Hawks Nest Dining

10 Highly Recommended

Food  10      Ambience  10      Service  10      Value  10     

We had a Christmas get together here with about 9 of us. We chose the a la carte menu and we were all very impressed. Steaks were juicy and cooked perfectly. The veal with prawns was also a stand out. We will definitely be using place again for our get togethers.

I don't really understand the bad reviews, the restaurant was pretty busy, its obviously very popular.

Dec 26, 2011 

1.5 Not Recommended

Food  1      Ambience  2      Service  1      Value  2     

I wonder what has happened to this place? It used to be famous and well known. I attended many work dinners and family occasions here and we had to book weeks in advance to get a table, you could even request who would serve you if you had visited before, that was way back in 1999. It was fab for a club restaurant.

The service was super fast and professional, not what you expect in a suburban club. The waiters used to have a trick where they could remember your orders in their head, sometimes 15 different drinks! Then when our office returned months later they could still remember your order when asked on the spot! Nowadays its the restaurant time forgot, a restaurant that doesn't know if its a Yum Cha room or a 1 star (at best) steak house, a bit like not knowing if its midday or midnight!.

On our recent visits the Yum Cha dishes were clearly out sourced, mass produced, frozen rubbish that has been resteamed over and over, the staff tried to tell us they were fresh made in house, no way, they were factory made mush, my 5 year old could tell that. We tried to order some wine, yet were told there is no bar service! They had to call "down" stairs, we are still waiting for our drinks! Its a huge club, yet no bar person, why bother.

When we went for dinner, we were not shown to a table, just pointed in a direction, given no menus, one waiter finally arrived and got upset that we had sat at a "wrong" table, he said no its set for yumcha you must move? Another waitress spent most of her night on the phone chatting away with a friend so much so the mostly empty restaurant diners now know all about her daughters holiday plans! She then totally messed up our bill when we went to pay. Never again will we go here.

Oct 07, 2011 

1.8 Not Recommended

Food  2      Ambience  2      Service  2      Value  1     

First time, will Never return. Yum Cha is a total disappointment, fill in the card, not a problem but food disappointing and waiter rude as hell. What a shame, I'm sure the leagues club can get rid of this team and do much better.

Aug 18, 2011 

2.8 Not Recommended

Food  4      Ambience  1      Service  5      Value  1     

Haven't been for 10 years +, now I know why. Same food, same ambience, and even the same old tired decor. Such a shame because they’ve spent millions on renovations, but ignored the restaurant. The young waiter was fantastic, however the older waiter was totally useless, he dropped our cutlery, spilt our wine and just grunted when spoken to. The main was very average and the desert was disgraceful. The wagye beef was served as 3 little chucks simply dumped on a plate. As for the Hawks Nest signature desert “the meringue” this was a meringue from Wollies or Coles basically filled with mock cream and the odd piece of fruit (with segments of skin still attached). The Profiteroles (dumplings), were merely coated in cottiee’s chocolate sauce, the only saving grace was the entree, fine dining, I think not! Very tired and management don’t seem to care, it seems there just interested in keeping the punters happy? I’ll wait another 10 years before considering going again, then I hope I’ll remember this recent experience and decide against it. Club food and service at restaurant prices – save your money.

Feb 09, 2011 

5 Average

Food  3      Ambience  7      Service  7      Value  3     

There's nothing chicken on the menu at all except spatchcock or chicken in ceasar salad as a side dish. The salmon was ordered medium, came raw, "stinking of fish". Ordered a cup of peppermint tea, that came put with and either extremely dirty, or stained cup. Over all not impressed at all, paid $75 to eat some chips and garlic bread. Won't be going back.

Feb 05, 2011 

6 Average

Food  6     

I'm Chinese and love yumcha. Just rating the food: Average yumcha. Interesting concept of having yumcha in a leagues club. No trolleys come round, you fill in a card with your selections. This yumcha is a bit hit and miss. Some of the dumplings weren't cooked properly.

Feb 05, 2011 

6.3 Average

Food  9      Ambience  7      Service  2      Value  7     

I have been a member at Ryde Eastwood for 24 years and have been going to the Hawks Nest Restaurant regularly during that time. I haven't yet experienced their Yum Cha but I have to admit that since the introduction of this the a la Carte diners such as myself are suffering when it comes to service. We went there on Sunday for my mothers birthday and it was 20 minutes and 3 requests before we were able to order our meals.

By the time we finally got our main courses we had been there just on an hour. The wait staff were buzzing around attending to the Yum Cha while we sat there twiddling our thumbs waiting. The food was excellent as usual but the service left a lot to be desired. It's a shame really as this is my elderly mothers favourite restaurant and she has now said she doesn't want to go back.

Jan 19, 2010 

7.5 Recommended

Food  7      Ambience  6      Service  7      Value  10     

Came here with a group of 11 people on a saturday afternoon for yum cha. It was beautiful food. The salt and pepper calamari was a favourite followed by the bbq pork puffs and the green steamed vege. I also thought the prawn and chive dumplings were beautiful. The soy sauce was unusual though, very thick and strong. Could not use too much of it without losing the flavour of the food.

Found the ordering a bit strange as I am used to the traditional trolley bringing food around yum cha. But at least all the food came to us hot and fresh from the kitchen. The value was great as we had joined to be members of the club therefore getting a sight discount. Between us all it ended up being around 19 dollars each. After getting about 25 or more dishes, this included the jugs of softdrink as well. I was very shocked at how cheap it turned out to be.

Sep 04, 2009 

7.3 Recommended

Food  7      Ambience  7      Service  7      Value  8     

We have had both Yum Cha and Seafood here several times over the past few years.

The Hawk's Nest is upstairs at Ryde Eastwood Leagues Club and while the decor is a bit dated and there is no view, courtesy of the windows you can't see out of as they are so high. The staff are mostly attentive but there is one which is a bit of a sour face but it doesn't spoil things.

The Yum Cha is a bit different as you order your dishes rather than wait for a trolley to come around. In many ways it is better, as your Yum Cha comes out hot and you get what you want. However, be warned that you may over indulge as we often do. We have noticed that you may not actually get everything you ordered and sometimes something you didn't order but it doesn't matter as they mark your card only when they bring something out.

The range is probably less than many other large Yum Cha places. The Yum Cha dishes taste good as they are freshly cooked but they do vary in quality. Some days they are good and others they are a bit average. Haven't figured out the pattern yet. Yum Cha at Ryde Eastwood has become much more popular over the years and Sundays can be very hectic and difficult to get in.

You can also have Western dishes and while we haven't eaten any they do look impressive. We did try the Seafood Platter for two and found it quite nice. It was fairly standard in its contents. Overall it is above average for your club venue but not as good as the high ranking Yum Cha restaurants in the area.

Aug 09, 2009