Yulli's

8.3 Highly Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  9      Service  7      Value  8     

I usually don't like tapas, and I'm not a vegetarian, but I loved Yulli's. We had a great experience, and I would definitely recommend it.

Nov 10, 2011 

9.3 Highly Recommended

Food  10      Ambience  9      Service  9      Value  9     

I am not a vegetarian but I loved this place. All dishes we've ordered were so yummy. I just wish the restaurant was bigger so it could take more bookings. Obviously it was a very busy restaurant and we had to leave within a certain number of hours. The service was good and atmosphere was good. I would definitely go back.

Nov 07, 2011 

5.8 Average

Food  5      Ambience  8      Service  6      Value  4     

My visit was with a group of friends, including a vegetarian from out of town whom we wanted to make welcome - so a vegetarian place seemed to be the right choice.

I've eaten at a few vegetarian eateries before, and so often they've been disappointing, particularly when it came to value for money. Just because food doesn't contain meat, doesn't mean it has to be swimming in fat, or stodgy, or tasteless, or spartan, or just plain out-of-date cuisinewise.

Yulli's is most of the way towards improving on this cliche. It has a fun selection of beers and ciders, and a great ambience that's halfway between a bistro and a bar. It's obviously popular, and has regulars who come back over and over again.

However, there's a couple of things that made our visit not what it could be.

* the number of guests at our table changed, as we ran into people we knew. Although the service staff noticed, we never received new plates or utensils, leading to us having to share.

* the set degustation-style menu is $35 a head - my partner and I decided to order a la carte instead, sharing an entree shared plate, two mains and a shared dessert, and spent less money but had remarkably more food than the rest of our table who opted for the set. We were very pleased with our decision as we watched our tablemates get one single morsel of each dish after another.

* the okonomiyaki main let the whole experience down. Being the most substantial-sounding dish, we went for it, but the serving of a Japanese bitter melon pancake with Thai penang curry was just as confusing on the palate as it sounds. Furthermore, the entire thing was just about inedible, as the okonomiyaki itself was so badly burnt (charred black) that the bitterness overwhelmed everything. Being with people we didn't know very well, we didn't send it back. Also, the lighting was so dim in there, it took a while to realise the severity of the charring! But in a fully-lit kitchen, it would've been very obvious to the chef, who piled the curry over the top regardless. Disappointing.

The rest of the food ranged from quite nice (salt and pepper tofu, with a delicious accompanying green papaya salad) to very good (the porcini and rocket pizza). The sticky date pudding is beautifully matched with coconut ice cream - so well that I can't believe I haven't tasted that combo before!

But ultimately, having such an obviously burnt main, not enough cutlery or room for enough plates on the table, did put a dampener on my enjoyment. A patchy experience.

Sep 26, 2011 

8.8 Highly Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  9      Service  10      Value  7     

We've been a couple of times at lunch, once with the kids and once without. Both times we have left very happy. What a great little spot!

The kids were very happy with their food, especially the dessert which they demolished in a matter of minutes.

I think one of my favourites has got to be the salt and pepper tofu. We've had a variety of things off the menu and have been pleased with all of it. Wish we could get there more often!

Sep 19, 2011 

8 Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  10      Service  9      Value  5     

Very nice vibe, went on a Saturday night, very busy but service friendly and efficient. Nice music and atmosphere. Prices a bit high IMO. Will go back nice place!

Jul 10, 2011 

7.8 Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  9      Service  6      Value  8     

As a staunch meat lover I was immediately critical of going but I was very soon converted by the decor + friendly/cool staff and great Asian Italian Australian fusion food. This is a great first date place with bars close by and cosey yet none intimidating atmosphere, plus your look cultured when you don't order half a dead animal. One of top 5 places in Sydney.

Jul 06, 2011 

8.5 Highly Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  8      Service  9      Value  8     

Went here with my parents and wife and although I am a meat lover and wasn't really keen on going veg I had a great night.

Really good service, nice wine list and really good and inventive vegetarian food. Everything we had was not the typical vego food you get, it was really tasty and good value for money.

Highly recommend booking this though, we went on a sunday night (absolutely pouring with rain) and was fully booked, they had to turn lots of people away who just strolled though.

Jun 16, 2011 

8.3 Highly Recommended

Food  7      Ambience  9      Service  9      Value  8     

We ate here & enjoyed the beautiful ambiance & great service. However, we both found the food quite average/bland and were disappointed.

Jun 15, 2011 

8.3 Highly Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  8      Service  10      Value  7     

We ate here on a busy Saturday night and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. We called during the day to book and were told that they were fully booked inside but we could have a table reserved out the front. We are glad that we were advised on the phone to "rug up" as there didn't appear to be any heating outside and I imagine it could get quite cold during winter.

We started with zucchini flowers and the falafel platter for entrée which were both delicious. The waitress was very friendly and took us through the menu prior to ordering and even matched me a beer to go with the food from their extensive drinks menu.

We were offered a table inside just before our mains were served but we enjoyed dining on the street and people watching so we decided to stay outside. For mains we had the Vietnamese crepe and the grilled halloumi bagel. The crepe was outstanding, very fresh and light with beautiful flavours. The bagel was nice as well but we will probably try something different next time. It was served with a side of chips which were very pub-style and quite average compared to the rest of our meal.

We had the mango tapioca pudding for dessert which was a great finish to the meal. Very sweet with an interesting texture that was well matched to the coconut ice cream served on the side.

During the meal we found a small piece of plastic in the crepe. The staff were very apologetic and more than compensated for the mistake by making some generous adjustments to the final bill. Had the service been of a lesser standard this may have tainted our view of the restaurant, but the staff were so fantastic that we left very satisfied and we can't wait to visit again!

May 08, 2011 

7.8 Recommended

Food  6      Ambience  10      Service  8      Value  7     

I've always enjoyed Yulli's in the past, but I haven't been as impressed recently. The menu fails to mention a few very overpowering ingredients in a couple of dishes, like mint for the eggplant dish and ginger for the pumpkin polenta, yet for these dishes that is All I could taste (not good for someone who dislikes these flavours!). This was very disappointing, they should either mention their overpowering flavours on the menu, or go a little easier on them.

Apr 18, 2011