Philippe

Reviews

Restaurants, Italian, Modern Australian, Seafood, Water View

Overall 6.8 34

8 Recommended

Food 8 Ambience 8 Service 8 Value 8

High quality ingredients and generous portions of delicious seafood are the features that stand out to produce tasty and creative dishes.

The view is good, being right on the water's edge, but it is a view of Botany Bay which is not always the most picturesque.

The service was excellent, but it is not at the level of outstanding service from telepathic waiters that I have experienced elsewhere.

Older reviews talk of being squashed or cramped, but we have been since the renovations and had no such complaints. I would have no hesitation in returning and am looking forward to doing so.

Feb 27, 2012

Cara&Co Restaurant, Sydney

Restaurants, Modern Australian, Licensed, Serves Dinner, Serves Lunch

Overall 9.9 4

9.8 Highly Recommended

Food 10 Ambience 10 Service 10 Value 9

From the parquetry floorboards fitted to the ceilings, and the glass windows lying flat on the floor under your feet, to the differing colour of the glassware from one side of the table to the other, and to the co-ordinating but different cutlery from diner to diner, you know at once that you've stepped into somewhere magical.

This is the best dining that I have experienced in Sydney.

The food is better described as edible art. It is delicious, unusual, and sufficient in quantity to satisfy without feeling heavy. Anything you order off the menu is supplemented by surprise amuse bouche. The sommelier is reliable, and makes great cocktails in addition to steering you through the wine list.

The service is warm, friendly and exemplary. For 3 courses at dinner with some cocktails and some wine we paid $125 per person including tip, which was good value for the quality we enjoyed.

I have lunched here for business twice and been impressed on each occasion as I was at dinner. My interstate guests enjoyed themselves thoroughly. Do yourself a favour and celebrate an occasion at this place.

Feb 14, 2012

Vermicelli, Sydney

Takeaways, Vietnamese

Overall 8 1

8 Recommended

Food 10 Ambience 4 Service 8 Value 10

Fresh, generously sized, delicious and cheap Vietnamese rice paper rolls and soup for take-out or eat-in. The combination 3 random rolls and soup of the day is great value.

There is little seating, and most of it is on a busy and noisy footpath, so don't expect to linger (or to talk much to your fellow diners!).

Feb 14, 2012

Rosebud Restaurant & Bar, Rozelle

Restaurants, Modern Australian, Licensed, Serves Breakfast, Serves Dinner

Overall 5.9 58

5 Average

Food 5 Ambience 5 Service 5 Value 5

Ate here for Saturday brunch. It was such a disappointment that I felt compelled to prevent others from such an average experience, when the premises look so promising.

I had a salad which was described as haloumi in balsamic reduction, and which tasted like rubber pieces drowning in half a bottle of supermarket balsamic vinegar. My partner had the omelette special, which was presented in the middle of a vast and barren white plate, the omelette reminded me of breakfast in 1970s motels in the way it looked and tasted. It was made with Cheddar cheese, way, way too much Cheddar cheese. It was really melted cheese with some eggs and vegies thrown in as an afterthought.

On the drinks side, my partner had to take her coffee back to the barista as it was undrinkable. The replacement was very good. I had a strawberry and lime iced frappe which was very good too. Indeed, the drinks menu looked excellent, with some novel items like sweet Egyptian tea. However, drinks a brunch do not make.

The ambience is that of a cafeteria or a 'family restaurant.' This is a good place to bring crying, messy babies or difficult little children without feeling guilty that you may be disturbing nearby diners. We spent $54. $40 is closer to the mark for the volume of food we ate (leaving aside the quality).

Get a takeaway drink and dine elsewhere.

Feb 13, 2011

Maha Bar & Grill, Melbourne

Restaurants, Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, Has Bar, Licensed

Overall 7.7 31

10 Highly Recommended

Food 10 Ambience 10 Service 10 Value 10

The best dining experience I have had in memory. We ate Christmas Eve 2010. At the bar, waiting for our table, we were skeptical of the off-beat suggestion of a bottle of French pear cider from the sommelier (especially at the price, it was only cider, after all) but our trust was rewarded with golden nectar that is, to Strongbow cider, what water is to champagne (it was the Bordelet Poire "Granit" from Charchigne, France). At that point we decided to let the staff choose our food for the whole night, and it was one delicacy after another.

We were stuffed. We were beyond stuffed. We understood the myth of the Roman vomitorium. And still we ate and drank and were happy. We had 6 attendants throughout the night: a sommelier, the maître d’ hôtel, someone who was a part-owner (names were blurry by that stage) and 3 wait staff. The service was attentive without being intrusive, but more significantly, displayed that all-too-rare element of self-initiative.

I would have paid double. My only disappointment was being unable to smoke shisha from the hookah (despite being a non-smoker). We left with a test tube of spices, that has rekindled a fond memory when we recently cooked at home.
I'll be back.

