GoodFoodGuide

8 Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  8      Service  7      Value  8     

I dined here for a NSW Wine Region dinner (overall my second time at this establishment) and can honestly, without exaggeration say that this is the best meal I have had in 2012. Wow. Delicious, divine food. Portion sizes were quite reasonable too. Great flavours, textures - executed with thought, talent, skill. House made sour dough bread was also delicious.

I deducted 1 point for service due to the lack of humour of who I believe was the senior staff. A little bit of conviviality makes the dining experience more enjoyable. I like a waiter who is professional and has a personality.

Mark Best and Pasi Petanen - Thank you for enlivening and indulging my taste buds.

Nick Stock - Thank you for being a wonderful host.

Mar 21, 2012

4.5 Below Average

Food  5      Ambience  5      Service  4      Value  4     

Limited menu, less than average service, at best average food. I won't be returning.

Mar 21, 2012

4 Below Average

Food  4      Ambience  4      Service  4      Value  4     

One of the worst Korean BBQ restaurants that I have ever dined at. A BBQ restaurant without dedicated exhaust vents? The ambience is one of choking on smoke, while desperately trying to get the attention of staff to check on your order or order more food.

The food was less than ordinary and not worth the ordeal of eating at this poorly designed and poorly run establishment. Pick up your socks BBQ City and invest money in those badly needed exhausts!

Mar 21, 2012

0 of 2 people found the following review helpful

4.8 Average

Food  4      Ambience  5      Service  5      Value  5     

I don't understand how somehow who cooks for a living can get some basic things so wrong. It is baffling. Everything was overcooked, tough & oily.

I asked for the sauce to be served separately from my salmon & wasn't I relieved that it was. This was not a sauce. It was cherry tomatoes drowning in oil! My vegetables were also steeped in oil and overcooked, as was my poor fillet of salmon whose texture had been destroyed into a thick piece of cardboard - thick for cardboard, thin for fish as all the moisture had been cooked out of it! Interestingly, for people who like to douse food in oil & overcook the life out of ingredients, they could not manage a crispy skin on my fish.

Yes, this place is busy. Why? I don't know. Are the people in this area so limited for choice that they are forced to eat at this less than average establishment, do they not recognise the difference between good and bad food or are they mindless?

I must admit there are very limited restaurants in this area if you are after a quality meal. Restaurants like these need to lift their game. By patronising such businesses, we perpetuate the cycle of mediocre food. There are enough honest, tasty & healthy restaurants out there that deserve our business. Show them your appreciation by taking your business there.

Mar 12, 2012

0 of 2 people found the following review helpful

6.5 Recommended

Food  7      Ambience  6      Service  6      Value  7     

Dined here with a medium size group on a saturday night. The restaurant was probably only 15% occupied which is interesting considering how busy some of the other Japanese restaurants in this area such as Shimbashi soba & Ju rin are.

This is a Japanese restaurant owned and operated by Korean people. The calibre of their produce is quite good, however, there is clearly a difference between Japanese cuisine served and prepared by Koreans as compared to Japanese. This Korean/Japanese restaurant is better than most, however, still lacks authentic flavours and sushi/sashimi prep skills compared to the 2 aforementioned restaurants owned and operated by Japanese.

The service was reasonable, but lacked in professionalism. There is no excuse why a waiter should sit at a guest's table when taking your order unless that person is your friend or family.

Mar 04, 2012

8 Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  8      Service  7      Value  8     

I dined here for a NSW Wine Region dinner (overall my second time at this establishment) and can honestly, without exaggeration say that this is the best meal I have had in 2012. Wow. Delicious, divine food. Portion sizes were quite reasonable too. Great flavours, textures - executed with thought, talent, skill. House made sour dough bread was also delicious.

I deducted 1 point for service due to the lack of humour of who I believe was the senior staff. A little bit of conviviality makes the dining experience more enjoyable. I like a waiter who is professional and has a personality.

Mark Best and Pasi Petanen - Thank you for enlivening and indulging my taste buds.

Nick Stock - Thank you for being a wonderful host.

Mar 21, 2012

4.5 Below Average

Food  5      Ambience  5      Service  4      Value  4     

Limited menu, less than average service, at best average food. I won't be returning.

Mar 21, 2012

4 Below Average

Food  4      Ambience  4      Service  4      Value  4     

One of the worst Korean BBQ restaurants that I have ever dined at. A BBQ restaurant without dedicated exhaust vents? The ambience is one of choking on smoke, while desperately trying to get the attention of staff to check on your order or order more food.

The food was less than ordinary and not worth the ordeal of eating at this poorly designed and poorly run establishment. Pick up your socks BBQ City and invest money in those badly needed exhausts!

Mar 21, 2012

0 of 2 people found the following review helpful

4.8 Average

Food  4      Ambience  5      Service  5      Value  5     

I don't understand how somehow who cooks for a living can get some basic things so wrong. It is baffling. Everything was overcooked, tough & oily.

I asked for the sauce to be served separately from my salmon & wasn't I relieved that it was. This was not a sauce. It was cherry tomatoes drowning in oil! My vegetables were also steeped in oil and overcooked, as was my poor fillet of salmon whose texture had been destroyed into a thick piece of cardboard - thick for cardboard, thin for fish as all the moisture had been cooked out of it! Interestingly, for people who like to douse food in oil & overcook the life out of ingredients, they could not manage a crispy skin on my fish.

