blu

Reviews

Restaurants, Takeaways, Lebanese, Middle Eastern, Good For Groups

Overall 7 158

7.5 Recommended

Food 7 Ambience 6 Service 8 Value 9

This is cheap and cheerful, great for big groups and the food is pretty good always served cheerfully no matter how rowdy some of the patrons get!

How could you fault that?

Mar 10, 2012

Restaurant Arras, Sydney

Restaurants, European, Degustation Menu, Serves Dinner, Serves Lunch

Overall 8 7

8.5 Highly Recommended

Food 9 Ambience 8 Service 9 Value 8

After two visits in a week, once for lunch and a return for dinner, this may be my new favourite high end restaurant in town.

The decor feels so different to the previous operation, both of Arras and the location. Very light but great splashes of colour. Comfy chairs also very welcome.

Lunch is extremely good value. Dinner requires a somewhat greater investment but one that provides a very satisfactory return for me. Superb wine list with some real oddities at reasonable prices. Superb service at both lunch and dinner. I look forward to eating here a lot more in future.

Mar 10, 2012

Becasse, Sydney

Restaurants, Modern European, Vegetarian, Fine Dining, Good For Groups

Overall 8 207

8.3 Highly Recommended

Food 8 Ambience 8 Service 9 Value 8

Dining here with a group of friends on a special occasion was a delight even though the degustation was not to everyone's taste.

The matched wine course was probably the highlight for me and after a recent poor experience at another venue I have a newfound respect for how important this is.

The new venue is beautifully appointed but it is (in Australia at least) an unusual experience to visit a fine diner in a mall. Something that we may just have to get used to.

Mar 10, 2012

Bambini Trust Cafe Restaurant, Sydney

Cafes, European, Mediterranean, Licensed, Outdoor Dining

Overall 8.1 57

7.3 Recommended

Food 7 Ambience 8 Service 8 Value 6

Whenever here, I always wonder why my visits are so far apart.

Being welcomed into this cosy space is always like coming home, rather like the food which is reminiscent of a refined dinner party, elegant and straight forward. Not cheap but good value for the overall package.

Jan 13, 2012

Acqua Pazza, Sydney

Restaurants, Italian, Licensed, Serves Dinner, Serves Lunch

Overall 7.5 4

8 Recommended

Food 8 Ambience 8 Service 9 Value 7

We had a quick pre-concert meal here and are looking forward to returning. We ate simply with just one course of fish which was cooked simply but well and and some sides which were very generous helpings.

The wine recommendation was a good match and service was very attentive, working within our time constraints was no problem. A very attractive dining room and reasonable value for money.

Jan 07, 2012

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Member since 2011

Last updated on 1st Jun 2012

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Displaying: 1 - 10 of 18 reviews

Almustafa (Glebe), Glebe

Restaurants, Takeaways, Lebanese, Middle Eastern, Good For Groups

Overall 7 158

7.5 Recommended

Food 7 Ambience 6 Service 8 Value 9

This is cheap and cheerful, great for big groups and the food is pretty good always served cheerfully no matter how rowdy some of the patrons get!

How could you fault that?

Mar 10, 2012

Restaurant Arras, Sydney

Restaurants, European, Degustation Menu, Serves Dinner, Serves Lunch

Overall 8 7

8.5 Highly Recommended

Food 9 Ambience 8 Service 9 Value 8

Mar 10, 2012

Becasse, Sydney

Restaurants, Modern European, Vegetarian, Fine Dining, Good For Groups

Overall 8 207

8.3 Highly Recommended

Food 8 Ambience 8 Service 9 Value 8

Mar 10, 2012

Bambini Trust Cafe Restaurant, Sydney

Cafes, European, Mediterranean, Licensed, Outdoor Dining

Overall 8.1 57

7.3 Recommended

Food 7 Ambience 8 Service 8 Value 6

Jan 13, 2012

Acqua Pazza, Sydney

Restaurants, Italian, Licensed, Serves Dinner, Serves Lunch

Overall 7.5 4

8 Recommended

Food 8 Ambience 8 Service 9 Value 7

Jan 07, 2012

LYNN Shanghai Cuisine, Sydney

Restaurants, Shanghainese, Family Dining, Good For Groups, Air Conditioning

Overall 8.4 132

7.3 Recommended

Food 8 Ambience 7 Service 7 Value 7

What an unexpected delight in this area of the city!

