Emerson's at Pokolbin

9.5 Highly Recommended

Food  10      Ambience  9      Service  10      Value  9     

I was very pleased to discover Emerson at Pokolbin. The food and service are to level we had my wife and I a degustation and we really enjoy it! We cannot wait to go back!

May 07, 2012 

2.8 Not Recommended

Food  1      Ambience  6      Service  3      Value  1     

I would highly Not recommend this restaurant. However, feel free to try if you would like to Ruin your entire Hunter Valley trip.

The food is tasteless. This is one of the worst experiences I have ever had in recent years. Came to this place for our good Friday dinner ended up with total disappointment. Don’t be fooled by the well presented photos in Hunter Valley advertising brochure!

Having waited 2 hours for our main to come, we finally have to make an enquiry. The waitress told us there’s another 15 minutes. The group came after us had already been served with main at that time and the reason being explained was, because we had bread before our entrée?

Four of us ordered 2 sirloin and 2 lamb. All of them were already cold when served, the lamb was slightly warmer than the beef though. Had to ask for steak knives and a replacement for the beef. Surprisingly, my ‘warm up’ version came within 5 minutes. I could not figure out why it took 2+hours for the original to come but only 5 minutes for the replacement. The entire table agreed that both lamb and beef were not tender or tasty at all, given us the feeling those were made long ago and just been microwave reheated.

The last comment is also applied to dessert. The Mango Crème Brulee was cold and definitely made in the afternoon at the latest. The funny thing was the plate was warm. How did that work? Crème Brulee served cold, really?

Having said that, the restaurant did compensate us with complimentary dessert due to the dissatisfactory. But you may find many quality restaurants in Hunter Valley at the similar price, it's not worth risking.

Response from Management:
Thank you for your review. We appreciate the feedback as we are constantly trying to improve the service and the food at Emerson's at Pokolbin. Sorry to hear that your dining experience at Emerson's at Pokolbin was a negative one.

As a business owner it is hard to read negative comments like yours especially when the comments has been exaggerated and damaging to small family own business like this one.

To say that you waited for more than 2 hours for your main meal is very unlikely as the restaurant only seats 50 customers at a time. Yes the restaurant was busy on Easter Friday and we acknowledge that you waited for your main meal but not for over 2 hours. Your booking was for 7pm and from when your order was taken, bread were served a complementary amuse bouche which every customer gets from the kitchen and entree was served, yes you did wait until you main meal was served at 9:15pm. We acknowledge that there was a delay on your main meal coming out but it was not for over 2 hours between entree and you main meal.

Both beef sirloin and lamb rump are cooked in a sous vide machine to guarantee tenderness and serve straight from sous vide machine after a quick seal in a pan sliced and place on plate to serve. When your beef was sent back as you wanted it hotter, a new piece of beef that has already been cooked in the sous vide machine was slice and sealed in a pan and served straight away so that you did not wait any longer. I can guarantee that your beef was not microwaved.

Complementary dessert was given to your table for the wait for your main meal to say sorry from the kitchen. I’ve been cooking for 17 years and have never serve a hot Brulee. I have always served Brulee as a cold dessert. Again we are sorry that your dining experience with us was a negative one.

Emerson Rodriguez
Owner/Chef

Apr 12, 2012 

9.8 Highly Recommended

Food  10      Ambience  9      Service  10      Value  10     

We have visited Emerson's on more than one occasion and cannot fault the service we have received. Prompt, friendly and knowledgeable, the staff are eager to please.

The food can only be describe as exceptional (the pork belly is a must try) and the extensive wine selection complements the menu beautifully. The atmosphere is relaxed and the decor tasteful. The surrounds are a delight to view whilst dining near a window and prices are comparable to other venues of this quality. Highly recommended!

Feb 07, 2012 

6.8 Recommended

Food  7      Ambience  7      Service  8      Value  5     

Eight of us dined at Emerson’s. Service was prompt and friendly. Entrees, Ravioli (just the one) was nice and my quail was juicy.

For the main we had the pork belly which include a couple of rolls of pork with a black ash coating which we felt did little for the dish. The slab of pork belly was rather dry and disappointing on my plate but my wife’s was “Ok”.
Salad or vegetable is at an additional cost. The bread was ordinary. The bill for 8 was approximately $630 including 2 bottles of wine.

