Fresh User Reviews in Bondi Beach

4.3 Below Average

Food  5      Ambience  6      Service  3      Value  3     

Firstly – the view is spectacular. However, this isn’t enough to make up for the incredibly slow service, the tatty furniture and the average food at ridiculous prices.

We were seated along a couch on one side of the table and although it was stuffed with cushions you could see all the wear and tear on it, making it look like furniture from a youth hostel rather than a nice restaurant. Similarly the metal surfaces needed polishing and there were crumbs on the chairs.

We arrived at 12pm for our lunch booking and didn’t get our entrees until 1.30pm. It then took another hour for mains. We had asked repeatedly about the delay and in the end we wanted to leave before the mains even came. When they did arrive they were really average and somehow things which should have been flavour-packed were bland. The only mains that some of our group enjoyed were the simple grilled fish, although again the sauces served with them were nothing special. And for $35+ dishes you feel ripped off.

I wouldn’t come back here, there are far better places around.

May 30, 2012

3 Below Average

Food  3      Ambience  2      Service  5      Value  2     

Feel like pasta or pizza for lunch, so we chose Pompel's. I have to say it was a disappointment. We ordered a Divola pizza, the base is not as good as La Disfida at Harberfield in fact no where near it, even Rosso Pomodoro is better than that. The salami topping was not good. We had the prawn pasta, it was average and need more seasoning, frozen prawn and packet spaghetti for $29, sorry nowadays they need to do better.

May 27, 2012

8 Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  8      Service  8      Value  8     

I went there on Saturday night. There was 4 of us. The food I could not fault. The service was good and the staff friendly and helpful. Good value for money in a relaxed and friendly environment.

May 27, 2012

5 Average

Food  8      Service  1      Value  6     

Nice Pizza. Appalling, rude and aggressive customer service. We ordered an XL half-and-half pizza by phone, which we drove to pick up. Once home, we realised we had gotten someone else's large pizza. When we rang to explain, we were somehow accused of it being our fault that we had 'taken' someone else's pizza!
They refused to send us the pizza we had actually ordered, somehow they felt that since they had got it 'half' right with the toppings, and we had only paid enough for a large pizza (not XL), they sent us the 'other half' in the form of a small pizza.

I hope it was worth it. Never again. There are way too many other good pizza joints in Bondi. You guys need to lift your game if you want to stay ahead of the pack.

May 26, 2012

8.8 Highly Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  8      Service  9      Value  9     

We went here with a Scoopon for lunch last week. It was a beautiful day, but surprisingly the restaurant was not all that busy. We did have a reservation, but we were almost an hour late, yet we managed to get a table on outside patio facing the ocean without having to wait.

The service was great from the time we got there. The head-waiter who served us was friendly and polite. The wine was served almost instantly, and he gave us some time to browse thru the menu and absorb the lovely view from their patio. He also helped us with what to order.

I'm not a connoisseur of tapas, I am particularly not fond of the quantity that is served and the price that is charged under the pretext of the fancy tapas. But I was pleasantly surprised at what was on offer at this place. The Seafood Paella and Prosciutto wrapped scallops were simply divine! The rice had the prefect herbs and aroma, and all seafood was fresh and delectable. The Beef a la Chico was tender and perfectly cooked as were the Arancini Balls. The blend of flavours and colors seemed in perfect harmony. As expected with tapas, the presentation was elegant, but not overboard.

My wife topped it all up with a not-so-Spanish sticky-date pudding, but even that could have scored a perfect 10.

As mentioned earlier, it was a beautiful autumn day, a bit on the chilly side to sit outside, but the heaters made it comfortable. The decor is just, and although they might be trying to give the restaurant a character by keeping those old wooden tables with iron frames, in my opinion the tables can do with some maintenance and I know I'm nitpicking! Actually, you can't go too wrong with ambience at Bondi!

Without a coupon, this place will lean on the expensive side for the pocket, but totally worth it if you have the coupon. For a special occasion, I might go here again!

May 25, 2012

4.5 Below Average

Food  2      Ambience  8      Service  4      Value  4     

Have pretty much tried all the bars since moving to bondi and I wasn't impressed with the anchor unfortunately. Foods very 'wishy washy'. Service was very average. Great decor though! Definitely don't go there if you're after amazing food but for a good atmosphere it is pretty great.

May 17, 2012

9.3 Highly Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  10      Service  10      Value  8     

I eat at Trio at least once a month and the food has never been anything but perfectly cooked, beautifully presented and fresh. Can be a bit of a wait to get a table during lunch time on Saturday and Sunday, but that being said, the staff is ridiculously friendly and definitely stick to their list and call you if you would rather go for a walk. That being said, they do brunch until about 4pm so we often take advantage of this, especially after a nighty out.

