boomer

Reviews

Restaurants, Steak House, Has Bar, Licensed, Serves Dinner

Overall 6.7 137

3.8 Below Average

Food 7 Ambience 3 Service 3 Value 2

A group of 6 of us went to Hurricanes to celebrate a birthday. No booking had been made, so we lined up outside and it didn't take too long to get a table (30-45 minutes).

The first thing I noticed was the noise, this is not a quiet restaurant, and I found myself having to shout to be heard at the other end of the table (there were only 6 of us, it wasn't a large table either!). Ordered some garlic bread (very nice), and the 300 gm ribeye steak with baked potato and mushroom sauce, cooked bleu.

There were 5 sets of cutlery on the table already, so after taking our order the waitress came back with a further set. Instead of taking a step around to my left side, she just leaned across in front of me (in mid conversation!) to put them down. That's points off right there, and a really simple thing to avoid doing.

The food arrived, and my steak was cooked beautifully. Unfortunately, I couldn't enjoy it as the baked potato was pretty ordinary, as was the mushroom sauce. I was also in a rush to get out of there as the noise had given me a headache.

Even though I enjoyed my steak and the garlic bread, it really wasn't worth the exorbitant prices charged. When I go to a restaurant I want to experience something that I wouldn't cook at home due to the effort or technique required. Nothing served to our table was anything special, and could have all been cooked at home with little effort.

Jun 09, 2011

Queen Victoria Hotel, Enmore

Pubs, Modern Australian

Overall 6.6 10

7.4 Recommended

Food 6 Drinks 6 Ambience 8 Service 10 Value 7

Had a couple of light meals, which were very nice. What is most memorable though is the fast, efficient, friendly service - certainly exceeds what you'd expect from a pub bistro, & would put many cafes & restaurants to shame. Thanks for a good meal & a good night!

Apr 16, 2011

Caffe Salina, Bronte

Restaurants, Has Cafe

Overall 6.4 28

2.5 Not Recommended

Ambience 4 Service 1

Went into here for lunch today, & was shown to a table. 10 minutes later without any further attention from the staff (no menus, no drinks, no nothing!) we left.

Apr 14, 2011

Scrambled, Enmore

Cafes, European

Overall 6.5 21

6 Average

Food 7 Ambience 6 Service 5 Value 6

Really nice food! Great quantity and quality. The only let downs were the service and the coffee. The wait staff, perhaps, had a bad day, but my coffee was just not where I want coffee to taste. If we are in the area then I will go there again.

Mar 14, 2011

Chocolate Room, The, Sydney

Cafes, Italian, Good For Groups, Romantic and Intimate, Child Friendly Menus

Overall 4.5 17

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful

3.3 Below Average

Food 1 Ambience 6 Service 5 Value 1

I had a Cudo coupon for The Chocolate Room, and having looked at their website was really looking forward to sampling their wares. When we arrived, the place was empty except for one table of 2. We had $50 to spend, having cost $20 for the coupon, and according to the waitress at the counter, that had to be all ordered there and then! Not a good start, as $50 should go a long way.

First thing we'd like to order was waffles. No, can't have waffles. At 1 pm on a Tuesday they'd run out. Ok, how about the chocolate fondue. What does that come with, since the menu showed various items for dipping at further costs? It's at this point that we realise that she doesn't really understand English. So forget the fondue, as the questions were just too difficult to be answered.

My wife ordered a sundae, and I ordered some pancakes, along with a couple of hot chocolates and a couple of muffins (all to get close to the $50 value, as she seemed to get agitated otherwise!). The sundae arrives, and it's a pretty good size, presentation is very good also. Most of it melts as we wait for my pancakes to arrive.

When the pancakes do finally turn up, they too look fantastic, just like you'd see in a cookbook. Unfortunately, that's also how they tasted, like a cookbook! They were so hard that the supplied knife had difficulty getting through them. I ate the cherries and some of the ice cream, but left 95% of what was on the plate. My wife also left most of the sundae as it also looked better than it tasted.

The hot chocolates were weak and watery (as per other reviews here), and the muffins were atrocious. If I'd paid full price I'd be asking for my money back. As it was I was just glad to get the hell out of there without upsetting my stomach, and before the parking cost any more!

Feb 15, 2011

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Member since 2008

Last updated on 1st Jun 2012

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Displaying: 1 - 10 of 17 reviews

Hurricane's Grill & Bar, Sydney

Restaurants, Steak House, Has Bar, Licensed, Serves Dinner

Overall 6.7 137

3.8 Below Average

Food 7 Ambience 3 Service 3 Value 2

Jun 09, 2011

Queen Victoria Hotel, Enmore

Pubs, Modern Australian

Overall 6.6 10

7.4 Recommended

Food 6 Drinks 6 Ambience 8 Service 10 Value 7

Apr 16, 2011

Caffe Salina, Bronte

Restaurants, Has Cafe

Overall 6.4 28

2.5 Not Recommended

Ambience 4 Service 1

Went into here for lunch today, & was shown to a table. 10 minutes later without any further attention from the staff (no menus, no drinks, no nothing!) we left.

