Grub & Tucker

8.8 Highly Recommended

Food  10      Ambience  8      Service  10      Value  7     

Great place to eat, friendly staff, had my birthday here with friends and will definitely be back.

May 25, 2012 

8 Recommended

Food  7      Ambience  8      Service  9      Value  8     

I've now been to Grub & Tucker a couple of times. The first visit was as "full paying" customers. I ordered the burger and my partner had the salmon risotto. The burger was okay, but I think the days of the outstanding burger that isn't from a gourmet burger shop have passed. The salmon risotto on the other hand was delicious! A massive serving as well.

This prompted me to jump at the chance of a voucher deal that gave us a full 3 courses for a ridiculously cheap price ($39!). Having had one meal there, we were fairly confident it wouldn't end up like our last voucher (La Kasbah). The voucher menu was separate to the full menu, but it still gave plenty of choice for each course. We started with the Garlic Prawns and Garlic Mushrooms. The prawns were fresh, juicy and tasty. I could have done with more garlic as was the case with the mushrooms, but I Love garlic!

For mains, we had the lamb shank and the barramundi. The lamb shank was fall off the bone tender, but lacked a "wow" factor flavour. It was lovely, just not Wow. The barramundi was much the same. Perfectly cooked, but the tomato relish with it lacked any real flavour. I mentioned it to the waitress when she asked, saying that it could have done with, perhaps, more herbs during cooking, and she happily passed it on to the chef.

The desserts were a step above. My partner loved her Chai and ginger creme brulee, and I inhaled the berry trifle, and loved the pashmak that was put on top.

Service was very friendly, non obtrusive and efficient. Could not fault it at all. Overall, the food here won't blow your mind, but it will satisfy you, and give you a pleasant meal out for a reasonable price, even without a voucher.
I'll definitely be going back again.

May 25, 2012 

8.3 Highly Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  8      Service  8      Value  9     

Had beef cheeks, and they were amazing! Perfect for a cold winters night. Waitress was warm and friendly, and we sat out in the courtyard enjoying our wine for a while. Try it for warm, comfort food!

Apr 16, 2012 

1.8 Not Recommended

Food  1      Ambience  3      Service  1      Value  2     

Grubby Tucker is more fitting, the worst dining experience of my life. Waited half hour for order to be taken on a mid week evening completely unacceptable considering only 6 other patrons. Ordered the barramundi gnocchi special which was on a chalk board listed 3 ingredients, turned out to be a veggie salad with figs and hazelnuts.

Took over an hour again for our food to arrive, it was awful, had a disgusting texture and taste. The only time the waiter was prompt was to hand the bill to us at paying he asked was the meal Ok! before I could reply he turned on his heels and walked back to the kitchen. Advise every single person not to waste your money on this over priced nonsense. Graffiti on the walls rubbish in the kitchen!

Mar 28, 2012 

6.5 Recommended

Food  7      Ambience  10      Service  3      Value  6     

I've been to Grub & Tucker many times. I love dining in their back yard. It reminds me of those European Beergardens. Their menu offers a wide variety of food for every taste bud. Portions are massive and nicely presented.

However, during my last couple of visits I was quite disappointed. The service staff is very unattentive and not interested in the customer's well-being. We had to ask for menus, remind them that we are ready to order drinks and had to wait for service forever although the restaurant did not seem to be busy at all.

After we've finished our mains no one cleared the plates. Instead you see the wait staff chatting with each other at the counter. Again, we had to ask for dessert menus, got them and while we were deciding on desserts the waiter came back to advise that the kitchen is closed and that it is too late to order desserts.

Generally, I was always happy with my food. The antipasti platter is one of my favourite starters. (if you are a slow eater make sure you order your mains after you have finished the starter, otherwise you may end up having both courses on the table at the same time). The salmon and prawn with spinach linguini was fantastic. My friend had barramundi with Gnocchi which was pretty much tasteless.

I still love that place for its ambience. If only they could improve on consistency and service attitude.

Mar 16, 2012 

7.3 Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  7      Service  7      Value  7     

Grub and Tucker does tasty modern Australian food in a relaxed environment. The lamb shank as part of the Lamb 3 ways was the highlight of the meal and was to die for, otherwise, the Tiger Prawn risotto is pretty decent too with plenty of fresh ingredients and was a generous serving. The restaurant itself is a nice place to chill if you’re ever in the area shopping or catching up with friends.

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Jan 28, 2012 

7 Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  6      Service  7      Value  7     

Been here twice in the past couple of days. First day with my partner then we went back the following day for breakfast with friends considering the food was so good and such great value. The Thai salad with BBQ prawns is really fresh, bitey, tasty and healthy to boot and the big breakfast really big and tasty which my partner was very happy with. The Salmon Benidict is my favourite for breakfast. We have eaten here quite a bit over the years and the menu covers real cafe casual food to great quality restaurant dishes. Good casual dining and reasonable prices that will please most. The only complaint we had on both occasions is that the staff kept on cranking up the music even when we asked them to turn it down a bit so everyone has to shout to hear each other talk.

Jan 22, 2012 

3 Below Average

Food  2      Ambience  6      Service  2      Value  2     

Went for dinner on a Thurs night and were disappointed. Service was slow-(despite the restaurant only being half full). Whilst we were promptly shown to a table when we arrived, we then waited over 20 minutes to have our order taken, another 20 mintues to receive the drinks, and longer still for the meal. My partner had barramundi and it was very overcooked/rubbery and the accompanying mashed potato was cold.

I had the pork belly, but, unfortunately, was also unimpressed, there were slimy/brown/composting leaves in my salad, and some of the hazlenuts still had shells on. We had been looking forward to trying this restaurant but were disappointed and won't be going back. There are alot of other cafes/restaurants on King st with better food, prompter service and cheaper prices.

Dec 10, 2011 

8 Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  7      Service  9      Value  8     

Loved it! We were not too keen when we arrived, but boy'o'boy were we more than pleasantly surprised. Service was great! We were warned the servings were big (but we didn't listen) thank Gawd they allowed us to take the left overs home.

Sep 16, 2011 

3.5 Below Average

Food  1      Ambience  6      Service  6      Value  1     

I had breakfast here a little while ago and will not be back. Service was generally good and I like the outdoor area but the food was awful. Undercooked eggs, bacon so overcooked it had the texture of crunchy leather, barely toasted "toast" and cold coffees. Possibly the worst dining experience I've ever had.

Aug 06, 2011