Overall, the food and service was about what we expected. However: These days a few restaurants are starting to levy a credit card surcharge for payment with plastic, but Emerson’s is the first restaurant where I have experienced this disappointment. The irritation is that You have no idea it is coming until it is time to pay and who travels around with 00’s of dollars in their pockets these days? Cash was not an alternative to us at these prices.

Emerson’s added to the disappointment when they split the surcharge for the whole bill, 50:50 on the cards even though we split the bill on 2 credit cards 72:28. In effect one party paid approx 3.5% credit card surcharge. (Incidentally, their menu states a “$2.50 surcharge on public holidays” to get around the ban since 2009 on charging a percentage surcharge on public holiday).

We didn’t leave a tip (other than rounding up the bill by $10) - regretfully so because it was not the staff’s fault for management billing policy. This was not my first dining at this place but it was my last and I won’t recommend anywhere that has surcharges for method of payment. My Eatability score does not represent the disappointment I felt as I left the premises. We had a much better experience at Muse restaurant earlier this year.

Nov 06, 2011 

9.8 Highly Recommended

Food  10      Ambience  9      Service  10      Value  10     

Last month we travelled from sydney to the hunter valley and we were recommended to dine at Emerson's @Pokolbin. It was one of the best meals we have enjoyed for a long time. We chose the Degustation menu and from start to finish everything was excellent. Im a Vegetarian and my menu was designed especially on the night and those little touches are what make you want to return. My goats cheese tortellini with beetroot was the standout and my partners lamb loin, potato cream and baby vegetables was his favourite.Our service was friendly and not in your face like many other restaurants. All our dishes were pronunced at the table which is also lacking at most places you visit. Emersons@Pokolbin is a must visit when your in the hunter.

Sep 06, 2011 

2.3 Not Recommended

Food  5      Ambience  2      Service  1      Value  1     

We arrived right on time to find our booking had been lost. Off we went to the bar for some pre-dinner drinks while our table was set up. The drinks didn't come. 15 minutes later we were seated, but still sans drinks. We took the opportunity to ask our waitress for the drinks 10 minutes after that when she came over with menu's. Much to our chagrin, they had been placed on the table behind us! Next up we enquired about the degustation but were informed they wouldn't be able to serve it up in the three hours we had planned on spending here.

As Emersons is on the middle of nowhere - we were a captive audience- and decided not to leave but ride it out. Entrees were served at a reasonable pace. My hubbies pork belly was pretty good, but for $23 the House Cured Ocean Trout, Smoked Trout Mousse, Potato Blinis and Chive Crème Fraiche was, well, nothing like the description. 4 pieces of sashimi fish on a huge white dish does not an entree make!

45 minutes later came our mains-fish of the day and steak. They were both ok, but no wow factor -particularly the small serving size which was disapppointing considering we paid $38 a piece for them. As our mains were served late (no surprise there) we were offered bread and dips 'on the house'. ...but by this point we had had enough and asked for the bill - only to find they had charged us for the bread. I wish we'd stayed home.

Sep 05, 2011 

9 Highly Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  8      Service  10      Value  9     

At this beautiful and rustic restaurant, our night was truly an experience to savour.

My wife and I each had 3 courses at Emerson's over the weekend and the food was...simply exquisite. From the sous vie duck as an entree to my lamb trio and her spatchcock as mains and desserts, each dish was bursting with flavour, cooked with technical perfection and art on a plate.

I have been to many a fine dining restaurant in sydney, many with chef hats and emerson's easily qualifies as a chef-hatted restaurant on food alone.

The service staff were also fantastic - attentive but not pushy, polite but not scared to suggest what dishes would compliment each other. The sommelier was also first class.

At the end of the night, I asked why the restaurant wasn't full since they were only able to squeeze us in at a late 8pm...the wait staff told me that the chef was particular about service and the quality of food and because there were only enough wait staff and chefs at the busy 7pm slot to a particular number of guests, they didn't book us in for 7pm. Suffice to say, I was more than impressed.

My only regret was we didn't go for the degustation menu but we'll be back for that for sure... It will not be long before this place is a sure-fire winner.

(my camera-phone photos don't do the dishes justice)

Aug 06, 2011