TheFussyEater

Reviews

Green Chillies Thai, Darlinghurst

Restaurants, Thai, BYO, American Express

Overall 8.1 41

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

7.8 Recommended

Food 9 Ambience 8 Service 7 Value 7

Green Chillies Thai is conveniently located right in the middle of the Oxford Strip. It is such a good place to start a night-out on the town because once you leave, you can go either way and find great bars/clubs.

I have been to Thailand, and this place reminds me of restaurants you find in that country... except there would be no windows, so the breeze could come in! It is cosy... but not cramped. I love the beautiful, brass roof installation... and the little "Offering House"... very, authentic Thai!

The staff are very pleasant and the clientele is... eclectic! A very "Oxford Street" crowd go here... which I love! Also, the staff have no issue when I BYO pre-mixed drinks (like Smirnoff)... in fact, they offer to put them in the fridge! Some other restaurants only allow you to bring beer/wine... or give you attitude if you bring mixers, but the staff here are very polite.

Food-wise: it is delicious! Not too spicy, but not too bland... and not too expensive either! Highly recommend!

Oct 24, 2011

Thai Nesia, Darlinghurst

Restaurants, Thai, BYO, American Express, Diners Club

Overall 7.9 79

5.3 Average

Food 5 Ambience 4 Service 6 Value 6

My friends love this place! But sadly, I am not as keen as they are... yet I have eaten here many times because I keep getting dragged here for their birthdays, parties, Bar Mitzvahs, etc.

The restaurant itself is very old, dark, brown and in desperate need of a make-over. Most Thai restaurants nowadays try and look fresh/modern... but this place could use a new coat of paint! The downstairs part of this place is very cramped and there is not much room between you and the person/table sitting next to you. When it gets full, it can be very noisy. Upstairs is a larger space dedicated for larger groups.

I have eaten at lots of Thai Restaurants, and honestly, the food here is not memorable. We have eaten the Banquet and normal al-a-carte and the servings are not particularly big and not particularly special.

Location-wise: this place is close to some bars/clubs, so I guess it is convenient to have a meal here then stumble to Oxford Street... but I feel there are way better venues to eat at on The Strip than here.

Oct 20, 2011

Imperial Hotel, Erskineville

Bars

Overall 4.7 4

5.5 Average

Drinks 5 Ambience 8 Service 4 Value 5

The front bar is very similar to the old Imperial before the renovations. They still have the video jukebox where you can request cheesy, retro tunes. They could do with hiring a few more Bar Staff because it gets way too packed in here (because all the cheapskates flood this section, so they don't have to pay cover-charge for the other rooms!) I honestly find it worth it to pay the Cover Charge so you get access to the two other bars, as they are (sadly) empty! So, you can order a drink without any wait, and then take it back into the Front Bar... seriously, it can be 15 minutes waits for drinks in the Front Bar which is a bit ridiculous for an RSL-type venue.

The Cabaret Bar has awesome drag shows, but this room clears-out after every show... so sadly, hardly anyone goes in here. The Owner needs to bring back more tables/chairs in this room! The old Imperial used to have lots of table/chairs in this section so people could sit down with a group and drink/talk... but now it is like a big, empty Scout Hall with a catwalk for the Draq Queens. I took a group of Straight friends here and they thought this venue was vile (Hey! It's meant to be a "dive bar"!) but were very impressed with the Drag Shows every hour. Make sure you stay to catch them.

The downstairs Cellar Club is great in theory... but the place is hardly ever full! Awesome remixes of Top40 tunes get played here... but there is no-one dancing to it! Sometimes the place gets full around 2am... but it depends on the night. Plus, while it is unique having a full-on club in Newtown... I don't think the locals are the type to go "clubbing", so this massive basement never reaches full-capacity... I guess that it a good thing because when you go out with a group of friends it is like your very own VIP Bar!

Oct 17, 2011

Casa di Nico, Darling Harbour

Restaurants, Italian, Serves Dinner, Serves Lunch

Overall 5.9 75

3.5 Below Average

Food 5 Ambience 4 Service 2 Value 3

We booked a Birthday Party here for about 25 people. Initially we were told we could have the Function Room where we could all sit together... but then they renegged saying another group had that room. The alternative was two tables, side-by-side with 10 seats each. It was kinda annoying to split the Party up and everyone had to lean over behind their chairs to talk to each other or get up and socialise.

You would think that for such a large group, the service would be extra attentive... but the Waiters were very unreliable! Lots of drinks we ordered never came! Granted, we weren't charged for them... but it was awkward for such a large group to be sitting at a table with no meals, no glasses and no drinks! Lots of waiters kept walking by and would obviously see we had nothing at our table (not even water) but the drinks were very slowly served... or not at all!

