Fresh User Reviews in Ettalong Beach

9.8 Highly Recommended

Food  10      Ambience  10      Service  10      Value  9     

Loved this place. Great atmosphere and very friendly staff! We had the kilpatrick and morney oysters for entree. I had the prawn fettuccine it was the best! Had 8 or so large prawns in this dish which I struggled to finish. The pasta itself was cooked perfectly and was so tasty the cream sauce was delicious also, very large serving that I didn't want to waste, if we come back to ettalong I will order the same again.

My bf got the surf and turf which had an amazing sauce, his meat was a little tough but he seemed to enjoy the meal overall. We had to wait abit for our mains now that I think about it, however, we were too busy enjoying our entrees and conversation for it to be an issue. If the wait for delicious food is that unbearable I would suggest you take a crayon and start playing knots and crosses on the table or start a conversation with the people you are dining with, time will fly! Highly recommended and we will visit again!

May 27, 2012

9.6 Highly Recommended

Food  10      Drinks  10      Ambience  10      Service  8      Value  10     

On a Tuesday night in Ettalong there isn't much choice for dinner, thank goodness Menhir was open. What a great addition to the Central Coast dining scene. We had 1 entree (seared scallops with cauliflower puree and jamon crisps) and 4 tapas (grilled calamari with pancetta, garlic prawns with red capsicum and onion, med rare sirloin steak with sun dried tomato pesto, meatballs with tomato sauce on saffron rice) between the two of us and each dish was delicious and presented very well on a variety of shaped plates.

The wine list is amazing and we had a Spanish red, Castillo del Moro Tempranillo which was light and went with the food very well. The decor is modern and you can see that they have gone to a lot of trouble to get it all right. Would highly recommend the tapas and just hope that the locals and visitors appreciate what they have here. I also had the special dessert of orange and almond cake and my husband had the creme catalano (creme brûlée). Continue the good work!

May 23, 2012

2.6 Not Recommended

Food  4      Drinks  3      Ambience  3      Service  2      Value  1     

The food arrived in various stages, service was available only after we asked for it, cutlery etc. Do not eat here if want to eat a meal, the portions were small although the titbits that we got were tasty.

May 19, 2012

8.8 Highly Recommended

Food  10      Drinks  10      Ambience  8      Service  8      Value  8     

Ok so we are eating here right now and so far it's been awesome. Food is amazing and even though we have waited a while we were looked after and when service came they were great. Hope I haven't inced rest of our meal but I can't wait for it.

May 05, 2012

1.8 Not Recommended

Food  1      Drinks  3      Ambience  3      Service  1      Value  1     

Very disappointing, pork ribs not cooked, meals come out different times for a table of five, waited till everyone finished for a steak and also very under cooked. Bad bad.

Response from Management:
Dear Sue

First of all I would like to express my apologies and disappointment to hear of your less the satisfactory experience at Menhir Spanish tapas. I was very surprised to read your review as you can see all our other reviews have had a very satisfactory experience many of them being very appreciative to have such a unique venue on the Central Coast. However I would like to run over a few points you have made below:

You arrived for a Saturday brunch in a party of 2 adults and 3 kids You were seated and your order was taken straight away you ordered 7 tapas and 2 lemonades for a total of $84.00
As with all other tapas bar's the ordered tapas come out as ready from the kitchen.We can try our best to bring as many of the tapas out together as possible but unless the customer request a specific order they are delivered as prepared.
You ordered the "medium rare sirloin steak with red pesto" so unless requested at a different temperature this is served medium rare.
As per the pork ribs being undercook we have our chef double check these after you returned them & he was adamant that as always they were served perfectly cooked through out with a slight pinkish color on the top on the bone, we find cooking them any further results in the meat drying out & becoming tough, as per your request we cooked them a little longer.

We take all feedback very seriously, as you can image a review as negative as yours can have an adverse effect on a restaurant. While we have gone over & discussed with relevant staff all aspects of your review from the "Food" to the "Value" rating & we can understand how based on your review you would have come to some of your rating scores we were particular disappointed & somewhat confused to see some of your rating scores;

Drinks you have given us a 3 out of 10, you only ordered 2 lemonades all of our soft drinks are served straight from a freshly opened can poured over ice & sent straight to the table so i am quiet confused on how we could get this so so wrong? We actually have a very extensive drink menu & have gone to great lengths to source some amazing products from around the world to offer our customers.

