JustineK

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

6 Average

Food  8      Ambience  7      Service  3      Value  6     

Bad service. Thats the first thing I think of when I think of Foodarama. From being ignored at the cake counter trying to get a takeaway cake, to be ignored at the main counter trying to order a coffee, this place is not known for their friendly, inviting service. Its a shame as I have eaten 2-3 sit down meals here and they were impressively fresh and yummy but geez they do the business a disservice by being so rude.

Nov 25, 2010

8.3 Highly Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  8      Service  8      Value  8     

Fresh, fresh, fresh! I can highly recommend the Thai Prawn Salad (zingy, hot and oh so tasty with big fat prawns) and Moneybags (chicken mince, shrimp and corn in light crisp fried pastry). If you want a quick meal then definitely eat-in, takeaway usually takes a bit longer so call in your order ahead of time and home delivery takes about 35 minutes.

I agree with another reviewer, the food used to be a bit disappointing and I avoided dining there but returned 2 months ago and am just thrilled that they've found their way back to excellent quality food.

Nov 25, 2010

7.5 Recommended

Food  7      Ambience  8      Service  7      Value  8     

Great selection of yummy cakes including things like flourless choc cupcakes, lime tart and cheesecakes. Coffee is consistently good and staff are friendly (they can be a little flakey at times but hey, its Newtown!).

Nov 25, 2010

7.8 Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  8      Service  7      Value  7     

Fantastic variety on menu. Keep it simple with perfectly cooked steak or order something more interesting like one of their beautifully created fish dishes. It can take up to 45 minutes to get your order so plan to have a chat and a bevvie before eating. Have eaten here 5 times and never been disappointed. Tasty, beautifully presented fancy pub grub! I also believe their kitchen is open from midday All Day on the weekends so its quite nice to pop in for early/late lunch on Sunday when its not quite so busy too.

Nov 25, 2010

7 Recommended

Food  5      Ambience  7      Service  9      Value  7     

I must admit that I haven't been back to this place after having eaten there 3 times in the last 6 months as each time the steak was disappointing. My friends who live locally used to rave about the place and go almost every week have also noticed a decline in the way the steaks are cooked. I Love a med-rare steak but each time I've ordered the steak was either overcooked (to med-well or well done) and the last 2 times the charring was so full on that it was like eating charcoal and sauce.

The sauce applied to the steak is quite overpowering and I missed that good meaty, juicy taste that you get from a great steak. Maybe they should consider serving it on the side instead. Such a shame as the service has always been really friendly and I really really want to have a local steakhouse but I just can't bring myself to give it another try when some pubs can do it better for less $$.

Nov 25, 2010

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

6 Average

Food  8      Ambience  7      Service  3      Value  6     

Bad service. Thats the first thing I think of when I think of Foodarama. From being ignored at the cake counter trying to get a takeaway cake, to be ignored at the main counter trying to order a coffee, this place is not known for their friendly, inviting service. Its a shame as I have eaten 2-3 sit down meals here and they were impressively fresh and yummy but geez they do the business a disservice by being so rude.

Nov 25, 2010

8.3 Highly Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  8      Service  8      Value  8     

Fresh, fresh, fresh! I can highly recommend the Thai Prawn Salad (zingy, hot and oh so tasty with big fat prawns) and Moneybags (chicken mince, shrimp and corn in light crisp fried pastry). If you want a quick meal then definitely eat-in, takeaway usually takes a bit longer so call in your order ahead of time and home delivery takes about 35 minutes.

I agree with another reviewer, the food used to be a bit disappointing and I avoided dining there but returned 2 months ago and am just thrilled that they've found their way back to excellent quality food.

Nov 25, 2010

7.5 Recommended

Food  7      Ambience  8      Service  7      Value  8     

Great selection of yummy cakes including things like flourless choc cupcakes, lime tart and cheesecakes. Coffee is consistently good and staff are friendly (they can be a little flakey at times but hey, its Newtown!).

Nov 25, 2010

7.8 Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  8      Service  7      Value  7     

Fantastic variety on menu. Keep it simple with perfectly cooked steak or order something more interesting like one of their beautifully created fish dishes. It can take up to 45 minutes to get your order so plan to have a chat and a bevvie before eating. Have eaten here 5 times and never been disappointed. Tasty, beautifully presented fancy pub grub! I also believe their kitchen is open from midday All Day on the weekends so its quite nice to pop in for early/late lunch on Sunday when its not quite so busy too.

