Manly Phoenix

7 Recommended

Food  7      Ambience  7      Service  7      Value  7     

Dined here in the early evening Friday 18th May with family members. The staff were friendly and quite attentive. We were seated at a window table overlooking the fast ferry pier. The view is definitely a plus and was an enhancement to our dining experience.

We shared our meals which lived up to expectations of such a venue. After reading reviews on this site about rude waiters and bad service I am happy to report it was not the case for us. We had a very enjoyable birthday celebration for my elderly mum.

May 27, 2012 

2 Not Recommended

Food  3      Ambience  3      Service  1      Value  1     

Worst yum cha experience I have ever had. Not only did they often miss our table due to port layout, the food was often cold or not available. We were given a time limit to eat our lunch of 1 hour. When asked if we wanted anything else and we were told that what we would like wasn't currently available in the carts and that they would now be collecting our bill. We were charged $40 before we even ate a thing. The staff were rude and unhelpful. And often avoided being attentive at all. I will not be going back.

May 21, 2012 

3.3 Below Average

Food  8      Ambience  2      Service  2      Value  1     

Great food but very expensive. The head waiter was the rudest man I have ever met. Will not be going back.

Apr 28, 2012 

7.8 Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  9      Service  7      Value  7     

Came here for yum cha with my partner, I was surprised the food was good and service too, the restaurant is beautiful with a nice view of the ocean, the dumplings were way better than regular chinese restaurants and the noodles not so greasy, as you can see in many places. We spent $70 and were very full at the end, I will be back to try a la carte menu.

Mar 14, 2012 

1 Not Recommended

Food  1      Ambience  1      Service  1      Value  1     

The setting for this restaurant is good with an outlook over the water but that was the only good thing about this restaurant. We were seated very quickly when we arrived but it took some time to take our order even though the restaurant was less than half full. Asked for tap water but the waitress brought bottled water anyway. It was lucky that neither of us was overly hungry because the food was so abysmal that we left most of it untouched.

The rice was a soggy mess with what really looked like fake scallops that are cut out with a cookie cutter, certainly not like any scallops that I buy from the fish market! Crispy skinned chicken, supposed to be on the bone but wasn't, nor was it crispy as it sat in a puddle of congealing garlic sauce. Why hadn't we read the other reviews before we foolishly decided to eat here! Give this place a wide berth if you actually like decent food.

Mar 05, 2012 

4.5 Below Average

Food  7      Ambience  6      Service  2      Value  3     

We were very disappointment with Manly Phoenix. It was a family members birthday. We arrived at 7.30pm. A waiter came and took our drink order about 8.10pm. Our entree can out about 9.00pm and our mains were rushed out at 9.30pm. Only once did a waiter come out to speak to us about the slow service and that is only because we must of looked upset. The food was lovely but expensive, the service was awful. Would not recommend.

Jan 18, 2012 

3.8 Below Average

Food  7      Ambience  6      Service  1      Value  1     

I recently took a group of 30 to the Phoenix at Manly to celebrate my 40th Birthday. It was the first such time that I had eaten at this restaurant. Whilst I was appreciative of the efforts of staff prior to our arrival to accommodate this booking, I came away somewhat disappointed and a little embarrassed as the host. As you can well appreciate, this was a significant occasion for me and I had wanted my family and friends to be treated to a special meal which demonstrated how much they meant to me.

We ordered the $42 Banquet Menu for the 20 adults and the $36 Banquet Menu for the Children. I spent approx $1,300 in the restaurant and to be honest, I came away feeling as though I had been taken advantage of. Whilst there can be no question that the food was delicious, the quantity that was served up was seriously inadequate. This had the unfortunate effect in that my guests departed the restaurant after having eaten a banquet and were still hungry!

I have never experienced anything like this before. Furthermore, each dish that was placed on the table was small when divided up 10 ways. In hindsight, I would have done much better to have ordered individual dishes from the menu and I would come away much fuller and with significantly more money still in my wallet.

I was also disappointed to discover that basic inclusions such as Chinese Tea were not included until I received the Bill and saw that I had been charged for this separately. Once again, I have never experienced this before when ordering Chinese Banquets.

I am reluctant to post a negative review on the Internet but feel that people should know what happened from my experience.

Jan 14, 2012 

6.5 Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  5      Service  7      Value  6     

We went to Phoenix Manly last Saturday for Yum Cha. The food was nice and the service was more attentive than I expected (for a yum cha place). I was however a bit shocked to be charge $12 for tea (for 4 people). But at least it's more convenient for us than going to Chinatown. The view is also half the reason for going there.

Oct 13, 2011 

9 Highly Recommended

Food  10      Ambience  10      Service  8      Value  8     

Great chinese restaurant. Beautiful location & authentic flavors. It's the food that we go for so we are not that concerned if the staff don't smile that much. Every time I have been there, they are so busy getting your dishes on the table that they don't have a great deal of time for the smiling. If you want a good chinese/cantonese meal on the Northern Beaches, this is the place to go.

Oct 12, 2011 

6.5 Recommended

Food  7      Ambience  7      Service  6      Value  6     

I want to like the Manly Phoenix more, but I just can't. Despite my misgivings whenever I eat Yum Cha on the Nothern Beaches I come here, naturally because there is no choice, and the food really isn't that bad at all. It's a couple of other things that are disappointing about this branch of the Phoenix chain. As many have mentioned, the service is not tip top, the stalwarts that have been there for years, like the lady maitre d' and the head honcho guy, they really need to learn the art of smiling and making people feel welcome.

Honestly, I must have eaten there at least 20 times in 3 years, I know their faces very well, yet they never acknowledge or even smile at me. And the toilets - Shuddddderrrr! Seriously - go before you come to this place, they would have to be the filthiest toilets I have ever been to in a Western country. If you are going to have the lights up high in the cubicles, then for god's sake, make more of an effort to clean. There was pink gunge around the back of my toilet seat, and it was clear from the stains that the seat of my toilet had Never been wiped. I honestly couldn't sit down on it. And this isn't a one-off.

Every time we go there, the bins are overflowing, there's water splashed everywhere and the place always looks like it needs a good scrub. Just no excuse. Other than that, our meal was lovely today, some unusual dishes that all tasted great. Please lift your game Manly Phoenix and save me the trip into Chinatown.

Oct 09, 2011