Bondi Tratt

8 Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  9      Service  8      Value  7     

Great location slightly above it all and looking out towards Bondi Beach, and a very encouraging sign seeing it so busy on a Monday night when everywhere else was quiet. Extremely happy with my choice of Swordfish, I recommend that dish to everyone. Overall very good service, I'll be back!

Mar 13, 2012 

8.8 Highly Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  10      Service  9      Value  8     

I've been in Bondi for about 12 years now and watched a few restaurants come and go. And in truth I never went to the old "trat" because I didn't like the look of it from the outside, I'm not sure of a reason but we all make those kinds of decisions.

About 6 years ago it did a refurb and I tried it out immediately, it was packed with old regulars swanning over what I thought was mediocre food but the service was amazing. Over time I kept going back and now I'm a regular.

Can opinions change? My work takes me all over the world and in a recent trip to Italy and France I couldn't find a decent coffee anywhere. The menu doesn't change as much as would like it to when I'm home but when I get back all I want is an Angel Hair Pasta to mark my return to Bondi. Even better I don't even have to order it since the floor staff have been there for years can usually mark how long it's been since my last visit.

Bad note: there's been a lot of staff change recently and I've had a bit of dodgy service hence the 9 on service.

All in all? there's a reason this is one of Bondi's longest running restaurants. Excellent food, superior service and best view in Bondi

Feb 20, 2012 

9.5 Highly Recommended

Food  10      Ambience  9      Service  10      Value  9     

Can't believe the previous reviews! I love this place and have been going for 20 years!
Scallops to die for, warm, friendly efficient service, I was even given an umbrella to use as it was raining. Reading the previous 2 reviews all I can say is only a handful of restaurants in Sydney can boast a lifespan of 25 years.

Feb 18, 2012 

4.8 Average

Food  5      Ambience  7      Service  3      Value  4     

Slow, Slow Soooo....... Slow.

Food pretty average. Sparkling water @ $8.70 a bottle - did it come of the roof of the Sistine Chapel? Just not enough waiters to cope with peak hour 7-8 pm arrivals. Left sitting for 30 minutes before getting a drink. Another 30 before the starters (Bruschetta was cherry tomatoes chopped in half on toast!) and then an hour before the mains arrived.

If you are a fan of simple, obvious food and quite happy to wait for ages for everything (except the bill!) then this is your ideal venue. Such a pity, because the location is unbeatable, which is probably why it is always packed. But really needs to employ more waiters and refine the food a bit.

Feb 14, 2012 

1.5 Not Recommended

Food  3      Ambience  1      Service  1      Value  1     

What a nightmare!

I usually don’t make comments on restaurant because a bad day can happen but here, they can’t get away with it. This place –always packed- consider their customers as cattle.

We booked a table for 2 inside as it was a chilly night. When we arrived, they told us that the only available table was outside. There were some tables inside but they were ‘booked’. It was super windy but the waiter told me that I should use the rug and It should be fine. Wrap it around my ears, may be???

We order some nibbles that never turn up. When our shared starter came we cancel the nibbles but it was too late, as they show up just 10 seconds after. We did not want to make a fuss, so we took them.

The wind was getting stronger and stronger and some drops started to fall. Some of the other table were having big umbrellas but ours was only half way covered.
We tried to call the waiter but he only came when bringing our mains. I asked again if they could sit us inside – as one of the inside table was still empty-, which he insisted was booked by someone else. He took off. I think we got the time to take 1 mouth full of the main and it started to pour. Our wine, plates got flooded, us trying to stay ‘dry’ under our ½ umbrella and our rug.

I lost it and call again the waiter telling him it was not acceptable. He told me that all the people outside were in the same situation. Except that, they were covered and we were the only ones having received our food that was more looking like a soup at that stage, the wine turning into Rose.

I told him that we were going and we received the bill in no time. They graciously offered us the wine for free... I could not believe it that they even charged us for the main... It was useless to argue so we let it there and went. And for the small story, the table inside was still empty...

