fergal

5 Average

Food  6      Service  6      Value  3     

Not rating ambience as I got a takeaway. This place is very expensive for take out. The food is not bad at all; standard Thai fare, but the prices? Sheese!

Sep 19, 2011

7 Recommended

Food  7      Ambience  5      Service  7      Value  9     

I'm pleased to have found this place. The food I would say is really quite good. Service is snappy and efficient. Its a "chinese" chinese restaurant so the usual charming clutter, untidiness and brightness is to be expected. If you like authentic chinese food and aren't looking for a romantic, special occasion type of experience it is well worth a visit. The lunch menus available on the weekend offer exceptionally good value.

Sep 19, 2011

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful

3.3 Below Average

Food  3      Ambience  3      Service  5      Value  2     

I am judging this place as a place to eat, not a place for a kid's party. Ok. Gimmick restaurant. Very little effort to make the food either authentic or fresh. It ranged between mediocre and downright poor. The salad, for example was a tasteless overchilled affair. There is simply no passion here for food. It's about $$ and it shows in everything. Oh and it is Way overpriced. If you want to play catch the egg then give it a shot. If you want to enjoy Japanese food, avoid. You won't find it here. Lastly, staff were pleasant enough.

Aug 12, 2011

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful

7.3 Recommended

Food  7      Ambience  8      Service  8      Value  6     

Ok, firstly the food here is very good when compared to the average Sydney restaurant. However, the price is also above average, so it has to be judged with that in mind.

Ok. Food. We had trout with israeli couscous and viande grillion (I think) for starter. The fish dish was nicely put together, a little bland for my taste but well appreciated by the wife. The meat dish (air dried beef slices) was also good, but... It had been prepared significantly earlier and had that over-chilled fridgey taint to it that just spoilt it a little. I'm paying over the odds here, was it too much to expect the dish be prepared to order?

Mains. Crispy Skin belly of roast pork and the sirloin steak. Sides: handmade pasta with onion and spinach + garlic.

Both dishes looked very nice. However, what ever method the guys in the kitchen had used to ensure the pork belly had a crispy skin had also made the skin nigh-on impossible to eat. It had a texture like crispy-sticky toffee which made it a danger to anyone with a loose filling. It's a shame, because yes it should be crispy, but it should also be chewable. The rest of it was "nice" but forgettable. The sauce on the sirloin was really very very good and the steak was the stand out. Simplicity worked I guess you could say.

Service was good, our waitress was friendly and attentive but it did lapse occasionally. A waiter mixed up our starters and left us with no salt and pepper. Dessert was a raspberry souffle which was again, quite nice.

So. Fancy schmancy surroundings. Good, but not outstanding food. Good if imperfect service and just a little too pricey (not a lot) for what you get. I think this place can be great and it is very nice to see good standard restaurants on the upper north shore (by god we need more of them!) but they just need to bring the food up a notch or two to justify the prices they're charging.

Overall, worth a visit.

Mar 18, 2011

8 Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  6      Service  9      Value  9     

OK, I am literally wiping my hands after finishing some take out. First impressions: very good! To Rex; you might have been unlucky and had your food in the delivery car for a long time. I picked mine up. pappadums included were still warm and perfectly crisp. Rice included with the take out and the two breads I ordered (Naan and Roti) were above average. The dish I ordered was Chicken Hyderabadi was also, above average. So happy that something decent has replaced the shop that moved on. Staff are also super friendly. Big thumbs up.

Feb 16, 2011

5 Average

Food  6      Service  6      Value  3     

Not rating ambience as I got a takeaway. This place is very expensive for take out. The food is not bad at all; standard Thai fare, but the prices? Sheese!

Sep 19, 2011

7 Recommended

Food  7      Ambience  5      Service  7      Value  9     

I'm pleased to have found this place. The food I would say is really quite good. Service is snappy and efficient. Its a "chinese" chinese restaurant so the usual charming clutter, untidiness and brightness is to be expected. If you like authentic chinese food and aren't looking for a romantic, special occasion type of experience it is well worth a visit. The lunch menus available on the weekend offer exceptionally good value.

Sep 19, 2011

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful

3.3 Below Average

Food  3      Ambience  3      Service  5      Value  2     

I am judging this place as a place to eat, not a place for a kid's party. Ok. Gimmick restaurant. Very little effort to make the food either authentic or fresh. It ranged between mediocre and downright poor. The salad, for example was a tasteless overchilled affair. There is simply no passion here for food. It's about $$ and it shows in everything. Oh and it is Way overpriced. If you want to play catch the egg then give it a shot. If you want to enjoy Japanese food, avoid. You won't find it here. Lastly, staff were pleasant enough.

