Fisherman's Wharf Seafood Restaurant

3.5 Below Average

Food  4      Ambience  5      Service  2      Value  3     

Having always been regulars, its safe to say you don't come here for the service. But this particular visit warranted a post. It was for a 30th birthday, so we went all out and ordered lobster, abalone, steam fish etc. The lobster was brought to our table, no 'nutcracker' was provided to us so we can crack the shells. I had to ask for 3 times and 15 minutes later it appeared. The lobster was getting cold by then.

The abalone was brought to our table not long after, which meant that we had to decide which one we wanted to eat first, bad time management. They did not provide knife and fork so they expected me to eat a whole abalone with my chopsticks. And as I was waiting for the knife and fork to come, the vegetable and the fish came to the table as well. Seriously bad time management.

The waiter proceeded to cut the fish open to take out the bone (standard procedure). Most of the meat won't come off the bone because it was so uncooked. The manager came over and looked at it and said "oh it taste nicer this way". I told him I would have nothing to taste since nothing is coming off the bone. He finally agreed to cook a new fish altogether.

The service was extremely bad this night. I might have to venture back to chinatown for other chinese restaurants.

Feb 28, 2012 

1.8 Not Recommended

Food  2      Ambience  1      Service  3      Value  1     

Went for lunch with the family yesterday and was disgusted with the service and food quality. We arrived into a hot restaurant with the A/C being broken which is not entirely their fault but with temperatures outside of 30+ degrees it wasn't an ideal start. The yum cha was cold and barely edible but was still forced upon us each time a trolley came past.

The waiters all stood there blankly looking around at anyone but a table requiring service and when we finally did get service we were greeted with a blank face who quite frankly looked like he was not happy at having been asked to come over and wait our table. I ordered mainly simple dishes, mongolian lamb and chicken with ginger and shallots. My parents ordered a live crab at around $60 (for 690g) so they expected it to be half decent. The crab came out first and ten minutes later the rest of our dishes came out. The crab had barely any meat on it and was almost cold by the time the rest of the food came out.

When it came to paying the bill the service was all of a sudden quick and friendly. At $250 odd for 5 people it wasn't ridiculously expensive but for what we got we could have enjoyed a fast food joint more. All in all I will never be back a very unenjoyable experience.

Nov 07, 2011 

4.5 Below Average

Food  7      Ambience  7      Service  1      Value  3     

Being a Melbournian, I’ve always been fond of this place for yumcha during my not too infrequent visits to Sydney. Decided to try the place out for dinner and whilst the food was decent, the service was beyond appalling.

Asked the waiter for recommendations and were given two options “lobster or crab”. When responded, “not looking for those today, could you recommend any other dishes?” his face turned black and literally refused to provide any recommendations.

Ordered multiple dishes which all came out to be of decent (not excellent) quality and with the approximate bill coming to $250 for 4 people. The waiter gave us the strange silent treatment for our entire dinner duration only to speak to tell me that the Eftpos machine is closed when I asked for the bill. I told him that I had planned on paying with a credit card and advance notice of this would have been appreciated. Again, the silent treatment began, so I had to go withdrew money to settle the bill.

There were no apologies for this and safe to say, I will not be returning ever to this restaurant where it seems when the most expensive recommendation isn’t taken onboard, they refuse to acknowledge you as a customer.

Sep 09, 2011 

6.8 Recommended

Food  7      Ambience  6      Service  6      Value  8     

This is now our closets and favourite yum cha place to head too unless we are out West then its Iron Chef or nothing! Food is always fresh and tastes great. Service - they still have the charts - so, awesome! It is great value for money. But you need to get here early to avoid waiting in the queue.

Sep 03, 2011 

5.8 Average

Food  7      Ambience  5      Service  6      Value  5     

Went on a Sunday and booked for 11 am. Quite a number of tables available which quickly filled up. Had a window seat. Seafood was gr8-dumplings, salt and pepper squid, duck pancakes etc but give lobster a miss! Make sure you get custard tarts with flaky pastry and not short crust. Wine over priced so BYO for $5 corkage.

Jul 24, 2011 

2.5 Not Recommended

Food  2      Ambience  5      Service  2      Value  1     

A very disappointing experience on a recent visit. The food was below average quality and the service was very poor, the waiter was in a hurry to take the order and kept running around taking orders from other tables at the same time. No Manager on hand to put things right.

May 15, 2011 

3.5 Below Average

Food  5      Ambience  3      Service  1      Value  5     

We had friday dinner there with some overseas visitors. The food was served quickly, but was cold and not nice. We had one server who was very attentive, but the other servers didn't want to answer questions and were rather blunt. Despite getting fortune cookies and fruit after the meal, I would not return again.

Apr 25, 2011 

7.5 Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  8      Service  7      Value  7     

Have wanted to go to this restaurant for sometime and finally got there last weekend. Being a hot day it was superb to come into a perfectly air conditioned restaurant. The service was very attentive and surprisingly very cheerful (something other Yum Cha places could learn from). The selection of dishes although a little slow to get going were excellent and the freshness and flavours spot on. This restaurant does not hassle you constantly with new dishes but tend to wait until your table is "light-on" and will then ask, a strong positive. Will definitely be back here again.

Jan 25, 2011 

6.5 Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  6      Service  6      Value  6     

I really like Yum Cha here (I came again last Saturday). Their seafood dumplings are really tasty and fresh. I tend to only order seafood dishes from here. I can never leave without eating a freshly made Egg tart! they are so tasty and they melt in your mouth.

Don't be too taken back by the noise and the crowd surrounding the "reception" especially during busy holidays/events. If you go yumcha often, it is very common and only good places have a crowd.

They also validate your parking ticket if you spend over $35 (I believe they might be a limit on how many cars they validate VS money spent). This is currently "my yumcha" destination for good food!

Jan 12, 2011 

7.5 Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  8      Service  7      Value  7     

This is a favourite for Yum Cha and I'm often there on a Sunday. There's a big window overlooking the wharf which makes it light and it's a bit less crowded than other yum cha place. Food is great, the steamed dumplings, beans and pork buns are all great.

Service can be hit and miss as it often is at Yum Cha. Bookings don't really mean anything and occassionally the trolleys seem to keep missing you but overall it's a good experience. I keep going back!

Nov 10, 2010