la_psyche

9.5 Highly Recommended

Food  10      Ambience  10      Service  9      Value  9     

My friends and I went to Omage for my belated birthday dinner tonight, the first time any of us had been there. We dithered a bit over ordering a la carte or going for the degustation. We decided on the latter, and were really glad we did. Both the presentation and the taste of everything was superb (and some dishes, like the duck cigar, also fun to eat). The waitstaff were friendly and attentive, and we appreciated the run through of what each dish was when it was presented. Wonderful food, wonderful setting, wonderful night. Thank you! We will definitely be back and will tell all our friends to come too!

Nov 26, 2011

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful

7 Recommended

Food  7      Ambience  7      Service  7      Value  7     

When stuff like this happens, I normally can't be bothered to worry about it that much, much less tell everyone about it. However, in this case, I find the whole situation so ridiculous that I feel compelled to share it. And also to give anyone planning on organising a dinner (not a function!) with more than 15 people at Cibo e Vino in Castle Hill a heads up on how restrictive it might be.

All I wanted was to get together with some of my friends, just a casual dinner, somewhere local. Ok, so the group has ended up being potentially around 20 people, but still, you would think that was manageable.

Upon making a tentative booking with Cibo e Vino, this is what they offered:
- alternating meals with a choice of two dishes, ie like a WEDDING, at a cost of $45-$55 per head. What the?? All I wanted was a casual dinner! Why can't my friends choose what they want to eat? OR
- a sample tasting menu, made up of entrees and mains, at a cost of $47 per person. Should this option be chosen, the ENTIRE group would have had to have this option. Once again - just want a casual, nice dinner! It's not a function! Not everyone should have to have this if they don't want to!

Anyway, I finally got the restaurant to agree to let us order a la carte. While on the phone, the events manager informed me that if we wanted to do this, we'd have to preorder a week in advance. So ok, I agreed. Then I got the email with the menu. Which included a little aside that said 'as there are over 15 people and the function falls on a Saturday night, there is a minimum spend of $45 per person'. How much more inconvenient for them is this than on a usual Saturday night when they have different tables of people who only order on the night and might not spend that much per head anyway? And I'm sorry, but the food is not that fantastic that this would be worth it.

I get that they're not the biggest restaurant. I get that they're new, and they need to make money. But seriously - yes, we probably would have ended up spending about $50 a head anyway - but it would be nice if we were given the chance to CHOOSE to do so. And given that some people have mortgages and/or babies on the way, I don't want to make my friends go somewhere where they HAVE to spend a certain amount on dinner. And I won't. So I cancelled the booking and we're going somewhere else. Even if it ends up being take away at my place, at least it'll be less stressful.

So - if you want somewhere to hold a 'function', like a wedding anniversary or work dinner, then yes, Cibo e Vino is possibly a good option. But if you just want to go there with a big group for dinner, you might want to think twice.

Disclaimer: I don't know how the restaurant business works, this might just be the way it is with small local places, however this is my experience, and I have never had this much trouble trying to organise dinner with a large group before. I also note that an Italian restaurant in Carlingford (Taste of Tuscany), which is about the same size, also offers 'shared tasting menus' but they offer it at different levels of pricing.

Nov 20, 2008

8.5 Highly Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  8      Service  9      Value  8     

Being of Chinese-Indonesian background, having spent time in Indonesia and growing up in Sydney with its abundance of good Indonesian restaurants (and my mother and her friends' good cooking), I was pleased to discover Sanur's existed, and thrilled when I finally tried it. I've been there twice in the past week and both times thoroughly enjoyed my visit.

The food was excellent and presented well. I had the Opor Ayam (coconut chicken curry) both times, also tried the Udang Mentega (butter/sweet soy sauce prawns) and Daging Bakar (grilled beef) and a few other dishes which have escaped my memory (but they were good!). The prices were a little more expensive than Indo restaurants in Sydney, but given that this is Canberra, it's the only Indonesian restaurant you can eat dinner at here, and the food was delicious, it's worth it.

The service was also fantastic. The staff were friendly and helpful, particularly on my second visit, when our group ended up being larger than expected. They happily offered and then helped us to move to a larger table, and the extra dishes we ordered to feed the additions came out quickly. They also offered to 'tone down the chilli' in one of the dishes when I mentioned that I couldn't eat hot food (pathetic for an Asian, I know. My Caucasian friend who accompanied me has vowed to go back so she can try the dish at full strength).

I can't wait to go back and am already planning my next visit so I can continue to work my way through the menu.

