Muse Restaurant and Cafe Pokolbin, Hunter Valley Wine Region

User Reviews of Muse Restaurant and Cafe, Pokolbin

Displaying: 1 - 10 of 32 reviews

7.8 Recommended

Food 8 Ambience 8 Service 8 Value 7

Lunch here either alfresco or in nicely styled space. We really liked the service, "espresso with dessert or after" leaving that last sip of wine you were lingering over when the table is cleared a genuine farewell etc etc what a change from the usual sydney restaurant/cafe experience, highly recommend only criticism is the regular arrival of choppers on the lawn no more than 20 metres, 4 over this sitting, once is dramatic but after that it wears thin.

May 07, 2012

davidcr
1

6.5 Recommended

Food 6 Ambience 8 Service 6 Value 6

Service was pleasant but operating on Hunter time. For a table of only six, with a shared entree, main and a few coffees, we were there nearly three hours.

The food was nice but not exalting. The salmon stuffing in my zucchini flowers was over-the-top salty and overall it was quite an average dish. It's a lovely outlook but they need to lift their game, it's nice without being either memorable or exciting.

May 03, 2012

tindy
77

5.3 Average

Food 4 Ambience 5 Service 7 Value 5

Went there over christmas period for lunch with friends of a table of 17 with kids. The food takes a long time to come. The kids meals are the same size (if not bigger) than the adult serving size. The chips are all over cooked (that's including the next table from where I can see). Food in general is average. I had the steak and it was over cooked. The restaurant was busy but kitchen doesn't seem to care on the number of people, the open kitchen does not help in telling us that they are trying their best to quickly serve the food. All of chefs are just so slow. The only positive comment I can make was the waitress service was good and keep topping our water up.

Feb 11, 2012

sonnox
12

8.3 Highly Recommended

Food 8 Ambience 9 Service 8 Value 8

Had lunch here yesterday. The food was good, though my tagliatelle starter was a fraction too salty for my personal taste, but that probably wouldn't bother most people. Other than that, no complaints and all of the other dishes (scallops, prawn gnocchi and mushroom risotto) were fab. Great location with sweeping views, good food and wine, and friendly staff.

Dec 16, 2011

necromancer
347

9.3 Highly Recommended

Food 9 Ambience 10 Service 9 Value 9

Now I don't often provide feedback on restaurants but my visit to Muse required me to contribute. My partner and I visited Muse overweekend and was welcomed with opened doors and escorted to our seats without a fuss. Off the bat we were immediately impressed with the ambience and architecture of the premises.

We were immediately introduced to our waiter and she was very attentive. We decided to go with the degustation menu and each were presented in a timely fashion. We thoroughly enjoyed the scallops, pork belly and the rose "nitro" ice cream for dessert. One criticism is that the food servings are too large and we were barely able to make it to the 5th course. However, that just adds to the value!

Muse provided an excellent dining experience and we'll be sure to return if we are in the Hunter region.

Dec 13, 2011

David N.
1

8.8 Highly Recommended

Food 9 Ambience 9 Service 9 Value 8

Thoroughly enjoyed lunch here with my husband for our one year anniversary.

The snapper and pork belly were cooked to perfection and delicious, the petit fours came with a high recommendedation and were absolutely grand.

Waitresses was very attentive with the water as our glasses were never half empty.

Nov 27, 2011

Nadineskis
15

8.5 Highly Recommended

Food 8 Ambience 9 Service 9 Value 8

If ambience is your main criteria for a top restaurant your going to love this place, possibly one of the most pleasing to the eye venues in the hunter, particulaly at night. That beautiful fireplace as a main feature in the cold of a hunter winter adds all the romance and warmth you could wish for.

From the moment we had the restaurant door open for us, through all 3 coarses and even until the time it came to leave the service didn't miss a beat and if all you could complain about was the service being a little over the top, well you wouldn't be doing to bad. When I say over the top I purely mean the staff are trained that well they barely make a movement without attending in some way to the food and wine, brilliant most of the time but sometimes people are looking for that little bit of them time without having to acknowledge a staff member.

The meals were presented beautifuly with each dish plated as an artform, with the flavour in the food on most of the dishes that we had matching their lovely appearance. If I had to say anything negative on the food side, a couple of the dishes we had were a little rich, rich is most of the time ok but sometimes particularly with a main course can be a little overbearing. But honestly overall the food was creative and delicious.

The price considering the amount of red hot competition around the area was a little high, I'm thinking for 3 coarses with wine probarbly around $50-$60 over the odds but hey the place was pretty busy so maybe thats just me. My main issue wasn't so much with the food but more about the wine, an amazing wine list but some of the prices especially for local hunter wines were a little heavy duty.

All in all though guys, a fantastic restaurant and well worth a visit for anyone going to the hunter valley, I don`t think anyone will walk away dissapointed.

The American Guy

Aug 09, 2011

american guy
6

10 Highly Recommended

Food 10 Ambience 10 Service 10 Value 10

Muse is amazing. My partner and I had dinner there last night and don't have 1 bad thing to say. We enjoyed beautiful wine, the quail and scollop entree, then the venison and tortelini for mains followed by the nitro ice cream. The whole place has a beautiful calm vibe yet so organized and professional. Every detail is thought about and the waitstaff and maitrede were wonderful. They have truly created an incredible restaurant and I look forward to going back very soon. Best dining experience to date from food, value, service, decor and atmosphere. So pleased !

May 29, 2011

Hannah89
1

10 Highly Recommended

Food 10 Ambience 10 Service 10 Value 10

If fine dining is your goal, then look no further. We booked this restaurant on the strength of high recommendations by Eatability members and we were not disappointed.

The six of us were greeted like old friends at the front door and from that moment on, we liked what we saw as in decor. We totally enjoyed the wine as recommended by our sommelier and great services from other waiting staff. We were fortunate enough to sit at a table near the open kitchen with almost full view to an ultra clean cooking area where cooks go about their roles without any fuss or tension.

The head chef inspects every dish then nodded before the waiting staff whips it away to the diners. This gives us confidence that every dish is up to the high standard as demanded by the chef. We had Tuna as entree prepared in seared and in sashimi, followed by Grilled Black Angus striploin that is cooked to perfection. My steak was acompanied with two different type of grilled tomatoes, segments of riped but firm fig, and a hard boiled quail egg.

Needless to say the steak was very tasty. Everyone of my dining partners agreed that it was one of the best meal they ever had. Recommended? You bet.

May 24, 2011

EL
6

10 Highly Recommended

Food 10 Ambience 10 Service 10 Value 10

My wife and I were lucky to get in to Muse at short notice. This has to be one of the most complete restaurants we have ever experienced anywhere in Australia.

The service was quite simply perfect, from the opening of the front door, the knowledge of the menu, the attention to detail and the sense of caring, you want for nothing. Actually, we were so impressed by our waiter Boris' skill that we tested him throughout the night to see whether he would respond to our subtle queues and he did. The kitchen and house staff worked brilliantly together as a fluid machine, it was wonderful to watch and the calm in the open kitchen was bizarre.

The food, as a lot of reviews are saying was just to die for. We had the seared scallops and gnocchi for entree, duck and venison for mains and it was all faultless, works of art. No other way to explain how good this food is.

Value wise, you get what you pay for and I've paid a lot more in Sydney for a lot less. We're going back.