Fresh User Reviews in Surry Hills

7 Recommended

Drinks  7      Ambience  7      Service  8      Value  6     

A nice little place. A touch popular at present so particularly crowded at the end of the week and can be difficult to find space or hear yourself speak. Friendly service and reasonably priced drinks. Great complimentary bar snacks, roasted almonds. Worth a visit.

May 31, 2012

8.5 Highly Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  8      Service  9      Value  8     

My husband and I dined here on a sunday night, and the service was fantastic. As it was our first time trying vietnamese cuisine, we decided to have the $88 tasting menu. I loved everything on the menu and thats saying a lot, as I don't usually eat pork or squid! The chilli salted squid was to die for. The seasoning was amazing and together with the white pepper sauce made such a beautiful dish.

The other stand out was the Mussels in coconut sauce so delicious I wanted more! Overall, I definitely would come back again as we had a great experience.

May 31, 2012

8.8 Highly Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  8      Service  8      Value  10     

We'd been to Gnome many times for breakfast and lunch as it's a favorite spot.
We recently decided to go there for dinner as we noticed that they opened late on weekends. The chicken casserole was one of the best casseroles that I have ever had. The wine list has some great wines on it and there is also a great local craft beer featured. We'll be back.

May 29, 2012

9.3 Highly Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  10      Service  9      Value  9     

This is my office local and it's a shame I don't drink coffee! but I love coming hear for a quick lunchtime sambo, my fave being the chicken, celery and walnut one. The boys here are always super cool and friendly, they even give hugs if ur feeling sad! keep up the good work, really wish there were more places like this in Sydney where service and quality of food is at its best.

May 29, 2012

6.5 Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  7      Service  5      Value  6     

If you like to eat a much as you can of chips, rice, salad and potato, then this place is for you! But I came for the meat.

Waited about 10-15 minutes for each serving to come and then was only able to get one piece of meat, if you were lucky and you had to be quick as it was all gone in a blink.

Far too slow at bringing out the meat for each course. But the quality of the meat when we ate was great but I will not be rushing back again anytime soon.
Shame as my experience of this restaurant when compared to other similar types just did not live up to my expectations.

May 29, 2012

8.5 Highly Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  9      Service  9      Value  8     

I love Gnome! We usually go for the coffee but after seeing fellow customers breakfast we gave it a try. Wow, the breakfast congee sounds weird but is so good! What a great start to the day. Well done Gnome.

May 28, 2012

8.8 Highly Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  8      Service  9      Value  10     

We had a voucher for $29 for $70 worth od food. We went on a Monday night (great that they were open! Many places close Mondays) and after reading a few different reviews we were a little worried, But honestly we could not fault a thing! I love Japanese! And loved this place! The food was fantastic, the service even better and the atmosphere was welcoming and cozy! And we were struggling to make up the $70 because we were so full! Great Great Great! We will be back for sure!

May 28, 2012

8 Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  8      Service  8      Value  8     

I have only just discovered Caffe Sicilia, and absolutely loved it. We were just driving past and decided to go there because it looked beautiful and atmospheric.

The decor is brasserie style, and has that timeless look: it could be 1890s, 1950s or right now. The staff are absolutely fantastic, and the food was amazing. It was so great I went back for a second visit only 2 days later, and had just as good an experience. It felt like a truly authentic Italian dining experience and I would happily go back again and again.

I would recommend both the rabbit and the duck, two of my personal favourites, so easy to get wrong, but beautiful when done well, which these both were. I was very happy with the wine list which was thorough without being too vast.
And always a nice surprise, despite having enjoyed sumptuous meals, on both occasions the bill was much less than I'd imagined.

May 27, 2012

7.5 Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  7      Service  8      Value  7     

We went for a dinner with a voucher and we were surprised that the food was delicious and well presented as they were purchased in normal price. Good service and friendly staffs too.

Will definitely recommend people to come.

May 27, 2012

4 Below Average

Food  3      Ambience  4      Service  5      Value  4     

This place is barely "Ok" for a large group who want to have a cheap meal and watch a show with a bit of a dance after dinner. The lovely thing was seeing some elderly couples hit the dance floor first up, Saturday night meal and dance for over 70's - that was very cute.

The show violinist was engaging, but the showgirls wore incredibly skimpy outfits and I'm no prude. There were children at dinner who didn't know where too look as the costumes were more like something you'd see in the Cross. I'm surprised their parents didn't take them out of the room.

We had a group of about 20 people, with a 4 option set menu. The food was basic, my main came out as a chunk salmon (which was tasty) with a bit of mashed potato smeared across the plate and a teaspoon of shredded carrot/ zucchini, and there were no side dishes to fill the gaps. Airplane food has more variety in a main meal.

The service varied. We had a male waiter who was incredibly attentive and courteous, but when we had a problem with the meal another woman came out and it was almost like we got in trouble for making a fuss. The bar staff were brilliant, great sense of humour!

The ambience of the place was one of family groups having a fun night out. Which it what it was all about. Just because it is in Surry Hills does not mean anything, it could have been located anywhere and still have the same crowd. When we left at the end of the night the dance floor was full, so it is hard to give this place a negative rating, there were a whole lot of people really enjoying their night.

But it is not my cup of tea, I usually go to a restaurant for the food and not the entertainment. I'm not sure I will go back. It was hard to ignore that the place is old and tired and the whole experience was off the mark for me.

May 27, 2012

3.3 Below Average

Food  3      Ambience  3      Service  3      Value  4     

Don't go here for dinner food. They have an open kitchen so I was watching as the kitchen staff re-heated my pre-cooked spaghetti in a plastic container which he added hot water to and shook it up.