Nov 01, 2008

9.5 Highly Recommended

Food  10      Ambience  10      Service  9      Value  9     

My friends and I went to Omage for my belated birthday dinner tonight, the first time any of us had been there. We dithered a bit over ordering a la carte or going for the degustation. We decided on the latter, and were really glad we did. Both the presentation and the taste of everything was superb (and some dishes, like the duck cigar, also fun to eat). The waitstaff were friendly and attentive, and we appreciated the run through of what each dish was when it was presented. Wonderful food, wonderful setting, wonderful night. Thank you! We will definitely be back and will tell all our friends to come too!

Nov 26, 2011

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful

7 Recommended

Food  7      Ambience  7      Service  7      Value  7     

When stuff like this happens, I normally can't be bothered to worry about it that much, much less tell everyone about it. However, in this case, I find the whole situation so ridiculous that I feel compelled to share it. And also to give anyone planning on organising a dinner (not a function!) with more than 15 people at Cibo e Vino in Castle Hill a heads up on how restrictive it might be.

All I wanted was to get together with some of my friends, just a casual dinner, somewhere local. Ok, so the group has ended up being potentially around 20 people, but still, you would think that was manageable.

Upon making a tentative booking with Cibo e Vino, this is what they offered:
- alternating meals with a choice of two dishes, ie like a WEDDING, at a cost of $45-$55 per head. What the?? All I wanted was a casual dinner! Why can't my friends choose what they want to eat? OR
- a sample tasting menu, made up of entrees and mains, at a cost of $47 per person. Should this option be chosen, the ENTIRE group would have had to have this option. Once again - just want a casual, nice dinner! It's not a function! Not everyone should have to have this if they don't want to!

Anyway, I finally got the restaurant to agree to let us order a la carte. While on the phone, the events manager informed me that if we wanted to do this, we'd have to preorder a week in advance. So ok, I agreed. Then I got the email with the menu. Which included a little aside that said 'as there are over 15 people and the function falls on a Saturday night, there is a minimum spend of $45 per person'. How much more inconvenient for them is this than on a usual Saturday night when they have different tables of people who only order on the night and might not spend that much per head anyway? And I'm sorry, but the food is not that fantastic that this would be worth it.

I get that they're not the biggest restaurant. I get that they're new, and they need to make money. But seriously - yes, we probably would have ended up spending about $50 a head anyway - but it would be nice if we were given the chance to CHOOSE to do so. And given that some people have mortgages and/or babies on the way, I don't want to make my friends go somewhere where they HAVE to spend a certain amount on dinner. And I won't. So I cancelled the booking and we're going somewhere else. Even if it ends up being take away at my place, at least it'll be less stressful.

So - if you want somewhere to hold a 'function', like a wedding anniversary or work dinner, then yes, Cibo e Vino is possibly a good option. But if you just want to go there with a big group for dinner, you might want to think twice.

Disclaimer: I don't know how the restaurant business works, this might just be the way it is with small local places, however this is my experience, and I have never had this much trouble trying to organise dinner with a large group before. I also note that an Italian restaurant in Carlingford (Taste of Tuscany), which is about the same size, also offers 'shared tasting menus' but they offer it at different levels of pricing.

Nov 20, 2008

8.5 Highly Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  8      Service  9      Value  8     

Being of Chinese-Indonesian background, having spent time in Indonesia and growing up in Sydney with its abundance of good Indonesian restaurants (and my mother and her friends' good cooking), I was pleased to discover Sanur's existed, and thrilled when I finally tried it. I've been there twice in the past week and both times thoroughly enjoyed my visit.

The food was excellent and presented well. I had the Opor Ayam (coconut chicken curry) both times, also tried the Udang Mentega (butter/sweet soy sauce prawns) and Daging Bakar (grilled beef) and a few other dishes which have escaped my memory (but they were good!). The prices were a little more expensive than Indo restaurants in Sydney, but given that this is Canberra, it's the only Indonesian restaurant you can eat dinner at here, and the food was delicious, it's worth it.

The service was also fantastic. The staff were friendly and helpful, particularly on my second visit, when our group ended up being larger than expected. They happily offered and then helped us to move to a larger table, and the extra dishes we ordered to feed the additions came out quickly. They also offered to 'tone down the chilli' in one of the dishes when I mentioned that I couldn't eat hot food (pathetic for an Asian, I know. My Caucasian friend who accompanied me has vowed to go back so she can try the dish at full strength).

I can't wait to go back and am already planning my next visit so I can continue to work my way through the menu.

Nov 01, 2008