Reviews


Mad Pizza e Bar, Surry Hills

Restaurants, Pizza

Overall 7.7  10

7 Recommended

Food  7      Ambience  7      Service  7      Value  7     


Cosy decor and atmosphere, Plenty of seating, Super thin pizza bases if that tickles your fancy, Friendly service.

blogRead the full review on my blog

Aug 29, 2011

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4143 at the James Barnes, Alexandria

Bars

Overall 6.1  10

7.5 Recommended

Drinks  7      Ambience  8      Service  7      Value  8     


Pros: Quality dishes at reasonable prices, Smaller sized dishes are still fairly decent in size, Nice décor and atmosphere, Plenty of outdoor and indoor seating, Car parking available. Suitable for private functions.

Cons: A bit in the middle of nowhere for most people, Probably limited public transport so would need to drive

Must try: Seared scallops on pea puree with chorizo, Affogato with Belgium white chocolate ice cream and Frangelico, Revisiting to try the cocktails with a designated driver.

Worth Trying: Wagyu burger, Braised lamb shank, Bread and butter pudding.

blogRead the full review on my blog

Jul 19, 2011

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Boatshed Cafe, La Perouse

Restaurants, Seafood, Has Cafe

Overall 5.6  31

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

3.3 Below Average

Food  4      Ambience  4      Service  2      Value  3     


After a nice 3 hour bush walk with friends around the Cape Banks Circuit in the Botany Bay National Park it was time to treat one of our friends for a birthday lunch. We decided for convenience to check out the Boatshed Café nearby which seemed to have water views from the restaurant balcony section. Keep in mind the restaurant has a more expensive menu than the café located inside and the dishes are served from the same kitchen.

The Garlic Bread ($3.50, 2 pieces) was OK and as expected. Our birthday friend ordered the Prawn cocktail ($13) for nostalgic reasons served in sundae glassware. The prawns seemed decent quality but were cut into small pieces rather than being served traditionally whole and lathered with cocktail sauce on top with a bed of lettuce underneath.

The Prawn cutlets ($20, 5 pieces) were deep fried to a decent crisp although I’m suspecting they were of the frozen variety due to their texture and lack of prawn flavour. Chips were nice enough and of the frozen pack variety. The Deep fried whiting fillets ($24) looked as expected and seemed OK. My Grilled Trout Fillets served with chips and salad ($23) was singular rather than plural but decent sized with basic presentation and I only found a few small bones to contend with.

It was interesting to note all the main course dishes included salad even though it wasn’t listed on the menu so keep in mind in case you’re thinking of ordering a salad as a side. The meals were pleasant enough and the atmosphere fairly relaxing as we settled in to catch up until am unfortunate discovery.

Now, from time to time we all come across something unexpected in a dish or restaurant that can put a real dampener on the dining experience. I’ve had my fair share like a cockroach at A Tavola, inexperienced service and air conditioning problems at Wang Wang Shanghai Silver Star, unfortunate bad service at Bécasse and even some metal in my ramen at Menya Noodle Bar. But no matter what happens a true test of a restaurant is how they respond to a customer complaint.

Unfortunately when our friend discovered a rather large black hair in the middle of his prawn cocktail the Boatshed Café failed terribly. When I called over the young waitress and explained what we’d found she replied with an unemotional dismissive ‘yep’ as if it was normal and casually took it away to the kitchen — no apology, but perhaps she thought it wasn’t her fault and had other things on her mind, like clocking off work — Strike 1.

Two minutes later she returns to say ‘do you want anything else’. Still no apology or empathy and our friends appetite is now somewhat diminished so thanks but no thanks — Strike 2. Ten minutes passes and the head waitress comes to the table to say she’s heard about the dish but was not shown it and apologises for what happened with some sincerity. She later comes to take away finished plates while others are still eating at the table which isn’t the best thing to do.

The final straw, Strike 3, comes when the bill arrives. We notice the prawn cocktail ($12) is still charged but she says she’s managed to not charge us for the 3 soft drinks totally $9, oh, how nice of her, not! I question the charge when paying and she said the chef owner decided that the dish had mostly been eaten so it should be charged. Gee, I wish would we found the hair on top of the dish so we could have brought it to their attention sooner.