Ambience you have also given us a 3 from 10 for this? I was very disappointed to see this as we spent over 1 year to build our restaurant from the ground up, every single detail no matter how minute from the tiles on the wall, dinning rooms chairs or music system were painstakingly gone over a thousand times to ensure our customers would receive the best dinning experience possible, we really spared no expense in creating such a unique product, we even offer live music at a great cost to us several times a week to add that little bit extra for our clients. Im sure you or anyone else that has visited our restaurant has to agree it is not just an everyday restaurant.

Value we received a 1 from 10, in my opinion your bill of $84 dollars or $16.80 a head is very good value for 5 people for lunch, we use only the best quality ingredients & make every thing onsite be it our house bread or large range of deserts from scratch i personally go from Sydney to Newcastle each week in order to pick up the freshest produce available & each week offer up a new selection of specials so that our customers can try a broad selection of amazing dishes on top of our regular menu.

Like any business especially one only open for just 9 moths as we are there is margin for errors but we always try to be on top so that we learn and act on them and rectify as quickly as possible however I believe in your case it was more misconception of the "tapas experience". I of course feel disappointed and deeply sad to hear of anyone coming to my restaurant and leaving unsatisfied being born & raised in Spain i have a great passion for my country & created Menhir to share with the Central Coast this passion & love, i myself know that there is nothing worse then a bad dining experience. I would like to extend an invitation for you & your family to return to Menhir & let me & my staff provide you with the truly authentic Spanish Tapas that is Menhir, please contact me directly should you wish to take me up on my offer. info@menhir.com.au

Again my apologies that we have not been able to meet your expectations on this occasion, i look forward to welcoming you again in the future.

Lorena

May 05, 2012

7.8 Recommended

Food  9      Drinks  9      Ambience  8      Service  6      Value  7     

Good quality food, fantastic drink menu. A bit slow on service and not cheap but worth it for the qaulity you are given. This is not your standard tapas the menu is inventive and original. Definitely a step up for the central coast it's about time!

May 04, 2012

8.3 Highly Recommended

Food  10      Ambience  5      Service  9      Value  9     

Great value, great Barramundi, great chicken Snitz too.

Apr 24, 2012

7.8 Recommended

Food  8      Drinks  8      Ambience  10      Service  8      Value  5     

Nice food, we enjoyed the red and white wine Sangria. Perfect ambience, romantic, nice lighting. We paid $102 for 2 drinks, 1 entree, 2 tapas, 1 serve of paella and 1 dessert. Didn't feel like we got our money worth though.

Apr 14, 2012

6.3 Average

Food  6      Ambience  6      Service  7      Value  6     

A decent place for breakfast. Casual. Poached eggs and hollandaise, Hollandaise was terrible but the ham and toast were wonderful so a mixed bag. Pancakes, sweet and tasty but vastly overpriced for what you get! Ok but not great.

Apr 14, 2012

2.5 Not Recommended

Food  5      Ambience  3      Service  1      Value  1     

If you like waiting an hour and a half for your meal when you are the only two people in the restaurant then eat here. Waitress was shocking and we actually had to ask for a drink/menus. It was a quiet night obviously but I felt like throwing up when the waitress would run out the front door for a cigarette every 10 minutes and come back in stinking like an ashtray, although the meals were generous and actually quite good I felt violated when paying for the bill. We wished we left whilst we were sitting there for an hour waiting for entrees. You get better service at your local pub than here.

Apr 10, 2012

2.5 Not Recommended

Food  3      Ambience  1      Service  1      Value  5     

A disaster from the beginning! I really don't know why I bothered. My partner and I ate here Easter Saturday. I booked online the week before. For some reason I thought u better call to confirm as they had not contacted me about it. Luckily I rang as the booking had not gone through. Don't bother booking online.

We were greeted by a guy, friendly and we thought all good so far. We ordered drinks and they came approx 25 minutes later. With 2 mojitos instead of 1.
Entree was ok, nothing amazing. We were waiting so long for it and were so hungry we just wolfed it down anyway.

I ordered the special for main scotch fillet and my partner the rib eye. After another 40 minutes his came out and mine was nowhere to be seen with no explanation. When I asked one of the waitresses she told me mine had been given up somebody else and so I would have to wait another 15 minutes. We sent my partner's back also as we said we were out for a meal together and wanted to eat together.

When we finally got our steaks they were overcooked. How could a steak house get it so wrong? While all this was going on the guy who greeted us and took our order was now on the stage singing Micheal Buble very badly. My partner at one point said he felt as if somebody was going to jump out and say we were on candid camera. Never again! They only positive was that the waitresses were apologetic.

Apr 08, 2012

2.5 Not Recommended

Food  2      Ambience  2      Service  5      Value  1     

Unfortunately, this place was dreadful, flies buzzing around grubby tables, small portions for high prices and a singer that was out of place and too loud. The quality of the steak was poor for the price. The service was slow but friendly.

