Iskybibble

8.3 Highly Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  8      Service  9      Value  8     

Fantastic service, waiter very friendly, informative and attentive. Best Malaysian food I've had in a long time. The entree Otak Otak and Squid were both amazing and the Rendang Duck was also very good. Prices are more than fair for an upmarket Malaysian experience. I'll definitely go back.

Mar 11, 2012

6.5 Recommended

Food  7      Ambience  7      Service  7      Value  5     

Food is always good, a little bit too western, but I have never had a bad meal. Staff always friendly and helpful. It is also a bit overpriced but then again all the restaurants in the town centre are, I am told the rent is very high, which is unfortunate for the locals. Greedy developers always have their hands out.

Feb 04, 2012

1 Not Recommended

Food  1      Drinks  1      Ambience  1      Service  1      Value  1     

After waiting half an hour in line to order food due to only one staff member taking orders. We were served up some appalling meals, my meal of lamb shanks was unedible, someone else in our group received fish that smelled rancid, someone else had a charcoal piece of steak with mushroom sauce which only had one slice of mushroom. I could go on about the rest but I think you get the message. Even with shopper dockets this place is not worthy of a visit.

Dec 05, 2011

7.5 Recommended

Food  7      Ambience  8      Service  8      Value  7     

Good service, good food, relaxed environment. We just shared a few entrees and they were all good. I recommend the pork belly, didn't think much of the zucchini flowers though. If you are in the Hunter this was the best place I went to, so give it a try you won't be disappointed.

Nov 26, 2011

2.8 Not Recommended

Food  2      Ambience  2      Service  5      Value  2     

Smallest Chicken parm I have ever seen! Quality was nothing special either.

Nov 21, 2011

8.3 Highly Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  8      Service  9      Value  8     

Fantastic service, waiter very friendly, informative and attentive. Best Malaysian food I've had in a long time. The entree Otak Otak and Squid were both amazing and the Rendang Duck was also very good. Prices are more than fair for an upmarket Malaysian experience. I'll definitely go back.

Mar 11, 2012

6.5 Recommended

Food  7      Ambience  7      Service  7      Value  5     

Food is always good, a little bit too western, but I have never had a bad meal. Staff always friendly and helpful. It is also a bit overpriced but then again all the restaurants in the town centre are, I am told the rent is very high, which is unfortunate for the locals. Greedy developers always have their hands out.

Feb 04, 2012

1 Not Recommended

Food  1      Drinks  1      Ambience  1      Service  1      Value  1     

After waiting half an hour in line to order food due to only one staff member taking orders. We were served up some appalling meals, my meal of lamb shanks was unedible, someone else in our group received fish that smelled rancid, someone else had a charcoal piece of steak with mushroom sauce which only had one slice of mushroom. I could go on about the rest but I think you get the message. Even with shopper dockets this place is not worthy of a visit.

Dec 05, 2011

7.5 Recommended

Food  7      Ambience  8      Service  8      Value  7     

Good service, good food, relaxed environment. We just shared a few entrees and they were all good. I recommend the pork belly, didn't think much of the zucchini flowers though. If you are in the Hunter this was the best place I went to, so give it a try you won't be disappointed.

Nov 26, 2011

2.8 Not Recommended

Food  2      Ambience  2      Service  5      Value  2     

Smallest Chicken parm I have ever seen! Quality was nothing special either.

Nov 21, 2011

7.2 Recommended

Food  6      Drinks  8      Ambience  7      Service  7      Value  8     

Just went here for a quick snack and a few drinks. There is a good variety of beers on tap something for everyone's palate. It was really busy as it was a cracking day, but the whole place opens up allowing the breeze off the bay to flow through out. We just shared a serve of dips and bread, they provide a generous serve for the price, the flavour of dips was good also. I could have stayed all afternoon just passing the time.

Oct 23, 2011

3.3 Below Average

Food  2      Ambience  8      Service  1      Value  2     

This place needs to look at it's breakfast menu because if you don't want eggs or pancakes it's ham cheese and tomato toastie for you. I decided I would go the sandwich, it would have to be one of the worst toasties I have had, it had really thick bread with the small pieces of ham and cheese they could find with minimal tomato. I ask one of the wait staff if I could have some pepper in which she reply of course would you like some cracked pepper, in which I replied yes.

She then put a normal pepper shaker on the table, which she got off a nearby table and said will this do implying thats all I was getting. After my meal I went in to pay and three staff waited to finish their conversation before taking my money as there was no other customers they couldn't have been busy! I would think twice before dining here again, there is plenty of decent places I have eaten along that strip.

Oct 23, 2011

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

8.3 Highly Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  8      Service  8      Value  8     

Going out for Breakfast/Brunch is far from what it used to be. Big breakfasts or Eggs Benedict are no longer the required fare for the astute breakfast crowd. People want something different, out of the ordinary, the kind of breakfast they can rave to their friends about. People also like to go somewhere out of the way, not the usual standard locations that are littered with breakfast eateries. You know the ones that think they are progressive by offering one alternative dish amongst all the standard options. You can keep those places!

The Duchess of Spotswood ticks all the boxes for the progressive breakfast crowd. It offers a great selection of breakfast options, dishes like the Royal Fanfare which consisted of trumpter served with pork neck, poached eggs and eggplant or the breakfast of champions which consisted of field mushrooms topped with stilton cheese and poached eggs, barley hash brown.

The flavour combinations on these dishes were amazing and well balanced. All the dishes that past by our table look fantastic, fresh and well presented. The chef has certainly achieved a menu that delivers the kind of fare that delivers that extra flare and taste.

The place is rather small so make sure you don't eat during peak times, because you may have to wait for a table, but it is well worth the wait if you do.

Sep 11, 2011

8 Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  8      Service  8      Value  8     

I went to this place when it first opened and I couldn't have been that impressed because I stayed away for awhile, but I went back here recently and have been there three times since.

I have only ever ordered pizza, and it has been excellent everytime. The toppings taste fresh and always cooked perfectly. Staff are always friendly and efficient, meals are well priced and coffee is excellent. I recommend you eat in, as pizza always tastes better when you eat in. I have seen the other meals and they look good and I think I'll try one next time I go.

Aug 13, 2011

7.2 Recommended

Food  7      Drinks  7      Ambience  8      Service  5      Value  9     

I received a text message from a friend suggesting we catch up for lunch, as I was already on the westgate bridge with another friend I suggest we meet up in Williamstown. So I checked on my phone for places to eat I notice they offer a two course lunch for twenty dollars, so we decided to lock it in.

As for ambience I can't really comment because we ate out on the street, and I didn't even venture inside, it was a nice day and had a good view of the city so the ambience outside was excellent.

The beer was good tasted clean and crisp and wasn't overpriced. The food was good and portions were not down sized due to the special. The quality of the food was also good the chicken parm had a nice thick fillet and was cooked perfectly. It also had a good cheese sauce ratio. The calamari for entree was also good, not rubbery rings, nicely seasoned with salt and pepper. I was told the flat head tails was also good.

The only thing that could use some improvement is the service, meals took longer than you'd expect and one of our companions mains took about 15 minutes longer than the rest of our meals. We started to eat our meals because we were tired of waiting for his, which is something I do not like to do. But I will go back for the lunch special, I think it is only from Monday to Thursday. The normal menu looked good too, maybe I'll try that one day.

Aug 13, 2011