Prices aren't the cheapest but considering the portion sizes as well as the location, they are fair. I have ordered twice from the dinner menu, the selection isn't the greatest but food was tasty. Oh and finally, great coffee, and they even get soy right.

May 15, 2012

6.8 Recommended

Food  10      Ambience  6      Service  1      Value  10     

Great food. Cool setting. Ridiculously rude, almost angry service. Get a grip guys drop the attitude and let the service match the food. Won't be back there in a hurry.

May 13, 2012

1.3 Not Recommended

Food  1      Ambience  2      Service  1      Value  1     

Absolutely awful and disgusting spaghetti marinara bland and watery lacked taste when I complained the kitchen staffs didn't care. Tiramasu watery no richness to it, very disappointed as waited a while to get in. Would not recommend.

May 12, 2012

8 Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  9      Service  7      Value  7     

Lovely little casual eatery by the sea. I came with girlfriends recently and we were all surprised by how innovative and fresh the food was. The staff were very polite, when I accidently spilled my wine (and smashed the glass on the floor - of course), they replaced it free of charge with a smile, will be back.

May 11, 2012

3.5 Below Average

Food  2      Ambience  7      Service  3      Value  2     

Decked out nicely and generally never empty I thought Miss Chu would satisfy. We ordered several items off the menu and every item was flavorless, dry, premake (from a while ago I assume), tiny and extremely expensive. $60 later we left feeling hungry and very disappointed.

May 10, 2012

3.5 Below Average

Food  6      Ambience  6      Service  1      Value  1     

We arrived at 7.30pm (on time). Order not taken till 9pm, despite asking 2 servers twice each. Meals arrive at 10pm - no excuse for a Tuesday night. No second drinks ordered offered and when we wanted one, told to go down to the bar and ask there!

Huh... obviously not interested in making money over the largest profit margin product - Have a dedicated drinks waiter fools! Told at 10.30 if we wanted desserts/coffees anything else we had 5 minutes to order it as the kitchen was closing (as if they could manage anything like an order, let alone a another dish in that time frame) - We just wanted the bill, but that took till 11pm - a ninety minute event took 4 hours, we had barely anything resembling a real meal (ate at McD's on the way home).

Worse service we have ever had, one waitress to about 30 patrons, writes the order down then goes and spends 10 minutes doing data entry at a PC (10 feet from the kitchen), here's a idea buy a remote order terminal! Potential to do so much better... never eating there again.

May 01, 2012

8.3 Highly Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  8      Service  9      Value  8     

Fantastic! This was my third time here. This time a group of four at lunch time.

All of us were happy with our meals. The salmon salad was a standout, as the salmon was perfectly cooked. The cocktails are also delicious! The three mushroom ravioli was rich and filling. Kudos to the staff, who were friendly and really added to the atmosphere despite being busy. We used vouchers and were still treated like any other guests. Highly recommended.

Visit 19/04/2012 - Still impressed by Blue Orange! The service was fantastic, the food was served quickly and the quality of the produce was superb. We had 8 tapas share plates, ranging from rocket salad, haloumi, chorizo and olives to harissa prawn skewers, mushrooms and fresh chips. We then ordered the ricotta panna cotta with espresso caramel and shaved almonds for dessert. It was scrumptious! We loved it! Definitely planning on going back...again!

Apr 30, 2012

3 Below Average

Food  2      Ambience  7      Service  1      Value  2     

3 of us went for dinner this evening, (1 being pregnant) and we received a dish of raw chicken. Upon return the staff were not overly apologetic. We were offered a round of drinks, which we asked if we could make the bottle of wine we had ordered and already drunk as we didn't wish to drink anymore, we were told it had to be a round, however, 3 x glasses of wine was more in total value than the one bottle we had ordered. The lady who claimed to be the manager on duty was rude, arrogant and did not have any idea of how best to deliver customer service nor did she care of the consequences if our pregnant diner had of consumed some of the raw chicken prior to noticing. Will not be returning and being a Bondi local will be passing on the details of this horrible experience to friends. There only compensation was to offer us one dessert between the three of us, hardly compensation for raw chicken.

Response from Management:
Firstly let me apologies again for the dish you received. However I am surprised by your response both at time of paying at Bondi Social and by this review. As manager of Bondi Social I was there on Saturday evening and came over to your table as soon as I learnt of this mistake from the kitchen. I apologised, checked if you would like a replacement, which you accepted and reported it to the kitchen. The staff members who had been serving you also came over to apologies and to ensure everything else was ok, once we had reset.