Concerning the food, now, nothing special really. The taste we got from our main revealed cold dishes with lack of flavour- and at 35$ each, It is not a good value (even if you eat under the sun...). In term of service, obviously, they had no clue.

So yes, we ended up paying 98$ for 1 starter, 1 grissini and 2 wet mains but I hope relating our experience will have some return on investment...

Jan 30, 2012 

8 Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  9      Service  6      Value  8     

Great good, great drinks and interesting service.

I'll touch on the service because it was the only factor I think maybe brought the place down. I understand that the place is an establishment but the servers all seemed to think they were doing people a favor by waiting on their tables. There is an odd edginess to (and I've been here a few times now) the service that I don't really understand. I get the impression it's the style they're going for but I'm not sure it's really necessary.

Having said that, again... great food, nice atmosphere, great drinks.

Nov 16, 2011 

4.3 Below Average

Food  6      Ambience  5      Service  2      Value  4     

Food was decent but not special, service was atrocious. They seated 4 of us at a small table. Because there was no space to place the jug of water the waitress placed it on the floor behind our chairs in the middle of a thoroughfare where someone could easily knock it over or break the jug. My wife was also horrified that they would put our food or drink on the floor.

Then they brought out all our mains and entrees at exactly the same time, to our surprise. Unfortunately, there wasn't enough space on our table to put all of them so they took the mains away. We asked the waitress why they had arrived at the same time, she said this was because we had placed our order for all the food at the same time! We were pretty astounded at this remark. Who orders their mains and entrees at different times?

Almost immediately afterwards, the initial waiter who took our order came over to blame us for their mix-up, saying "You never told us you wanted mains and entrees separately". When I responded politely that I'd never been to a restaurant where we had to specify that mains and entrees come out separately, he rudely left midway through my sentence and didn't return. After the entrees were finished, they then re-served us our mains which had been cooling off in the kitchen and were no longer hot by the time they reached us.

The food itself was decent but not special, we had an antipasto plate and kingfish sashimi with grapefruit which didn't live up to its potential. Antipasto was a mixed bag, figs with goat cheese were delicious but the rest of was not particularly noteworthy.

The Kingfish lacked flavour and it was oddly paired with toast. The pasta was generally quite good. We had the gnocchi, risoni and fusilli. All were al dente but the gnocchi was not particularly flavourful. The risoni had generous servings of Scallops and the ox tail was tasty. For the price ($32 for some of the main-sized pastas), it didn't strike me as particularly good value.

Verdict: Reasonable food let down by astoundingly bad service. Probably won't be going back again.

Aug 01, 2011 

10 Highly Recommended

Food  10      Ambience  10      Service  10      Value  10     

This is my favourite regular dining spot in Sydney. I have never had a bad meal or service at the Tratt. The manager, Steve, is a delight and his wait team seem to really love their jobs. They are friendly and they can talk knowledgeably about the food and wine they serve.

Despite their changing menu, I find it hard to go past the gnocchi, angel hair pasta with raw tuna and the steak. My partner and I share a couple of dishes and have a glass of wine, which normally comes to around $50pp or just under. The food is always cooked perfectly and it's So Good.

Go! immediately! but remember to book as it's almost always full.

Jul 14, 2011 

8 Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  8      Service  8      Value  8     

Went here for lunch with four and everyone's meal was lovely. Scallops were fresh and juicy. Angel hair pasta with tuna right up my alley, simple and fresh, not too much going on, just the right flavours. Service was very friendly without being obtrusive and I think the prices for the location are very reasonable.

May 30, 2011 

9 Highly Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  9      Service  9      Value  9     

I love coming to the Tratt! I've been there many times over the years and have never been disappointed with the food and service. I absolutely love their pasta dishes which are great value as even the entree size (normally < $20) is huge and the same size as a main serve in most other places. They also have lots of other things to eat including pizzas ($15-20) and a variety of mains(~$30). The view is beautiful so it's a great place to bring visitors to Sydney.

Feb 12, 2011