Apologies first, the xiao long bao are not quite as good as somewhere else But they are still very good and much more refined than most in Sydney, thin skinned and very juicy.

The feel of the place is also remarkably good for a club restaurant and service great for those not used to ordering traditional style. Helpings of appetisers are huge and priced accordingly, be great to see them displayed as in China. The vinegar was also a little strong for my taste but that may be a personal thing.

All in all a great find.

Jan 07, 2012

Selah, Circular Quay

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

Overall 8.1 144

8 Recommended

Food 8 Ambience 8 Service 9 Value 7

This is a great spot for pre-theatre dinner or a business lunch and it would be nice to linger a little longer one evening too.

Staff are very helpful when advised of time constraints and gently nudge you away from the beef pie if you need to be out quickly, which is a real shame because it's a great feed. The room does get a little noisy when full but Selah is a long way from being the worst offender in Sydney noise wise.

The wine list is compact but well chosen. Value is reasonable for the location. Thank goodness Selah doesn't have a water view, if it did it would be out of my price range!

Jan 06, 2012

Kai On King, Newtown

Restaurants, Japanese

Overall 6.6 35

7 Recommended

Food 8 Ambience 7 Service 6 Value 7

This is my favourite sushi train in Sydney and has a Japanese chef (not as common as you may think - check at your next visit to your favourite sushi train).

In multiple visits the fish has always been fresh and the air conditioning on (SydneyguyRojoe must have lucked out on his visit).

I've noticed a trend over time with Kai offering more "Australian" sushi, ie seared fish, meat and deep fried items. I guess that's what the public wants but the traditional nigiri is so good and it's a shame when there is just salmon and tuna on the conveyor, even if the chef is happy to make on request. And talking of deep fried, the tempura is much better than usual.

Always find it hard to judge value of Australian sushi traing. When most plates are $3 to $4 yet in Tokyo I usually pay no more than JPY130 (less than $2)even for oh-toro. Isn't Tokyo supposed to be expensive? Enough of the whinge, prices are the same as most other similar venues which I think makes this place pretty good.

Staff consistently friendly but in a serve your self place how do you rate service?

Jan 06, 2012

Akaneya, Sydney

Restaurants

Overall 6.2 28

8.3 Highly Recommended

Food 9 Ambience 6 Service 8 Value 10

So this is a regular lunch haunt of mine because the food is consistently good and fantastic value for the price that you are charged compared to many other Japanese restaurants in the city.

The room gets quite noisy when full (like every lunchtime from 1215 till 1330) but clean and service is prompt which is great for people needing to get back to work. Very popular with groups which intrigues me, Japanese is not a cuisine that I'd choose for a group meal, not enough sharing plates for my liking.

In Sydney, this is one of a handful of places that I would go to for Japanese and highly recommended.

Jan 06, 2012

Duck Inn Pub and Kitchen, The, Chippendale

Pubs, Free WiFi, Eftpos, Mastercard, Visa

Overall 6.9 17

8 Recommended

Food 8 Drinks 8 Ambience 7 Service 10 Value 7

Visited after stumbling on this venue's website and very glad we did.

Felt really welcomed on arrival and service well beyond what you would expect in a pub throughout our visit. The menu is not your usual pub fair and all the better for it.

The decor is not what you would expect in the area, was quiet during our visit and probably needed a few more people to come alive.

A great find in an area where most pubs are just for drinks.

Jan 06, 2012