Apr 14, 2011

Scrambled, Enmore

Cafes, European

Overall 6.5 21

6 Average

Food 7 Ambience 6 Service 5 Value 6

Mar 14, 2011

Chocolate Room, The, Sydney

Cafes, Italian, Good For Groups, Romantic and Intimate, Child Friendly Menus

Overall 4.5 17

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful

3.3 Below Average

Food 1 Ambience 6 Service 5 Value 1

Feb 15, 2011

Favela Churrascaria, Potts Point

Restaurants, Asian, Brazilian, Chinese, Japanese

Overall 5.3 95

7 Recommended

Food 8 Ambience 7 Service 7 Value 6

The evening didn't start out too well. Our booking was nowhere to be seen! I had booked online with dimmi.com.au, however, the restaurant had no record of it. Mark, the owner, advised that they could seat us just over an hour later. We left, but had a call several minutes later that they had a table available.

The food was pretty good. Having been to Wildfire and other similar styles of restaurants previously, my expectations were set. The meats were brought around to the table in dishes and chunks of beef/lamb/pork/ribs/sausages were put on your plate as they were available. What was missing was the theatrics of having these bbqed meats brought around on the skewers that they had been cooked on, a white dish where you can't see the meat until its on your plate just doesn't give the same vibe.

All in all it was a good night which could have quite easily gone bad because of the booking.

Dec 10, 2010

Torque Bar & Grill, Concord

Restaurants, Modern Australian, Has Bar, Licensed, Serves Breakfast

Overall 7.5 24

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful

1.3 Not Recommended

Food 1 Ambience 2 Service 1 Value 1

I've started to write this review while waiting for my meal. 90 minutes it took, for steak and chips. We are with a group of around 20, and there is a smaller group too, but the rest of the restaurant is empty. The people next to me ate their mains half an hour before ours came out.

My meal, eye fillet with 3 king prawns, arrived 1 prawn short. The meal was taken away, but returned still with only 2 prawns. 1 prawn came a couple of minutes later. They were all overcooked and like rubber so I should have skipped them altogether. Something else that should have been skipped was the mushroom sauce, or gravox with mushrooms thrown in as it should have been described.

It's now been half an hour since we finished the mains, and we are still waiting to place the dessert order. Quite frankly I'll probably pass, I don't have another few hours to wait for service.

Time for another update. Dessert is a bust. 1 hour after mains have been finished and we haven't even been asked. No offer of coffee either. Just paid the bill. $2.90 for the "mushroom sauce". Do yourself a favour and go to McDonalds just down the road. This place is overpriced, under serviced, and just not worth the effort.

This is the first time that I've left a restaurant actually angry, and feeling totally ripped off. The owner has obviously put a considerable amount of funding into it as the decor is great, however, it won't last if this is the level of service that customers receive.

It is a lot easier to keep a customer than it is to gain a new one. Tonight they've lost many that won't return. Our group is a group of friends with motorcycling as a common interest. Motorcyclists talk, and bad news travels fast.

Oct 15, 2010

One Six Nine, Randwick

Cafes, Modern Australian, Hip and Trendy, Child Friendly, Child Friendly Highchairs

Overall 9.3 7

9.5 Highly Recommended

Food 10 Ambience 9 Service 9 Value 10

I think I've found my new regular cafe! This place was a great find! Newly opened, but fantastic food in a pleasant, clean environment with good staff and service, and value for money. This is high quality food at local cafe prices.

The French sourdough with Maple Strawberries is amazing, just what the doctor ordered for that indulgent pick-me-up. Eggs Benedict has been a weekend special, the hollandaise is second to none.

They use organic sourdough and eggs without charging the normal "organic surcharge".

Sep 21, 2010

Isabella's, Randwick

Restaurants, Italian, Restaurant Bookings

Overall 6 69

2.3 Not Recommended

Food 1 Ambience 4 Service 2 Value 2

They say that you get what you pay for, and when we went to Isabellas and saw the prices alarm bells should have started ringing!

I ordered an egg white omelette, however, instead of a nice fluffy omelette made from egg whites, what I received was a couple of fried eggs with the yolks removed! Add to that slack service, bad and cold coffee, and plastic on the tables that make the whole place look like it should be a kindergarten.

Not impressed. Won't be back, there are far better options in Randwick.

Aug 28, 2010

Bills Woollahra, Woollahra

Restaurants, Modern Australian, Hip and Trendy, BYO, Child Friendly

Overall 6.3 38

5.5 Average

Food 6 Ambience 5 Service 6 Value 5

After a successful visit to Bills Darlinghurst last week, we followed up with a visit to Bills Woollahra this week.

Our expectations were high after an outstanding meal at Darlinghurst, however it fell way short. Don't get me wrong, the food was still better than your average cafe, but not close to Bills Darlinghurst. Unfortunately the feeling of the whole place was just not there.

Bills Surry Hills is on our list of places to visit, but Woollahra will not be returned to.

Aug 28, 2010