOT. This shows they were all desperately hungry at the same time or that they simply enjoyed every morsel. They had a choice of 37 pasta dishes and 32 pizzas. Only two items were not available. No doubt this post was made by a competitor restaurant...well here is some news dearie, the quality of our food can’t be matched and if you need to resort to gutter tactics to win business away from us, you wont last long.

Dec 21, 2011

2 Not Recommended

Food  1      Ambience  5      Service  1      Value  1     

We came here after a friend raved about how great the food was. I ordered a penne arabiatta, the penne was hard, no not al dente, hard. I had to pay for extra parmesan, which is a standard accompaniment to any pasta. There was more chilli in it than a curry and there was no flavour to the dish. I never add salt to any of my food but found myself constantly adding salt to every mouthful. All 3 friends accompanying me had the same issues with the pasta and lack of flavour. The bruschetta is a miniature serving for a full price. Thoroughly disappointed.

Dec 20, 2011