Feb 13, 2011

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Member since 2006

Last updated on 1st Jun 2012

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Displaying: 1 - 10 of 44 reviews

Omeros on the Beach, Ramsgate

Restaurants, Italian, Modern Australian, Seafood, Water View

Overall 6.8 34

8 Recommended

Food 8 Ambience 8 Service 8 Value 8

Feb 27, 2012

Cara&Co Restaurant, Sydney

Restaurants, Modern Australian, Licensed, Serves Dinner, Serves Lunch

Overall 9.9 4

9.8 Highly Recommended

Food 10 Ambience 10 Service 10 Value 9

Feb 14, 2012

Vermicelli, Sydney

Takeaways, Vietnamese

Overall 8 1

8 Recommended

Food 10 Ambience 4 Service 8 Value 10

Feb 14, 2012

Rosebud Restaurant & Bar, Rozelle

Restaurants, Modern Australian, Licensed, Serves Breakfast, Serves Dinner

Overall 5.9 58

5 Average

Food 5 Ambience 5 Service 5 Value 5

Feb 13, 2011

Maha Bar & Grill, Melbourne

Restaurants, Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, Has Bar, Licensed

Overall 7.7 31

10 Highly Recommended

Food 10 Ambience 10 Service 10 Value 10

Feb 13, 2011

Na Zdrowie, Glebe

Restaurants, European

Overall 7.5 80

7.5 Recommended

Food 8 Ambience 8 Service 7 Value 7

My grandmother was Polish, and I grew up eating most of the dishes on the menu at this place, cooked by her, mum or friends.

The restaurant does a very good job at capturing the essence of Polish cuisine. Most of the dishes are exactly as grandmother used to make, and the balance are still pretty good though there seems to be a little Czech influence that surprised me a couple of times.

I've eaten here 3 times, once in the company of a Pole and another time in the company of a Lithuanian. Our verdict is that this place is to Polish food what decent Thai places in Sydney are to Thai food, good, decent, filling, tasty everyday cuisine. This place wouldn't last in Poland, but then it's in Glebe so it saves you the 30 hour flight if you feel like pierogi.

And beware, that Polish beer is pretty strong but very tasty!

Jan 29, 2011

Bistrode CBD, Sydney

Restaurants, English, French, Modern Australian, Bistro/Brasserie

Overall 7.4 47

7.3 Recommended

Food 7 Ambience 7 Service 8 Value 7

A bit of an upmarket-pub feel to it, good for more relaxed business dining. The menu has a wide choice of safe dishes so that diners will easily find something to eat - the flip side is that there is nothing really special for foodies. This place does a very good job at filling in this hard to find niche in Sydney.

Jan 19, 2011

Clipper Cafe, Glebe

Cafes, Mediterranean, Outdoor Dining, Serves Breakfast, Serves Lunch

Overall 6.3 30

8.3 Highly Recommended

Food 8 Ambience 8 Service 7 Value 10

4 of us foodies went for a Saturday breakfast. The menu was refreshingly different, the food tasty, and the prices astonishingly low. Organic ingredients were a plus. Service was polite and effective, albeit slow, but nowhere near as slow as suggested by other reviewers. Everyone enjoyed their food and the ambience, and we will definitely be back.

By the way, the boulangerie next door (La Banette) is simply to die for, pop in and take a delicious pastry away.

Sep 07, 2010

Beppi's, East Sydney

Restaurants, Italian, Fine Dining, Child Friendly, Licensed

Overall 7.2 101

8 Recommended

Food 8 Ambience 8 Service 10 Value 6

The warm service is simply outstanding. Like other reviewers, I noticed that our waiter checked with us about the place at which various courses arrived, made helpful suggestions, and ensured that we were always content and happy without intruding too often. I have seldom received better service in Sydney. The food and ambience are best described as an upmarket and tasteful trattoria, which means that prices are reaosnable without being good or bad value.

Sep 21, 2009

Velluto Champagne & Wine Bar, Potts Point

Bars, Jazz Clubs, Romantic and Intimate, Licensed, Outdoor Dining

Overall 7.9 6

8.3 Highly Recommended

Drinks 8 Ambience 9 Service 8 Value 8

This is not the place to go if you want an extensive list of wine by the glass, but what they have by the glass is very good quality at a reasonable price (for what you get). The list of wine by the bottle is good, but there is an emphasis on premium quality over variety. That said, the prices are not stratospheric bearing in mind what you're drinking.

The service is friendly deferential, and the black velvet curtains and dark wooden furniture go a long way to produce a suave ambience. If you've got the cash, know nothing about sparkling wine, and want to impress, then come here and you can pick anything off the list and feel assured that your guests will find it delicious.

May 31, 2009