Aug 12, 2011

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful

7.3 Recommended

Food  7      Ambience  8      Service  8      Value  6     

Ok, firstly the food here is very good when compared to the average Sydney restaurant. However, the price is also above average, so it has to be judged with that in mind.

Ok. Food. We had trout with israeli couscous and viande grillion (I think) for starter. The fish dish was nicely put together, a little bland for my taste but well appreciated by the wife. The meat dish (air dried beef slices) was also good, but... It had been prepared significantly earlier and had that over-chilled fridgey taint to it that just spoilt it a little. I'm paying over the odds here, was it too much to expect the dish be prepared to order?

Mains. Crispy Skin belly of roast pork and the sirloin steak. Sides: handmade pasta with onion and spinach + garlic.

Both dishes looked very nice. However, what ever method the guys in the kitchen had used to ensure the pork belly had a crispy skin had also made the skin nigh-on impossible to eat. It had a texture like crispy-sticky toffee which made it a danger to anyone with a loose filling. It's a shame, because yes it should be crispy, but it should also be chewable. The rest of it was "nice" but forgettable. The sauce on the sirloin was really very very good and the steak was the stand out. Simplicity worked I guess you could say.

Service was good, our waitress was friendly and attentive but it did lapse occasionally. A waiter mixed up our starters and left us with no salt and pepper. Dessert was a raspberry souffle which was again, quite nice.

So. Fancy schmancy surroundings. Good, but not outstanding food. Good if imperfect service and just a little too pricey (not a lot) for what you get. I think this place can be great and it is very nice to see good standard restaurants on the upper north shore (by god we need more of them!) but they just need to bring the food up a notch or two to justify the prices they're charging.

Overall, worth a visit.

Mar 18, 2011

8 Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  6      Service  9      Value  9     

OK, I am literally wiping my hands after finishing some take out. First impressions: very good! To Rex; you might have been unlucky and had your food in the delivery car for a long time. I picked mine up. pappadums included were still warm and perfectly crisp. Rice included with the take out and the two breads I ordered (Naan and Roti) were above average. The dish I ordered was Chicken Hyderabadi was also, above average. So happy that something decent has replaced the shop that moved on. Staff are also super friendly. Big thumbs up.

Feb 16, 2011

6.5 Recommended

Food  6      Ambience  4      Service  7      Value  9     

Good food. Good sushi. Great value. Friendly staff.

Dec 30, 2010

8.3 Highly Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  9      Service  8      Value  7     

I love this place. Most consistently good Japanese food in Crows Nest. If you're a Karagee fan, you can ask for it - Its not on the menu but they'll make one for you anyway. Now that's service!

Five Years Later:

Whilst I don't get to come here as often as I used to, I probably look forward to a visit to "the fook-meister" more than I do for any other place. 100% genuine. Prices are reasonable, if a little higher than previous years and the kingfish head is still amazing. Fancy it ain't; the real deal it is.

Oct 13, 2010

7.5 Recommended

Food  7      Ambience  6      Service  8      Value  9     

This is a lovely family run cheap-eats spot that does very decent thai food. The people are very nice and I've been having "spicy noodle pork" from there for lunch on and off for years. Its unpretentious and good value thai food!

Oct 11, 2010

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful

3.3 Below Average

Food  3      Ambience  3      Service  3      Value  4     

Inside Westfield shopping centre lies "Tokyo Ramen", a small place offering "Japanese" food. I visited late September 2010 and I won't be rushing back.

The food is forgettable (seeing 9's and 10's for food here is a bad joke). The place seems to be a Chinese-run "Japanese" restaurant. Nothing inherently wrong with that, but in my experience this combination rarely results in a satisfactory dining experience.

Anyway, the worst aspect of the place isn't the food or the providence of the staff/owners. The place is filthy ladies and gentlemen. Stray noodles slowly drying into the floor, dust, dirt and food splashes everywhere and the tables left un wiped down between customers. I counted 6 people behind the counter and zero staff out where they should be, making the place fit to eat in. Avoid unless desperate.

Oct 11, 2010

5.8 Average

Food  5      Ambience  7      Service  5      Value  6     

Nothing to see here. Nothing to fear here. Avoid the "sirloins". They aren't sirloins, are devoid of fat (flavour) and some of the sinews therein require a good sawing before you can detach them from the rest of the slab. Still, what can you expect for $12?

I don't want to appear too unkind, the staff are friendly if sometimes a little bored, but hey, this is a pub and the grub is cheap. Good atmosphere there on quiz nights.

Sep 30, 2010