It was bizarre because we could see a few tables of two or three people who were getting constant service, but all the waiters seem to keep walking around our group...which was hard to miss because we were two long tables! In most restaurants, the Waiters are assigned a certain section of the tables to cover...but in this place, it seems the Waiters just walk around and serve anyone they feel like. We could see waiters serve a table right near the entrance, then they would walk about 500 steps away and serve a table in the far back corner. Very unorganised.

Also, we had about ten different waiters over the course of the night. It was a revolving door of staff who couldn't speak English very well, which made ordering food very difficult because it was very noisy in this venue. It was also frustrating because at times we would be looking over our shoulder, trying to flag a staff member down to order more drinks... but all the Wait Staff were congregated around the kitchen waiting for plates to be handed to them. A friend joked this place was "Organised Chaos"! The staff looked and acted like it was their first night working in a busy restaurant.

When the food finally arrived it wasn't that bad... but it wasn't that good either. I ordered the Spag Bol, which is pretty hard to stuff up... but my dish was all pasta, with a tiny bit of tomato and then an even smaller amount of meat.

Sadly, it was a dark and rainy night so that didn't help improve the atmosphere. I would not be back here in a hurry... and I feel sorry for all the Tourists around Darling Harbour who would stumble into this place and think this is how a Sydney Restaurant is run. Not impressed.

Oct 13, 2011

Rowda Ya Habibi, Newtown

Restaurants, Lebanese, BYO, Private Room, Serves Late Dining

Overall 7.4 35

6.5 Recommended

Food 8 Ambience 4 Service 6 Value 8

I used to live right near this restaurant and was put-off by the harsh, bright lights off the takeaway entrance. Also, the meat on the rotisserie honestly didn't look clean/fresh...so I never went inside.

Well, a friend recently had a birthday here and I was pleased to discover the room hidden at the back is not that bad! The owners seriously need to do something about the front entrance to this restaurant, because it looks a bit dirty...but the sitting room at the back is very spacious/appealing!

We had the banquet which had big servings and was very tasty! I am a fussy eater, but I enjoyed it. We did have to ask for water twice but it was BYO so we were already drinking anyway, so it wasn't too big of a deal. The bellydancer was fun too!

I was pleasantly surprised with this venue and want to advise potential customers not to be turned-off by the rough looking entrance! The sit-down room at the back is just fine!

Aug 17, 2011

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Green Chillies Thai, Darlinghurst

Restaurants, Thai, BYO, American Express

Overall 8.1 41

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

7.8 Recommended

Food 9 Ambience 8 Service 7 Value 7

Oct 24, 2011

Thai Nesia, Darlinghurst

Restaurants, Thai, BYO, American Express, Diners Club

Overall 7.9 79

5.3 Average

Food 5 Ambience 4 Service 6 Value 6

Oct 20, 2011

Imperial Hotel, Erskineville

Bars

Overall 4.7 4

5.5 Average

Drinks 5 Ambience 8 Service 4 Value 5

Oct 17, 2011

Casa di Nico, Darling Harbour

Restaurants, Italian, Serves Dinner, Serves Lunch

Overall 5.9 75

3.5 Below Average

Food 5 Ambience 4 Service 2 Value 3

Oct 13, 2011

Rowda Ya Habibi, Newtown

Restaurants, Lebanese, BYO, Private Room, Serves Late Dining

Overall 7.4 35

6.5 Recommended

Food 8 Ambience 4 Service 6 Value 8

Aug 17, 2011

Fishmongers Bondi Beach, Bondi Beach

Cafes, Seafood, American Express

Overall 6.3 29

8 Recommended

Food 9 Ambience 8 Service 8 Value 7

This place deserves better reviews! Nothing beats sitting outside here on a nice day after coming back in from the beach! This place is like an upmarket fish and chips shop, but I had the most flavourful salt+pepper squid here! Nice chips too!

Nov 14, 2010

Chat Thai Randwick, Randwick

Restaurants, Takeaways, Function Venues, Thai, Family Dining

Overall 6.9 29

6 Average

Food 9 Ambience 6 Service 3 Value 6

I have had takeaway and eat-in at this restaurant and every time the service has been slow! When I called for pick-up, I was told it would be 30 minutes to collect three dishes and rice, well, I got there in half-an-hour, but had to wait an additional 20 minutes inside the store?! It was kinda embarrassing at it's a very tiny venue and five (yes five!) other customers were waiting inside for pick-up! It was so cramped in there and all us losers had to keep shuffling around to make room as they started getting sit-down customers and there was no room for all us pick-up people to stand!

I have a feeling they just tell everyone on the phones it's a "30 minutes wait" regardless of the actual waiting time! The other time I ate-in the restaurant and we were literally the only group in the restaurant (there were only three of us) but it took an hour wait for the food! It just doesn't make any sense to me why they are so slow!