Yes, this place is busy. Why? I don't know. Are the people in this area so limited for choice that they are forced to eat at this less than average establishment, do they not recognise the difference between good and bad food or are they mindless?

I must admit there are very limited restaurants in this area if you are after a quality meal. Restaurants like these need to lift their game. By patronising such businesses, we perpetuate the cycle of mediocre food. There are enough honest, tasty & healthy restaurants out there that deserve our business. Show them your appreciation by taking your business there.

Mar 12, 2012

0 of 2 people found the following review helpful

6.5 Recommended

Food  7      Ambience  6      Service  6      Value  7     

Dined here with a medium size group on a saturday night. The restaurant was probably only 15% occupied which is interesting considering how busy some of the other Japanese restaurants in this area such as Shimbashi soba & Ju rin are.

This is a Japanese restaurant owned and operated by Korean people. The calibre of their produce is quite good, however, there is clearly a difference between Japanese cuisine served and prepared by Koreans as compared to Japanese. This Korean/Japanese restaurant is better than most, however, still lacks authentic flavours and sushi/sashimi prep skills compared to the 2 aforementioned restaurants owned and operated by Japanese.

The service was reasonable, but lacked in professionalism. There is no excuse why a waiter should sit at a guest's table when taking your order unless that person is your friend or family.

Mar 04, 2012

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful

7.5 Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  7      Service  7      Value  8     

This is my 3rd visit to this restaurant but only the first time that I have been able to adequately sample the menu. I was dining here with a large group of 20+ people to celebrate a birthday. The host had arranged a banquet. We didn't have an opportunity to see the menu itself, however, the variety of food served was good and the flavours and skill demonstrated noteworthy, especially for a local Korean restaurant.

My experience has been that Sydney although having a number of Korean restaurants, none are exceptional and at best they are average. Those who have dined in Korea will be aware that the calibre of Korean food there far surpasses anything offered in Sydney.

Maroo is not a standout restaurant in any sense. However, it is above average, better than many of the restaurants in the Korean hubbubs of the City, Chinatown, Strathfield or Eastwood. For a local restaurant handy to little, this is quite a feat.

The decor is clean, newish and modernish. They offer nice touches such as complimentary salad, sweet pumpkin with red bean soup, the obligatory Korean side dishes with the main meal and fresh fruit and Korean rice punch at the end of your meal.

Standout dishes were the seafood pancake, with just the right amount of seafood and crunch in the texture and the steamed pork belly with chilli, radish and oyster relish (the pork looked like it had been first steamed and then roasted).

I will be back. Try it for yourself.

Feb 27, 2012

2 of 4 people found the following review helpful

4.6 Below Average

Food  6      Drinks  4      Ambience  5      Service  4      Value  4     

I had intended on trying this restaurant and when a internet discount became available I thought it was a good opportunity to sample a few dishes. However, the service began to falter as soon as I queried using my voucher. The waiter snatched back the menus that he had presented & replaced them with another tailored for the deal. Wine was poured haphazardly, some being spilt on my guest's hand & on the table, without the slightest apology.

I'm uncertain whether the food portions were different as a result of using the voucher but I found some of the portion sizes to be ridiculously small. The soft shell crab starter was as satisfying as eating 2 prawn crackers. The truffled egg was a reasonable size but probably overpriced at $18 for 1 egg, 2 crackers & 2 spears of asparagus. This may have been acceptable if the ambience of the restaurant was more appealing but with blaring r'n'b and cafe decor, I expect cafe prices and portions. I am not surprised that on a weds night, the restaurant only had 8 patrons including my table. The wine list was also very limited and did not demonstrated much care or thought.

The overall theme of small portions & poor service was consistent throughout the evening. Shame. If my experience had been better, I would have returned armed with my wallet & a smile on my face. Now I will only return begrudgingly.

Feb 23, 2012

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful

7.5 Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  8      Service  7      Value  7     

This is my return to Bodega with a large group of 9.

Overall, the food was very flavoursome and quite delicious. Most of my guests left the table happy with the different flavours they had experienced in the evening. It was a saturday night but the staff appeared to be coping with the crowd. Service was far from exceptional but acceptable.

My banana dessert was divine! The recommendations of wine were interesting and pleasant, as was my cocktail 'dark and stormy'. Yes, you will see me here again.

Feb 20, 2012

6.3 Average

Food  7      Ambience  6      Service  6      Value  6     

We had the
pork hock & green papaya salad (6.5/10),
salt & pepper squid (7.5/10),
prawn on rice cake (6.5/10),
rendang of wagyu beef (7/10),
mango with sticky rice (7/10),
seared scallops (7/10).

The service was pleasant but not particularly knowledgeable or professional.

The decor is clean & modern but lacks any personality.

Feb 10, 2012

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful

6.8 Recommended

Food  7      Ambience  7      Service  7      Value  6     

A reasonable standard French restaurant that I am unlikely to return to.

The food was average although pleasantly not heavy for a French restaurant.

The decor was pleasant.

Feb 10, 2012