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User Reviews on Exchange Hotel
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 14 comments
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| Overall |
 
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Recommended |
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Drinks 7 |
Ambience 8 |
Service 6 |
Value 7 |
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Not too bad for a pub bistro in the inner west! Two of us visited for a lazy Sunday afternoon lunch and were pleasantly surprised with the upstairs decor and offerings.
Good range of cocktails/wines/beers etc and the food was tasty and competent. It was a windy day and we sat on the balcony, so had to scoff the salad before it blew away, no worries as the wind also blew away the cigarette smoke. Service was a bit slow but understandable given the time of day and a midday rush to the bar.
Good value all-round, and a definite inclusion on our local haunts.
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CBDman -
See my reviews 46 , 01 September 2008
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| Overall |
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Highly Recommended |
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Drinks 10 |
Ambience 6 |
Service 9 |
Value 7 |
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Balmain is still a blend of local and new and the challenge for venues is to get this right. Bertoni's and The Little Marionette do it with coffee so it may take more time for The Exchange to get its mix right. A challenge is that even after 2 years locals will lament the passing of the previous owners who were tight within community fabric.
I love the extensive cocktail list; the staff is funky and pleasant. The bistro idea is not that appealing to me but foodies are not the target market. Can Gen Y sustain the Exchange? No you have to have a community blend, Trivia, flags up, Anzac Day Balmain thrives on community driven experiences that are executed in a modern creative way. We don't do "Cargo Bars”. Maybe these guys need a white board not a menu board to get their "blend" right. Also bring back Bloody Mary Sunday Breakfasts.
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Ashleigh -
See my reviews 13, 17 April 2008
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| Overall |
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Highly Recommended |
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Drinks 9 |
Ambience 8 |
Service 8 |
Value 8 |
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Interesting reviews. I'm from Balmain and I feel the new look Exchange is cool. It is now a Bistro not a restaurant so there are no waiters, so keep your expectations down. Myself and my crew have never had a bad meal there let alone an ordinary one. The Bar staff upstairs make some of the most consistent cocktails in town and everyone smiles at my friends and I! As for double the price, it is Balmain and most of the bigger pubs there are the same. It is also a safe place to have a drink. I had my 30th here last month and was really looked after. Sorry, just sticking up for one of the good local pubs in my area.
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poisson -
See my reviews 1, 01 November 2006
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| Overall |
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Below Average |
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Drinks 6 |
Ambience 3 |
Service 5 |
Value 1 |
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Since the new management took over two years ago, this pub/restaurant has steadily gone down hill. Gone is the great pub feel and good food. Instead you are treated to a white wash of boring modern design and food that is just plain bad. The Monday night $10 meal used to be the best deal in Sydney. Judging from the food I received this past Monday and the lack of patrons at the pub, I would now rate this as close to the worst deal in Sydney. Too bad they screwed such a good thing up.
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mrsydney -
See my reviews 14, 19 October 2006
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| Overall |
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Not Recommended |
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Drinks 1 |
Ambience 2 |
Service 1 |
Value 1 |
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I have to agree wth lovetogoout the new owners. You dont turn a local pub into a Suits and Ties bar like those in the city and charge double.
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TDAH -
See my reviews 11, 23 September 2006
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| Overall |
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Not Recommended |
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Drinks 1 |
Ambience 2 |
Service 1 |
Value 1 |
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What a come down...this used to be one of the great places in Balmain but what has happened. A once friendly, gold service venue has turned into a pretentious pub and I agree with the other reviews the food was extremely average and overpriced, and the service was terrible all over the venue with slow waiters and rude barstaff. Never again.
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lovetogoout -
See my reviews 1, 17 August 2006
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| Overall |
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Highly Recommended |
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Drinks 10 |
Ambience 10 |
Service 10 |
Value 10 |
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Really happy with service, great value drinks, very comfortable and also don't be suprised to run into famous face while you'r there. It's a definite must see and bring all your girlfiends for free champagne on fridays.
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barbuff -
See my reviews 2, 24 February 2006
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| Overall |
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Highly Recommended |
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Drinks 8 |
Ambience 9 |
Service 8 |
Value 8 |
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Great atmosphere, good pub food, however the upstairs area desperately needs air con or ceiling fans. Maybe just a ruse to sell more beer, but it makes for uncomfortable drinking, despite the balcony terrace.
