Stunned Mullet, The Port Macquarie

7 Recommended

Food 7 Ambience 7 Service 7 Value 7

Visited the Stunned Mullet on a recent Saturday night in a group of 4. The meals and experience was nice, but just nice. We had bread to share, which came out fairly quickly. I had the pork belly and scallops which were asian inspired. My husband had the prawns which he enjoyed. I had the steak for a main, which was accompanied by tasty chips and beans. It was enjoyable. A previous reviewer commented that this is not quite fine dining but carries the fine dining price tag, I do have to agree.

The steak was great but more like what you'd get at meat & wine co (so not quite fine dining). My mum also had the steak, which she has cooked differently to mine, and they mixed up our plates, which wasn't a big deal given it was my mum so we just swapped, but wouldn't be acceptable in other circumstances. My husband had the fish special, which sounded great when described but wasn't particularly exciting. My father had peanut curry with king prawns, and it was ok, but not sure if you pay $36 for ok.

We shared the belgium chocolate layers for dessert, which was nice. The wine list by the bottle and half bottle is extensive and well priced, but not that many are available by the glass. So reasonable pricing of the wine list makes up for the upper end food prices.

The service was good. It took a while for the food to come out, but we weren't in a rush. I think it would be a nicer venue during the day with views over Town Beach. I probably won't come back next time I'm in Port, but I will come back again.

Nov 26, 2011

7.8 Recommended

Food 9 Ambience 7 Service 7 Value 8

Was recently here for a conference dinner. By far and away the best food I've ever had as a conference meal. Freshly cooked, quickly delivered, options available were all fantastic. I had duck-leg on truffled potatoes which was divine. The people who had the fish or the steak were similarly impressed. All the seafood was fresh and perfectly cooked. The staff were lovely and the wine list excellent!

Nov 04, 2011

5.8 Average

Food 8 Ambience 5 Service 5 Value 5

We were interested in trying what, according to previous Eatability reviews, is one of the best restaurants in Port Macquarie.

Overall the food was quite good, simple well prepared, and flavoursome. But lacking the artistry and plating that I have come to expect from modern Australian Cuisine, especially in the city restaurants. Simple, good food is the best way to describe it.

All diners were placed quite close to each other, despite most of the restaurant being empty, which made it difficult to enjoy a quiet, romantic meal with my husband. I also do admit to missing the linen, as I'm sure the bare table is a trendy concept, but a paper napkin was more akin to Macca's. I suppose when I am expecting fine dining, there is a standard in that regard which wasn't met.

Service was slow. We waited quite a long time from our drinks being served to when our bread arrived, one of my pet hates. It wasn't a busy night so we were perplexed by how slow it was to serve a mere serving of bread. If I'd known the wait I would have had a snack before leaving home, wine on an empty stomach..not good.

To me it was more like a cafe experience than fine dining, but at fine dining prices. Previous reviews have claimed that it was equal to hatted restaurants in Sydney, I certainly didn't find this at all. It certainly didn't hit the mark of a hatted restaurant. But for simple, well prepared food, in a stylish cafe style setting, absolutely.

Just remember though, you are paying hatted prices and have a quick snack beforehand, the wait is painful!

Aug 11, 2011

10 Highly Recommended

Food 10 Ambience 10 Service 10 Value 10

Great to find a regional restaurant that serves up some well executed and modern food. This restaurant came highly recommended by one of the locals whilst we were having a drink at our hotel. Great food and great wine list, overall a great experience, a little surprised to find this calibre of restaurant in Port Mac. Pork Tortellini is great and so was the Blue Eye Cod. Partner had Prawns and Duck, equally pleasing.

Jun 04, 2011

7.8 Recommended

Food 9 Ambience 8 Service 7 Value 7

Food was terrific. Highly recommend pork belly with scallops for taste sensation for entree. A little bit pricey but worth the extra for high quality and well cooked food.

Apr 25, 2011

8.8 Highly Recommended

Food 9 Ambience 8 Service 8 Value 10

My husband and I dined here whilst on a fleeting one night stopover in Port Macquarie on our way up the coast. After a long trip, and much sub-standard road fare, we were after a quality meal and a nice glass of wine or two. The Stunned Mullet came highly recommended by our hotel as being the best restaurant in town, so we decided to give it a go!

Well, we were most certainly not disappointed by our decision. On arrival at the restaurant we were greeted by a stunning sunset and a balmy summer evening. Our hostess was warm and friendly, and she directed us to a table on the front terrace which harnessed the light summer breeze and the spectacular sunset over the water in front of us.

I felt like a cocktail so I ordered a margarita (one of the best I've had, and I consider myself to be somewhat of an afficionado). My husband ordered a local pale ale, also great. We perused the menu, on which everything looked delectable and were in the process of narrowing down our choice when we were told the specials..

Let me say, making a decision was not easy but in the end we ordered the buffalo mozzarella salad special and the wonton wrapped king prawns to start and the I had the fish special, the 'sea dweller' as it's rather amusingly called (salt and pepper whole baby snapper with a yellow curry sauce and asian style salad) and my husband had the confit duck leg with the cherry reduction.

For wine, we were both enraptured by the excellent wine list and decided to go for a half bottle of white and one of red. We were most impressed with the selection of half bottles available-you do not see this often. It suited us perfectly as my NZ pinot gris went perfectly with my snapper, as did my husband's Wooing tree pinot noir, also from NZ.

The food was all delicious - the ingredients fresh and skillfully prepared, yet the dishes still retained a simplicity which let all the flavours shine through.
We enjoyed our meals enormously, and this was heightened by the lovely service we received - friendly, welcoming and unpretentious.

By the time the dessert menus arrived we were quite full but we had to try the 'sesame snap', which our waitress assured us was refreshing and citrussy and not too rich or heavy. And she was right! We then finished with a lovely coffee and rather floated back to our hotel. What a great spot! We will be back!

Mar 26, 2011

6.3 Average

Food 7 Ambience 7 Service 6 Value 5

Nice food, small servings, overpriced.

Feb 03, 2011

10 Highly Recommended

Food 10 Ambience 10 Service 10 Value 10

As always, we had an amazing meal the other night (and again the following day at a business lunch with a colleague from out-of-town). The new prawn entree will blow you away. As usual, Dave and Lou have put a cool twist on a classic seafood ingredient. I didn't know what to expect and man, it was a fun, delicious dish.

We eat here a lot and whenever friends or business associates are in town, they always wanna hit the Mullet to see what's new or just stick to a favourite (after a couple of margaritas). Thanks guys - can't wait for the next visit!

Dec 22, 2010

6.8 Recommended

Food 7 Ambience 9 Service 10 Value 1

Had main only for $36 which consisted of steak with 5 beans and 9 chips, wife and daughter had kingfish. Slugged with an over the top service charge for bringing birthday cake ($4 per person). Had 2 drinks each and cost $250 for a family of 5 and walked out hungry.

Dec 18, 2010