Anyway, if you can handle the long waits, the food is actually very good here! You get lots of meat in each dish, they don't try and hide the meal under lots of salad or garnish, you leave feeling very full but the slow waiting times really does test your patience!

Jun 16, 2010

A Fish Called Coogee, Coogee

Restaurants, Fish and Chips, Modern Australian, BYO, Serves Takeaway

Overall 6.4 38

7.8 Recommended

Food 9 Ambience 7 Service 8 Value 7

I don't understand what the other reviewers are talking about! I ordered the small chips, calamari and a drink, all up it costed $13, with no "Cooking Fee"! The small chips was actually quite enough and I couldn't have eaten anymore than what they gave me! Fresh, hand-cut chips which were very crispy and nice! The calamari was about 8 big rings which were golden brown and weren't chewy or rubbery, just right!

At the end of the day, this place is just a glorified fish and chips shop, so you don't come here for five-course fine dining, if you just stick to the menu options of "Fish and Chips", you don't get charged that "Cooking Fee".

The "Cooking Fee" only happens when you order their Gourmet/daily specials/ Catch-of-the-Day fishes, which is fair enough. If you just stick to the standard menu option of "fish", you don't get charged the "Cooking Fee".

I will definitely be going back to this place! Yum!

May 03, 2010

Chat Thai Thaitown, Sydney

Restaurants, Thai, BYO, Serves Dinner, Serves Lunch

Overall 7.7 198

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

8 Recommended

Food 9 Ambience 8 Service 7 Value 8

This place is so funky! It's like an old converted loft house with bare-brick walls showing...and you can see the chef's cooking up stuff from the window outside!

It's important to know that this place does not take bookings or reservations, it's pretty much first-come, first-serve. They have a sign-up sheet/clipboard which you write down how many people you need a table for and whether you mind sharing the table with others, then you tear-off the number and wait till they call out your number!

This place does get busy so you can be waiting a while but the food is worth it! Beautifully presented food that has a very distinctive flavour! I love the Chicken Cashew Nut and the yummy prawn dumplings.

The price is right too! It's not that expensive and they have a big selection. I just wish this place was licensed and had more space as it can get a bit cramped in here!

Response from Management:
Dear TheFussyEater,   

Thanks for your recommendation! We are sorry you have been waiting so long at Haymarket and thought we should let you know that actually we have always taken bookings at Haymarket on (02) 9211 1808. Please let us know the next time you would like to book!   

As Haymarket is quite a tight venue we only take bookings up to 12 people (maybe more if not Friday, Saturday or Sunday), and if you would like more guests we can take bookings up to 30 people at our new venue at Level 6, Westfield Sydney (Pitt St Mall) 0n (02) 9221 0600. We have all your old favourites along with a lot of brand new dishes, and an expanded dessert menu!   

Also, we are very sorry to hear that you had a bad time at Randwick. The problem with that location is that on Friday, Saturday & Sunday they get swamped with orders between 6pm and 7:30pm (we do about 50 home deliveries in addition to take-out orders and eat-in orders) so the wait is unfortunately hard to avoid. What we can suggest is that you try to order about 20mins earlier than you would normally order. This should do the trick nicely. After 7:30pm things start to slow down again and wait times return to normal.   

Please let us know if you have any further questions at anytime.   

Kind regards,   
Chat Thai Team

Apr 27, 2010

Stonewall Hotel, Darlinghurst

Bars

Overall 6.8 32

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful

7.5 Recommended

Drinks 7 Ambience 8 Service 7 Value 8

If you want to show someone the real "Gay Sydney", then Stonewall is the perfect venue! It's full of non-threatening skinny queenie guys and straight-forward Top 40 pop music, none of the big burly leather men come here. Unfortunately, this means the place is also full of straight girls wanting a night-out without being hit on.

They let way too many people into the ground floor section! It is so packed that you get drinks spilled on you when you are squeezing thru the crowds to get to the toilets and the toilets have to be the filthiest I have ever seen! The floor is always covered in liquid! Even if you get there early! And it's "anything goes" in the bathrooms! Boys in the Girls Room, Girls in the Men's Room and some people you can't tell what they are!

The drag shows are top-notch and normally happen every hour. I brought guests from America here to see, and they were very impressed and had seen nothing like it in America. The 1st and 2nd floors play remixes of Top 40 pop songs and are less packed with people which is better and it's easier to order drinks on these floors. The Ground Floor is so busy it takes forever to get served by the bar staff.

Stonewall recently started charging a $5 Cover Charge which I find a bit annoying for a place that's not really a club, but a bar but for the free drag entertainment you get all night, it does seem fair enough.

Mar 07, 2010