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keenedm -
See my reviews 3, 31 October 2005
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
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| Overall |
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Not Recommended |
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Drinks 5 |
Ambience 2 |
Service 1 |
Value 1 |
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I have to say that this was probably one of the worst dining experiences of my life. Not because the food was bad (it was average - certainly not the standard you would expect for $30 mains, that's for sure), but because the service for what calls itself a premium restaurant was appalling.
It takes a lot to make me an unhappy diner (hey - usually decent food and a smiling waiter is all it takes) but the service at Zettal was so abysmal, it defies description.
Here's an outline of what we were subjected to on Saturday night.
We arrive bang on 7:30 for our booking and are seated promptly (or rather pointed in the direction of our table). We were a party of 14 so not an insignificant number so we seated ourselves. We are served an appetiser (some kind of garlic pap on a plate - thoroughly unenjoyable) before anyone even deigned to come and take our food order. The food order was finally taken at around 8pm and we opted for mains with a view towards indulging in dessert at the end of the meal. A good plan, we thought.
A litany of mistakes and errors ensued. Not only did our main meals take more than an hour and a half to arrive at the table, the wait staff kept bringing other diners meals to our table and whisking them away. At one stage, they brought a set of entrees (we didn't order entree), another round of appetisers (which were promptly removed), and then another tables side dishes - twice!
All this time we kept asking where our food was and we were assured it was only a couple of minutes away. Full credit to them, they kept the wine coming thick and fast, but the cynic in me believes it was done to try and keep us quiet and not complaining. It didn't work. We watched as the table next to us received their entree, main and dessert in the space of time it took us to get one course, and even then it was average. That's being kind.
Of the 5 mains on the menu, there were only 4 available (no vegetarian option btw). I ordered the Kangaroo Island Chicken, Tomato Consomme and Spinach Tortellini. The chicken was ok - just grilled chicken. The tortellini was average - smaller than your commercially made varieties. The tomato consomme was cold. You really have to wonder how long these meals were sitting on the pass before they were delivered.
My partner had the Milk Poached Veal with Pommes Fondantes, Brandade and Parsley Sauce. It was fine but absolutely nothing special.
The two people at our table who ordered the grilled snapper with lobster mousse had to send their meals back as the fish was raw in the centre - not just rare - raw. Cold. Icy, even. Neither were asked if they would like anything else instead.
One member of the party send back her meat (she opted for the Aged Beef Fillet with Risotto of Kipfler Potatoes, Foie Gras and Cabernet Sauce) because it arrived rare and she wanted it well done. She had cut it in three pieces to check how it was done and when it returned, it was the same piece of meat, re-cooked. How appalling for a restaurant to send out a piece of meat in pieces that had been re-cooked! Particularly given the level of service we had to endure.
When approached by a member of the group, stated that the mistakes and service levels were not his responsibility. He was understaffed for a Saturday night and saddled with untrained and in-experienced wait staff. He stated he had only been in the role a few weeks and was under huge pressure to make the restaurant a financial success.
Firstly, I beg to differ - everything that happens in a restaurant is the responsibility of the manager. From the service to the food to the drinks - everything. Secondly - the diners don't care what pressure you were under. If you can't deliver a good meal in a timely fashion and value for money, then the restaurant is doomed to failure.
I'm not blaming the wait staff individually, they were courteous if somewhat inefficient, but for us to wait two hours from sitting down to receiving our mains is not their fault - it is intrinsically linked to the management of the venue and the ability of the kitchen to deliver.
After discussions with the management they agreed not to bill us for the evening, which probably cost them around $800. In my opinion it was the very least they could do. By the time we left at 11, we still had a table of dirty dishes from our mains and no sign of a dessert menu...
Disturbingly bad.
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foodiefreak -
See my reviews 8, 17 October 2005
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| Overall |
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Average |
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Drinks 4 |
Ambience 8 |
Service 7 |
Value 4 |
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Unlike the other comments here, I dined at Zettal restaurant at The Exchange and had excellent service but ordinary food. I ordered pasta which was served lukewarm, and the flavours were bland. The food is overpriced. I don't mind paying for great food, but the quality does not match the price. The room and decor looks great. We sat in big comfy leather lounges. Disappointing food and not good value.
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KD -
See my reviews 46, 07 September 2005
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