carne

Reviews

Cafes, Modern Australian, BYO, Serves Breakfast, Serves Lunch

Overall 7.5 53

7.8 Recommended

Food 8 Ambience 8 Service 8 Value 7

Nice relaxed atmosphere despite being located on a five-ways roundabout and parking being scarce on weekends. Service was friendly and the sirloin steak sandwich is recommended. Can be packed especially on weekends.

Mar 27, 2011

OSSO Steak & Ribs, Penrith

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

Overall 6.8 42

7.5 Recommended

Food 8 Ambience 7 Service 8 Value 7

Have tried OSSO for the first time since they moved from the Henry St premises.

Osso claim they're a steakhouse and pleasingly, the menu seems to satisfy in offering both a variety of meat, and cuts for those meats. A lot of the items tend to be a little fattening the way they pair up the meat with sides, but hey that's why you're at a steakhouse isn't it? Some oddities on the menu, such as the spatchcock which was listed at ~550g which seems massive for such a small bird, we queried this but were assured (after confirming with chef) that this was the case.

The steak and ribs ~510g combined was, therefore, claimed to be less than the bird but ended up being almost twice the size (as initially expected).

Ambience is less intimate than the old premises and more befitting of a steak and ribs joint, not exactly intimate with hard floors and high ceilings and an industrial feel, but still good enough to hold a conversation with your table even while being in close proximity to others. Deli-style displays are a cool background addition. Entry is from within Panthers, which has been given an expensive refurb in the last 5 years.

No complaints with service, our alloted waiter was friendly and happy to attend to our queries. Value is a solid 7, you don't pay ridiculous prices for the meat as you can at say, Ribs n Rumps (some $70 for RnR). Mains come with chips and salad for the table. Servings are generous with some exceptions (above).

All in all, a good place to take your mates with decent quality and variety in the food, combined with the accesibility of Panthers.

Jan 30, 2011

Nepean Waterside @ Log Cabin, The, Penrith

Restaurants, Modern Australian

Overall 6.1 40

7.3 Recommended

Food 7 Ambience 8 Service 7 Value 7

Have been to the Waterside three times now over the last few years. The food is pretty solid fare, the menu largely consists of standard modern Australian cuisine but also boasts a "progressive" set of offerings for both entrees and mains which attempts to be more adventurous. The quality of ingredients and process into finished product is generally quite good, with some occasional misses.

Atmosphere is nice with a modern setting. As promised by the name the restaurant backs onto the Nepean river and has a decently kept garden between you and the water, good for watching the coxes and kayaks going by. There seems to be live music of decent quality as standard on weekend nights.

Service is friendly in a slightly raw, down-to-earth kind of way without being unprofessional. Wait times seem about average, having the view certainly helps that though.

Value is moderate to good, this can vary depending on what you order however. Items such as the seafood platter may seem good value in terms of content per $, especially compared with city rates, just remember that the quality of the seafood and the way it is prepared (i.e. much of it battered) may also not be up to the par set by city establishments.

All in all, definitely a nice enough place to take the family every now and then, but it won't blow you away.

Jan 30, 2011

WAQU, Crows Nest

Restaurants, Japanese, Modern Australian, Hip and Trendy, Romantic and Intimate

Overall 8.1 290

8.5 Highly Recommended

Food 9 Ambience 8 Service 8 Value 9

Have been to Waqu three times over the last few years now and the food has been consistently good, hard to fault. The menu changes regularly and shows both diversity and some imagination. The multiple courses help provide this, but there is also a lot happening on each plate (though mostly each assembly is quite cohesive). Presentation is excellent.

Ambience is nice with warm, subtle lighting, polished wooden floorboards and everything kept very clean and minimalist without looking too clinical. Service is fantastic, mostly the wait staff are Japanese, so the accents and very polite manner sometimes mean that when the courses are explained it can be a little hard to make out some words. Some courses appear pre-prepared, such as the amuse bouche/appetisers which seem to appear within 5 minutes of sitting down. A longer (but by no means long overall) wait between entrees and mains is completely reasonable. All staff are courteous.

Value is generally excellent, 6 courses generally leave you content enough and at $60 this is good going especially for Sydney where a 2 course meal of this quality will usually set us back at least ~$55.

Jan 29, 2011

Starke's on Bridge, Stanmore

Cafes

Overall 7.6 11

7.8 Recommended

Food 8 Ambience 8 Service 7 Value 8

Courtyard is fantastic for a lazy weekend late morning breakfast. Open omelettes are fantastic and the coffee is good too. The place is not that easy to spot when driving by, and this is kind of a good thing for keeping this place a bit of a secret.

