Pony Lounge & Dining

7.7 Recommended

Ambience  8      Service  8      Value  7     

Took the Mrs here on Sat night and was pretty impressed, the room is long and thin but has a nice ambience with the open kitchen being a good thing to watch. Wine list is ok and the menu is pretty good if not a little safe but you can hardly complain if good produce is well cooked and presented.

Shared a few things from the small bites menu: calamari, caramelised onion tart and prawns. All were very nice, light and flavoursome, the highlight was the crispy fried prawns which were huge and delicious. All of these items came quickly.

Mains were just as good, wifey had the salmon and I had the lamb, both were from the wood grill thingy. Very nicely done and it had a great smokey flavour, coupled with the fennel salad, it was pretty much perfect amount of food. Prices were at the top end for serving size but again, no dramas for me if it is well cooked and done well.

Had a few glasses of wine from the list, not many choices but enough to get through a meal and all were brought quickly to the table. Service was a little rushed and they reminded you at booking, upon seating and at meal that you must clear the table by a certain time. Busy Saturday so no grudge there.

May 28, 2012 

7.3 Recommended

Food  7      Ambience  7      Service  8      Value  7     

Lunch on Mother's Day meant a very busy restaurant. Seated outside on communal table on a chilly, windy day but overhead and portable gas heaters helped. This 80 seater is cosy and decor looks great.

Staff were welcoming and helpful, with all requests attended to. Service was as fast as expected on a busy day.

Ordered entrees for a hungry table (flat bread w/ eggplant and white bean dip, duck liver, chorizo and chipolatas. No other bread was available.

Apart from duck liver, all dishes were quite spicy and not so suitable for children, despite being recommended. Plenty of kids for lunch on Mother's Day but no kids' menu?

Almost everyone ordered the lamb special (glass of wine included!) and were happy. My medium rare scotch fillet was a tad over done, a steak lover knows exactly how they like it! I should have asked for the pesto removed.

Desserts were great, especially the chocolate pudding special with cardamon and orange ice cream.

All in all the dishes were tasty, albeit expensive.

May 17, 2012 

4.5 Below Average

Food  3      Ambience  6      Service  5      Value  4     

My friends and I dined there on Saturday night. When we first showed up at the restaurant they didn't have our booking, which was soon rectified so we let that slide, mishaps like this do happen.

We were really looking forward to our meal as we have heard good reviews and comments from our friends for their Neutral Bay restaurant, in particular their lamb and steaks.

What happened on the night was a major let down! Don't go there. It was the most disappointing steak I've had!

The meat was dry, tasteless and wasn't a medium like I've asked for. We asked for the steaks to be sent back, which the waitress promptly did (good on her!)
But what happened next was something I won't forget. The manager then returned our steaks to the table, telling us that they have checked the temperature and it was done the Right way. The tone was patronising like we don't know how to make a steak! The exact words were "This is how our head chef cooks it....you need to cut your steak down the middle..."

Needless to say with that kind of attitude and arrogance we won't be returning and will be sure to tell our friends not to bother. I'm sure with the price we paid for there are plenty of better steaks served elsewhere in Sydney.

May 07, 2012 

3.8 Below Average

Food  3      Ambience  8      Service  1      Value  3     

Yestersday we went to the restaurant, and my friend made a booking previously, but upon our arrival, her name wasn't on the list. We were given a table on the balcony, and the service was attentive at first. We chose four small plates to share amongst 7, and the servings were indeed as the name suggest, very small. The kingfish salad we tried was very bland. The main was a major disappointment. I ordered a medium steak, and it was dry, tough and flavourless.

The waitress quickly brought it back into the kitchen. However, rather than a new steak, the rudest senior staff came back with our original plates, and he was schooling us as if we don't know what we are talking about. I said it was more medium-well than medium, due to the toughness, He reiterated that this is the way their head chef cooks it, end of story. It was the most unpleasant experience I have had in a long while. I will not be back ever again.

May 06, 2012 

7.5 Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  7      Service  7      Value  8     

We had a wonderful meal, staff were very attentive. Loved watching the chefs cook the food, all our food was tasty, the fennel salad is a must. Gnocchi were great also. Pity that you have to hike it down the street to go to the bathrooms, however, also My cappuccino coffee was only luke warm.

Apr 29, 2012 

8.3 Highly Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  8      Service  9      Value  8     

Our experience was great. Had a couple of drinks outside before being shown to our table, and the waitress was gorgeous very friendly young lady. The food was flavoursome, great wine selection and well priced dishes. Desserts were very simple yet moorish. Accompanied by a nice decor, it was a very nice experience.

Apr 07, 2012 

7 Recommended

Food  6      Ambience  7      Service  8      Value  7     

We visited Pony at The Rocks on a summer night. Compared to our last visit, it was raining heavily and we found a nice refuge along the communal table, right below the heaters.

Their small plates again made a great start to the meal. The mozzarella complimented well with the salsa and the frittata packed with flavour. While I enjoyed the blue eye cod with potato crust main course, I wished there was something to cut through the oily mustard sauce to balance the dish.

We enjoyed the special dessert. Caramelised figs and chocolate worked well with the French toast.

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Mar 26, 2012 

7 Recommended

Food  7      Ambience  7      Service  7      Value  7     

We were a couple who went for lunch and enjoyed our experience. The wait staff were friendly and attentive. The outdoor bench seating was something different as they seat you next to people who you don't know. I quite like this as an option as we got talking with some lovely people. Conversations seem to start easily this way when the food comes out as people are curious as to what you are eating and vice versa.

We had the small plates as our options. We got about 8 of them and dessert. The variety we chose was good and was enough food. The dishes are quite small for the price, but it did give us a good option of choices and you would expect to pay those types of prices being in the heart of The Rocks.

We will be going back there again as we had a good experience.

Mar 18, 2012 

6 Average

Food  6      Ambience  6      Service  7      Value  5     

The service was good. Very friendly and efficient. I must say, however, I felt very rushed by the whole experience. We were forced into booking for 6:00 or 8:30 and after arriving at 6:00 were done and left by 6:45.

We had wood fired bread and a smoked eggplant dip to start. The eggplant dip was great with a lemon and herb flavour I couldn't quite place. The bread was a trifle burnt on some parts. I know they cook on coals but that means you be extra careful about touching the bread to the flame. We then had the hot chilli almonds. There was really no chilli, however, they were very obliging in replacing them with some that had a lot more chilli.

I wouldn't have them again however. My partner's sirloin was apparently excellent and looked great with large chunky potatoes. I had the lamb rump which I was told came medium. That was fine but the centre was certainly very rare. The dish was reasonable but not great.

A pleasant space. A tad expensive I thought for the offering.

Mar 08, 2012 

3 Below Average

Food  3      Ambience  3      Service  3      Value  3     

Very disappointed. A member of our party found a hair on her plate. Unacceptable for a restaurant of this standard. We left after one course and won't be back.

Feb 16, 2012