Regarding the round of drinks offered, as far as we understood you declined more drinks and we offered you a desert on the house in replacement. You gratefully accepted the dessert and while understandably concerned that one of your guests was pregnant, seemed content with the outcome and how it had been resolved. I ensured and was informed by my staff that they continued to check on your table and apologized numerous times for the under cooked chicken and made sure the rest of your meal was enjoyable- which it appeared it have been.

When you came to pay the bill I had left for the evening, and a duty manager was in charge which you dealt with. I have heard numerous accounts of how she dealt with the issue and understand she was neither rude or arrogant, as you say, and simply explained the policy we have in place. I have worked with the person in question for over a year, and know she is neither rude or arrogant and is professional at all times. After speaking with you about the issue, she did comp the bottle of wine you had as a gesture of goodwill as you seemed very upset by your experience. I have spoken with the kitchen to see why this occurred and have come to the conclusion it was unfortunately a case of human error. We have put measures place to ensure an error like this never happens again.

We take any complaints very seriously and the duty manager called me straight away to inform me of the dispute over the bill. While i totally understand and agree with the concern of possibly having a pregnant friend eat raw chicken, we believe this was dealt with in a way which was understanding to your concern and ensured you continued to enjoy the rest of the meal by removing and replacing the dish in question, offering a dessert on us as way of apology, and continuing to offer excellent customer service during you meal.

We are sorry you do not believe that this was the case, but once again, all my staff and I can do is offer our apologies. We are truly sorry you appear not to have enjoyed your experience of Bondi Social.

Apr 28, 2012

2 Not Recommended

Food  3      Ambience  2      Service  1      Value  2     

Been here twice. First time wasn't bad although the service was pretty slow even though it really wasn't that busy. Second time there will be my last. Over an hour for some poached eggs and a coffee. Its a newish business and I wish them the best of luck but change is required if they want to retain loyal customers.

Apr 27, 2012

1.5 Not Recommended

Food  2      Ambience  2      Service  1      Value  1     

The service has always been on the slow side but I feel you can forgive that if the food is consistently good. Unfortunately, my most recent experience left a lot to be desired. We ordered 2 large coffee's and a Banana smoothie to begin with. Our coffee's took 25 minutes while the smoothie arrived around 5 mins after that. When the coffee arrived it was one small and one large. Not a great start. I ordered the steak sandwich. First bite revealed a big chunk of fat. Once I opened the sandwich it was plain to see it was thrown together with pieces of fat pretty much everywhere. I had a side of chips which weren't bad. I've had food here before and I must admit it was great. They seem to have renovated and changed staff recently. I won't be returning I'm afraid.

Apr 27, 2012

5 Average

Service  5     

Would love to review restaurant but they are too fully booked to honour their Scoopons. Take the money but not the bookings.

Apr 26, 2012

8.3 Highly Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  8      Service  8      Value  8     

I Love Sean's

In the many times I have eaten here there has only been one disappointing meal. The service was fabulous. We had artichoke with walnut dip and scallops with watercress for entree, and we both had the kingfish with veggies on the side.

The dessert was a mouthwatering and very adult tasting trifle. Absolutely mouthwatering. Beautiful flowers on the table, and cheeky smiles from the staff. I love that the wine list offers bottles of wine from $45 upwards to $300 (?) whereas some pubs nowadays have their starting point at this price. Can't wait to go again.

Apr 24, 2012

4.3 Below Average

Food  6      Ambience  8      Service  1      Value  2     

My wife & I dined at NBI on Friday night. I’ll start by saying, most of the time we’ve found the food at NBI to be delicious. And as locals we try to support local business. However I it’s unfortunate to report, the service on most occasions is average. Last Friday the service was awful.

My wife and I had ordered 2 mains and 2 sides, our meals arrived, however the meal my wife ordered arrived different to how it had been requested. The wait staff were happy to return the meal and prepare the dish how she had asked for it. As the waitress proceeded to collect my wife’s untouched dish while leaving mine for me to begin on, I brought it to her attention that I didn’t intend to dine alone and she proceeded to collect my meal also. We waited.

The food returned, however I was surprised when my wife’s meal consisted of nothing but a slab of meat and a lemon garnish (the spinach , broccoli & potatoes had been lifted off and not replaced) whilst mine was 50% lighter on the potatoes and a different state as to when the waitress had collected it.

By this stage we were too hungry to question what had happened to the remaining food and finished our meals. The bill came out including the itemised potatoes which the waitress struck off once we mentioned we didn’t actually get all of the potatoes and broccoli. For a nicely located restaurant with nice food, the weakest link is the unprofessional and inexperienced wait staff.

Apr 22, 2012

8.3 Highly Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  8      Service  8      Value  9     

Had a $12 special... barramundi & chips... great value... got a soft drink for $1.50 extra... will be back (oh yeh all beers 5 bucks).

Apr 19, 2012