OMG! Perhaps we should have been only charged half the amount then since the other half had a hair in it? They obviously don’t realise the full extent of how badly handled this was. I seriously wonder how they would feel if they were served a hair in their dish. Would they expect to be charged for it without a sincere apology and acknowledgment of the circumstance?

blogRead the full review on my blog

May 30, 2011

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Sea Bay Chinese Dumpling, Sydney

Restaurants, Chinese, BYO, Serves Dinner, Serves Late Dining

Overall 7.5  61

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

8 Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  7      Service  8      Value  9     


1st time diner for lunch 20 May 2005 with 4 other people. Order Fried Dumplings (about 10 pieces per serve, very tasty), Steamed Dumpling (just as tasty), Spring Pancake (very nice), Beef Soup (good broth). Food was very tasty and fresh. Would come back to maybe try the beef/lamb stir fry I saw on other tables and the spring onion pancake. Ambience was basic but suitable and friendly. Service was very friendly, especially the man who seemed to be in charge. Always smiling and helpful. Value was very good. $48 for 5 people ($10 each). Was pleasantly full. Would definitely return again.

May 20, 2005

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Sydney Mint Café, Sydney

Restaurants, Cafes, Monuments and Historic Buildings, Modern Australian, Modern European

Overall 7.1  11

8.3 Highly Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  7      Service  9      Value  8     


1st time diner for 4 people on 20 May 2005 for dinner. Ordered Meze Large for Entree (very good with many dips and pieces to try), then Pumkin salad with spinach leaves (very tasty), Ravioli (very tasty), chick pea/pumkin cous cous dish (very nice). All very tasty meals. Mint Tea (with honey added, was very nice) and Rosepetal custart (very good). Came to $25 each sharing with 4 people. Plenty to eat. Service was very friendly. Only complaint would be the seating. Very low and can easily get a sore back sitting so low and at very small tables. Apart from that would definately come back again and have the mixed meze with possibly a lamb skewer dishes and the rosepetal custard again.

May 20, 2005

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Simon the Reviewer


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Member since 2005

My blog or website http://simonfoodfavourites.blogspot.com

Last updated on 30th May 2011





Reviews

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Displaying: 1 - 6 of 6 reviews



Mad Pizza e Bar, Surry Hills

Restaurants, Pizza

Overall 7.7  10

7 Recommended

Food  7      Ambience  7      Service  7      Value  7     


Cosy decor and atmosphere, Plenty of seating, Super thin pizza bases if that tickles your fancy, Friendly service.

blogRead the full review on my blog

Aug 29, 2011

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4143 at the James Barnes, Alexandria

Bars

Overall 6.1  10

7.5 Recommended

Drinks  7      Ambience  8      Service  7      Value  8     


Pros: Quality dishes at reasonable prices, Smaller sized dishes are still fairly decent in size, Nice décor and atmosphere, Plenty of outdoor and indoor seating, Car parking available. Suitable for private functions.

Cons: A bit in the middle of nowhere for most people, Probably limited public transport so would need to drive

Must try: Seared scallops on pea puree with chorizo, Affogato with Belgium white chocolate ice cream and Frangelico, Revisiting to try the cocktails with a designated driver.

Worth Trying: Wagyu burger, Braised lamb shank, Bread and butter pudding.

blogRead the full review on my blog

Jul 19, 2011

Was this review helpful?   |



Boatshed Cafe, La Perouse

Restaurants, Seafood, Has Cafe

Overall 5.6  31

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

3.3 Below Average

Food  4      Ambience  4      Service  2      Value  3     


After a nice 3 hour bush walk with friends around the Cape Banks Circuit in the Botany Bay National Park it was time to treat one of our friends for a birthday lunch. We decided for convenience to check out the Boatshed Café nearby which seemed to have water views from the restaurant balcony section. Keep in mind the restaurant has a more expensive menu than the café located inside and the dishes are served from the same kitchen.

The Garlic Bread ($3.50, 2 pieces) was OK and as expected. Our birthday friend ordered the Prawn cocktail ($13) for nostalgic reasons served in sundae glassware. The prawns seemed decent quality but were cut into small pieces rather than being served traditionally whole and lathered with cocktail sauce on top with a bed of lettuce underneath.

The Prawn cutlets ($20, 5 pieces) were deep fried to a decent crisp although I’m suspecting they were of the frozen variety due to their texture and lack of prawn flavour. Chips were nice enough and of the frozen pack variety. The Deep fried whiting fillets ($24) looked as expected and seemed OK. My Grilled Trout Fillets served with chips and salad ($23) was singular rather than plural but decent sized with basic presentation and I only found a few small bones to contend with.