Apr 06, 2012

7.3 Recommended

Food  10      Ambience  4      Service  7      Value  8     

I've tried about 40 curry houses in Sydney and it's surrounds, this is the best takeaway joint I've found. As with most places you need to pick the right dishes, the Chicken Punjabi and Tikka Masala have been the best so far. Breads from the Tandoor are also fresh and tasty.

The restaurant is usually pretty empty, only a couple of tables occupied so we tend to get take away (plus you get a 10% discount if you pick up). There is a TV in the restaurant which they play Indian films on, I find TV's in restaurants pretty annoying so that also puts me off.

The service is quite good for a regional restaurant and the owners are friendly.

Apr 06, 2012

1.3 Not Recommended

Food  1      Ambience  1      Service  2      Value  1     

Disaster from the moment we walked in. As a chef I expect a high standard of food and service for 35-40 dollars a plate. Neither expectations were met. Too many things wrong to list but here's a few.

Soggy garlic bread drowned in butter and a bruschetta that looked like it had been diced by a pre schooler. Meat that tasted as though it had been re heated, especially the lobster and I have feeling the hollandaise came from a jar. The Diane sauce tasted so strongly of not cooked of wine that it actually burnt my throat.

The senior staff/waiter was just plain creepy and inexperienced! Playing of food and general kitchen procedure was just unorganized. And here was the worst of the worst, even though there were only 2 other diners the only desserts not sold out were a sticky date pudding with butterscotch sauce and chocolate cake.

While they were being microwaved, my wife and I were able to see the waiter/ senior staff/now 'kitchen staff' lick his fingers! As he handled our dessert straight after! Upon arrival it turned out my sticky date was a banana bread muffin smothered in khaluha and a piece of what appeared to be Sarah lee cake drenched in baileys. When asked about the alcohol the man responded "it just makes it taste nicer thats all...." Worst Ever!

All we could do was laugh as we paid our 120 dollar bill, without drinks, and make the most of our anniversary as we both decided to spread the horrible name Olive.

Mar 11, 2012

5.8 Average

Food  7      Ambience  6      Service  6      Value  4     

The food is good, but it's quite expensive and it's more of a small cafe than a proper restaurant.

Feb 12, 2012

9 Highly Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  9      Service  9      Value  9     

We have eaten at this restaurant on several occasions and throughly enjoy our experience eating here. Yes, at times you have to wait but the staff are always friendly and provide excellent service. Naman is a miracle worker, managing the whole kitchen on his own. If people complain, then how come it is so popular? Not only on the weekends, but most week nights as well. We regularly see the same people when we visit Naman's Kitchen which would indicate a strong return customer base and why not when their food and service is of very high standards. Well done NK.

Jan 29, 2012

4 Below Average

Food  8      Ambience  6      Service  1      Value  1     

We enjoyed our meals all the while trying to ignore the waiter the rudest man I have ever met, perhaps, next time ask your customer to serve you as you have no intension of serving your customers well.

Jan 29, 2012

9.5 Highly Recommended

Food  10      Ambience  9      Service  9      Value  10     

Possibly the best steak that I have ever had in my life, my wife and I shared the garlic prawns and it was sensational, gloria also had the duck confit and was very good also but my steak actually melted in my mouth, I will make it a staple to eat there more often.

Jan 29, 2012

3.3 Below Average

Food  5      Ambience  3      Service  3      Value  2     

Service was ok they seemed to try, Music was so loud that we moved to the deck but still unable to hold a conversation, food was not restaurant quality.

Jan 29, 2012

2.8 Not Recommended

Food  1      Ambience  5      Service  4      Value  1     

Worst food and management I have ever experienced. Firstly we waited 1.5 hours to get our mains when they arrived one of our table of 6 meals was forgotten. When I ate my meal spagetti marinara it was cold and tasted similar to tinned cold spagetti but with less taste. 4 of the other pasta meals were bland and tasteless. We asked for parmesan to add taste and they bought us tasty grated cheese. Then we had to ask twice to get it changed. 4 of us barely touched our meal. I went to complain I was told that we could have a free dessert. I asked for management twice before one came out. The female manage/owner for the moment she came of was defensive, rude and aggressive. Talk about bad customer service she told us that 5 meals could not be bland. See said that we had to pay for our meal saying very aggressively "you are paying for these meals!" realizing there was no arguing with her we took a 10% and left. I have never been treated this way. On the plus side the bartender was lovely and made great drinks. Don't waste your time and money Macca's has more flavor faster service and friendlier staff.

Jan 21, 2012