Nov 25, 2010

7 Recommended

Food  5      Ambience  7      Service  9      Value  7     

I must admit that I haven't been back to this place after having eaten there 3 times in the last 6 months as each time the steak was disappointing. My friends who live locally used to rave about the place and go almost every week have also noticed a decline in the way the steaks are cooked. I Love a med-rare steak but each time I've ordered the steak was either overcooked (to med-well or well done) and the last 2 times the charring was so full on that it was like eating charcoal and sauce.

The sauce applied to the steak is quite overpowering and I missed that good meaty, juicy taste that you get from a great steak. Maybe they should consider serving it on the side instead. Such a shame as the service has always been really friendly and I really really want to have a local steakhouse but I just can't bring myself to give it another try when some pubs can do it better for less $$.

Nov 25, 2010

6 Average

Food  6      Ambience  6      Service  7      Value  5     

Six of us ate here a few weeks ago. Serves are small so don't expect big steaming bowls of food to come out to feed the big eaters in your group. Having said that we also ordered entrees, bread and rice so luckily that filled us up. Unfortunately, they delivered the rice and bread 5 minutes before the mains came out so rice was cold by the time meals arrived. I also suspect that if they presented the mains better i.e. not in cereal bowls we might have felt we were getting better value. Unfortunately, the red meat was tough in the 5 dishes we ordered.

Try the Hybiscus drink, yummy and sweet, it was nice for something different. The waitress was lovely and the service was sweet.

Nov 25, 2010

6.5 Recommended

Food  5      Ambience  6      Service  8      Value  7     

Six of us ate here a few weeks ago. Serves are small so don't expect big steaming bowls of food to come out to feed the big eaters in your group. Having said that we also ordered entrees, bread and rice so luckily that filled us up. I suspect that if they presented the mains better i.e. not in cereal bowls we might have felt we were getting better value. Unfortunately, the meat was tough in 3 of the 5 dishes we ordered which was disappointing (the other 2 were chicken and fish dishes).

Try the Hybiscus drink, yummy and sweet, it was nice for something different. The waitress was lovely and the service was sweet.

Nov 25, 2010

8 Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  9      Service  8      Value  7     

Have dined at BL twice in the last month, once as a large group having the degustation menu and the second time as a couple dining ala carte. The group visit/degustation menu was wonderful, service was lovely and not intrusive, in fact it was one of those times when plates and glasses magically appear and disappear and you don't really notice.

Food presentation was A1 with the yucatan pudding making everyone go Ooooh and Ahhh! The snapper pie was divine too! On my second visit the service was once again discreet and pleasant. We ordered two of the dishes that featured on the degustation menu, however, they were presently differently (different = not as good) compared to the three weeks prior. Different kitchen staff? They said no but both meals were a bit of a let down, they probably tasted the same but the serving sizes appeared smaller and the wow factor was missing.

My friend ordered the duck which was beautifully presented and a decent serving size, however, it was tough, only becoming delicate towards the centre of the dish. Still, despite all this I would recommend this place, it has an elegant, uptempo vibe which is warm and inviting and overall the food is very good.

Jun 09, 2009

7.5 Recommended

Food  7      Ambience  7      Service  9      Value  7     

I recently celebrated my 40th birthday here with a friend and was a touch disappointed by the food and atmopshere in general. We were greeted warmly and had a wonderful waiter who was personable and friendly and just like other reviewers have noted, the waiters were always available just at the right time. So the service was excellent.

The food just seemed a little boring, I was hoping for a little 'wow factor'. I could appreciate that the ingredients were good quality but at the end of my meal I didn't think 'OMG, that was beautiful!' so it left me a little underwhelmed. The wine list is an incredible 26 pages so you're sure to find something new to try. With no music playing, little atomsphere and romantic couples everywhere Aria is a little stifled and quiet if you like to chuckle with friends over dinner. However, if you're looking for an intimate romantic dining experience Aria ticks those boxes.

Apr 24, 2009

6.8 Recommended

Food  7      Ambience  8      Service  6      Value  6     

Have had set menu banquets at teppanaki before and always walked away hungry but not at this place. We had one of the Banquet menus (approx $30) and there was plenty of food to go around. Service is very polite, however, a rowdy table continually demanded their attention and so generally we were overlooked and had to ask twice or more for wine glasses, our BYO'd bottles of wine etc. The teppanaki chef was entertaining and friendly (sometimes they can be a bit gruff so this guy was a delight) and I guess thats what you're really paying for!

Apr 09, 2009