It was interesting to note all the main course dishes included salad even though it wasn’t listed on the menu so keep in mind in case you’re thinking of ordering a salad as a side. The meals were pleasant enough and the atmosphere fairly relaxing as we settled in to catch up until am unfortunate discovery.

Now, from time to time we all come across something unexpected in a dish or restaurant that can put a real dampener on the dining experience. I’ve had my fair share like a cockroach at A Tavola, inexperienced service and air conditioning problems at Wang Wang Shanghai Silver Star, unfortunate bad service at Bécasse and even some metal in my ramen at Menya Noodle Bar. But no matter what happens a true test of a restaurant is how they respond to a customer complaint.

Unfortunately when our friend discovered a rather large black hair in the middle of his prawn cocktail the Boatshed Café failed terribly. When I called over the young waitress and explained what we’d found she replied with an unemotional dismissive ‘yep’ as if it was normal and casually took it away to the kitchen — no apology, but perhaps she thought it wasn’t her fault and had other things on her mind, like clocking off work — Strike 1.

Two minutes later she returns to say ‘do you want anything else’. Still no apology or empathy and our friends appetite is now somewhat diminished so thanks but no thanks — Strike 2. Ten minutes passes and the head waitress comes to the table to say she’s heard about the dish but was not shown it and apologises for what happened with some sincerity. She later comes to take away finished plates while others are still eating at the table which isn’t the best thing to do.

The final straw, Strike 3, comes when the bill arrives. We notice the prawn cocktail ($12) is still charged but she says she’s managed to not charge us for the 3 soft drinks totally $9, oh, how nice of her, not! I question the charge when paying and she said the chef owner decided that the dish had mostly been eaten so it should be charged. Gee, I wish would we found the hair on top of the dish so we could have brought it to their attention sooner.

OMG! Perhaps we should have been only charged half the amount then since the other half had a hair in it? They obviously don’t realise the full extent of how badly handled this was. I seriously wonder how they would feel if they were served a hair in their dish. Would they expect to be charged for it without a sincere apology and acknowledgment of the circumstance?

blogRead the full review on my blog

May 30, 2011

Was this review helpful?   |



Sea Bay Chinese Dumpling, Sydney

Restaurants, Chinese, BYO, Serves Dinner, Serves Late Dining

Overall 7.5  61

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

8 Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  7      Service  8      Value  9     


1st time diner for lunch 20 May 2005 with 4 other people. Order Fried Dumplings (about 10 pieces per serve, very tasty), Steamed Dumpling (just as tasty), Spring Pancake (very nice), Beef Soup (good broth). Food was very tasty and fresh. Would come back to maybe try the beef/lamb stir fry I saw on other tables and the spring onion pancake. Ambience was basic but suitable and friendly. Service was very friendly, especially the man who seemed to be in charge. Always smiling and helpful. Value was very good. $48 for 5 people ($10 each). Was pleasantly full. Would definitely return again.

May 20, 2005

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Sydney Mint Café, Sydney

Restaurants, Cafes, Monuments and Historic Buildings, Modern Australian, Modern European

Overall 7.1  11

8.3 Highly Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  7      Service  9      Value  8     


1st time diner for 4 people on 20 May 2005 for dinner. Ordered Meze Large for Entree (very good with many dips and pieces to try), then Pumkin salad with spinach leaves (very tasty), Ravioli (very tasty), chick pea/pumkin cous cous dish (very nice). All very tasty meals. Mint Tea (with honey added, was very nice) and Rosepetal custart (very good). Came to $25 each sharing with 4 people. Plenty to eat. Service was very friendly. Only complaint would be the seating. Very low and can easily get a sore back sitting so low and at very small tables. Apart from that would definately come back again and have the mixed meze with possibly a lamb skewer dishes and the rosepetal custard again.

May 20, 2005

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Pier, Rose Bay

Restaurants, Seafood, Vegetarian, Fine Dining, Romantic and Intimate

Overall 7.8  185

8 Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  8      Service  8      Value  7     


1st time diner. Lunch on 19 April 2005. Ordered Oysters (fresh but i thought quite small for the price you pay $48/dozen), Barramundi (very good), Ocean Trout (very good), Cheese Plate (good), Souffle (good). Would try other entrees like scallops or prawns if I return. Ambience: nice view but thought chairs and tables a little old and also not much room under table for legs/feet to stretch out. Service good. Wine list expensive by the glass but good. Paid about $360 for 2 people for food and drinks.

Apr 23, 2005

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Displaying: 1 - 6 of 6 reviews



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