Needless to say, the spaghetti was over-cooked and the field mushrooms that accompanied my spaghetti literally tasted like wine and soggy mushrooms. Not quite what I was expecting. The kitchen staff also used his hands to mix up a salad and then I saw him scratch his head after that and Not wash his hands. He also wiped his hands on a tea towel that I suspect is used as a multi-purpose towel for wiping food off the sides of dishes, drying plates and the like. I was totally appalled. Also, we were charged $3 for a mug of hot water, who does that?! The food also takes a long time.

May 26, 2012

9.3 Highly Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  9      Service  9      Value  10     

My husband and I dined here after buying a deal online and that I had seen the restaurant in the SMH good food guide.

The meal started with a delicious amuse bouche which was complimentary. For entree I had crispy chicken wings with scallop whilst the hubby had rabbit terrine. Both were just delicious and were wonderfully presented. Both my husband and I could not pass on the venison with a side of creamy mash. As a regular eater of venison, I thought that it was perfectly cooked. The mash was one of the creamiest mashes I have ever eaten.

For dessert we had a cheese plate with the roquefort being a stand out. The service was attentive without being intrusive and very professional.

I will be returning to try the degustation menu which is a bargain with 6 courses at $85. Would recommend this to anyone, especially friends and couples.

May 26, 2012

1.8 Not Recommended

Food  4      Ambience  1      Service  1      Value  1     

Let me explain: the price on the board is a take away price, which it did not indicate, so when the bill arrived it was larger than anticipated, no explanation or apology, just an assumption that I was in the wrong, no Eftpos facility, which required me to go to an Atm which charged me $2.50 to withdraw cash, asked to provide ID when attending the Atm to ensure I would return to pay, which made me feel like a liar or thief, no acknowledgment that I was inconvenienced, when I tried to explain my grievances to the senior staff, he got angry with me and told me to leave.

Average sandwich and average coffee came to a total of $16. Seriously, do not go to this cafe, he does not deserve your custom or hard-earned money.

May 26, 2012

8.8 Highly Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  9      Service  9      Value  8     

Went here for my birthday tonight with two other friends. The decor is adorable, it's a very cute and cosy place. We ordered 6 tapas between us, and they were all so great and very filling. I think the sirloin was undercooked, but most people would find it cooked well (I like my meat very well done) but it was still tasty regardless.

I strongly recommend the potato sofrito, sherry wild mushrooms and garlic/ manchego cheese bread. The sangria is very nice, but might be a little sweet for some depending on your tastes. Service was good, staff were friendly. Including drinks and churros for dessert, the bill ended up being $50 each (it adds up!). Strongly recommended and would love to return some day.

May 26, 2012

8.8 Highly Recommended

Food  10      Ambience  7      Service  8      Value  10     

The previous review makes me laugh a little... oh well.

As it says in bold above, Lal Qila is definitely a place to go for Pakistani dishes. The Indian on the menu is probably there for the less adventurous. But those food fraidy cats, they would be missing out, because, (surprisingly?) Pakistani food is pretty awesome. Why didn't we know about this?

Please ignore the previous advice, do order the specials. They are delicious, authentic (like I would know) and generous. Many are double or quadruple size (which is why they cost more - duh).

The waitstaff are informative and entertaining. There was a minor sauce spilling incident, but I'm going to let that go.

Value was excellent. A large group (10) ate to the point of being stuffed for around $20 each, with heaps of take away containers of food at the end of the night. That said, we were mostly drinking water.

Decor is the only major thing I could fault. It's nice and cozy, but chairs look a bit like you're at a function, a wedding maybe even. However, peripheral distractions became inconsequential when eating delicious (exciting) food.

May 25, 2012

9 Highly Recommended

Food  10      Ambience  7      Service  9      Value  10     

The best Lebanese cuisine for miles. The decor is in need of a touch-up but the yummy food more than makes up for it.

We've been again and their hummus, babaganoush, falafel, tabbouleh, and garlic chicken skewers are totally delicious, value supreme!

May 24, 2012

8 Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  8      Service  8      Value  8     

With a bit of rummaging you can find a good gluten free breakfast and Orto Trading Co., has one of the best.

Read the full review on my blog

May 24, 2012

8.5 Highly Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  9      Service  8      Value  8     

What a great addition to the Surry Hills dining scene. I had lunch for two on a Thursday. We were seated at the counter overlooking the kitchen staff. We really enjoyed watching the team prepare the dishes.

I started with oysters, and my dining guest had jerusalem artichoke soup. Then we both had suckling pig for main and shared the Bounty dessert. The food was beautifully executed, the pork was tender and delicious. I'd describe it as homey food with a bit of funk. The servings are generous.

Between 2 of us, we order 375ml of sauvignon blanc followed by pinot noir. I think it's fantastic that you can order the equivalent of half bottles of really good wine.

The room is funky without being too cool for school. There's a lot of room between tables. The staff were friendly and professional. The owner chatted with us as we were about to leave, it was nice to feel so welcome.

I love the Four in Hand and I love this new addition. I look forward to returning.

May 24, 2012

9 Highly Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  8      Service  10      Value  9     

Enjoyed a lovely meal here, the food was gorgeous. We shared the crispy pork hock, delicious! The side carrot mash and glazed brussels yum yum yum!

Will be back. Highly recommended.

May 24, 2012

8.3 Highly Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  8      Service  9      Value  7     

Just like the previous reviewer, better than GyG. They serve the true California burrito, all the fillings taste right and they can add the spicy salsa that many Aussies can't handle. Only drawback would be the price, $15 for the steak burrito, but hey you don't need to eat for another day or so! I hope they succeed in a pretty scruffy part of Surry Hills.

May 23, 2012