Jun 10, 2010

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Member since 2008

Last updated on 1st Jun 2012

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Displaying: 1 - 10 of 11 reviews

Sideways Deli Cafe, Dulwich Hill

Cafes, Modern Australian, BYO, Serves Breakfast, Serves Lunch

Overall 7.5 53

7.8 Recommended

Food 8 Ambience 8 Service 8 Value 7

Mar 27, 2011

OSSO Steak & Ribs, Penrith

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

Overall 6.8 42

7.5 Recommended

Food 8 Ambience 7 Service 8 Value 7

Jan 30, 2011

Nepean Waterside @ Log Cabin, The, Penrith

Restaurants, Modern Australian

Overall 6.1 40

7.3 Recommended

Food 7 Ambience 8 Service 7 Value 7

Jan 30, 2011

WAQU, Crows Nest

Restaurants, Japanese, Modern Australian, Hip and Trendy, Romantic and Intimate

Overall 8.1 290

8.5 Highly Recommended

Food 9 Ambience 8 Service 8 Value 9

Jan 29, 2011

Starke's on Bridge, Stanmore

Cafes

Overall 7.6 11

7.8 Recommended

Food 8 Ambience 8 Service 7 Value 8

Jun 10, 2010

Gunyah Restaurant at Paperbark Camp, The, Huskisson

Restaurants, Modern Australian, BYO, Outdoor Dining, Serves Dinner

Overall 7.3 17

8 Recommended

Food 8 Ambience 9 Service 8 Value 7

Tried the restaurant for dinner but did not stay at the camp.

The ambience is great because you are going here for a fancy 'bush' experience and that is what you get. The entrance is located a short walk away from the parking area so security may be a slight concern, and you might need to drop people off/pick up, and then walk through the bush in partial darkness (it is a lit pathway though).

The restaurant is elevated and the dining area also has no windows so views are easy to enjoy from the table and this all adds to the impression of being perched in the trees. Even so, the place is well fitted-out and warm. Insect-repellent canisters are placed around the deck too.

The food was of a high quality and there was some creativity in designing the menu, all in all though, it did seem a slightly pricey given the size of the portions, so value is only average.

Sep 08, 2009

Ribs and Rumps, Homebush Bay

Restaurants, Steak House, Licensed, Serves Dinner, Serves Late Dining

Overall 7 59

7.8 Recommended

Food 8 Ambience 8 Service 8 Value 7

Went here on a Sunday (Father's Day) with 8 people, and booked well in advance. Service was good as they rang both to confirm the booking beforehand and 2 days later to thank us for our business. They were also able to split bills for us. I've also been to the one at North Ryde and the experience is pretty similar.

Ordered the Ribs and Rump original (Pork) and both steak (ordered medium) and ribs were well cooked and tasty. It is expensive (at $45) but good quality and a reasonable portion. Most prices are quite high but the menu is huge (lots of variety) and there are lower-priced items too like a 250gm rump for around $25.

We had a table in a separate section off to the side with its own TV which was great, but from what I could see the other tables were still well spaced out, but the main dining area could get a little noisy.

Food service was quite fast too and everyone was happy with their meals. The two main criticisms here would be the above average prices and the on-street parking, which is a bit scarce (excluding the main parking lots for ANZ stadium). Not a place most families could afford to eat at regularly it's more for slightly special occasions.

Sep 08, 2009

Simple Irresistible, North Sydney

Restaurants, Thai

Overall 7.3 32

7.5 Recommended

Food 8 Ambience 7 Service 7 Value 8

Often come here for takeaway lunch, the food is tasty and there are a good range of options on offer. While the place is always packed, the service is very efficient and mostly pretty friendly. Ample meal sizes with a good amount of meat content and ingredients are consistently high quality, so value is good (takeaway is also 10% off).

Apr 22, 2008

Ori Cafe, Springwood

Cafes, Modern Australian

Overall 6.6 45

8 Recommended

Food 8 Ambience 7 Service 8 Value 9

I go here regularly for dinner. Springwood is lucky to have this place, a very safe bet in terms of all of the above, the food always ranges from good to fantastic (for the price). The specials are continually changed from day to day and show quality and imagination in the ingredients used.

The place is almost always busy (quite hectic on weekends, bookings needed) so this means the ambience can be quite noisy and suffers a little, particularly if you happen to be placed out in the back room. Fortunately, despite the mass patronage the service rarely suffers, the staff are always friendly and efficient. No complaints about the pricing and value is good considering the generous portions. Desserts are also always of a high standard.

Apr 19, 2008

Bay Tree Tea Shop, Mount Victoria

Restaurants, Modern Australian, BYO, Licensed, Serves Breakfast

Overall 7.2 14

7.5 Recommended

Food 7 Ambience 8 Service 7 Value 8

Stopped here on a Sat afternoon. The place was quite busy at 4 pm with a constant stream of customers coming through. Food was much better than expected and was well matched to the price. We had the soup of the day (smoked mozzarella) and the ploughman's. The soup was a little thick and rich but the ploughmans had a good combination of roast beef, ham, pickles, dressed salad and cheeses together with olives and the house tomato relish which was very nice.

Ambience was quite nice with a fire to keep warm by and neat and clean surroundings. Furniture was packed a little close (and therefore a bit noisy) but otherwise quite comfortable. Service was friendly and after being a bit slow to get started (due to how busy this little shop was) they were quite attentive.

Apr 19, 2008