rozellecoffeeguru

Reviews

Restaurants, Modern Australian, Steak House, Family Dining, Romantic and Intimate

Overall 8.2 15

9.5 Highly Recommended

Food 10 Ambience 9 Service 10 Value 9

Let me add my voice to the clamour of approval for this great new venue. Signature Grill is a welcome addition to the often overlooked "other" Rozelle eating strip. We've been here a few times now, and are always impressed by the warm welcome we receive.

Service is excellent, the food is far beyond expectations of a neighbourhood restaurant, the only thing missing is the crowds. Although, that's not a bad thing as in common with other reviewers, it's nice to be able to have a conversation!

There are a range of kids specials/offers, so it's worth checking out.

The food demonstrates real skill in the kitchen. There are not too many places that can perfectly cook and serve up a quality steak with the same consistency, and none that I can think of nearby that come close.

The ribs are a must-have, beautifully cooked, tasty and surprisingly lean. Steaks (of course) are excellent, splash out on the rib-eye, it's worth it, I've not had better anywhere else. The Szechuan squid is excellent as well, and keep an eye on the specials board too.

But be sure to leave room for dessert. There is a great range of homemade desserts to choose from, all are good.

We quite liked the ambience, some care has gone into the decorating, and we enjoyed the clean modern look. Grab a seat near the window to watch the world go by, or settle in for the long haul on the large and comfortable sofa-like seating along the wall.

All in all, do yourself a favour, cross Victoria Road, and try the "other" Rozelle strip for some great food, you'll not regret it!

Feb 24, 2012

Longrain Restaurant & Bar, Surry Hills

Restaurants, Thai, Vegetarian, Hip and Trendy, Banquet

Overall 7.1 255

4.8 Average

Food 6 Ambience 4 Service 4 Value 5

After looking forward to visiting Longrain for such a long time, we were quite disappointed with our first visit here. As mentioned by previous reviewers, the service was very variable, the delay far too long (over two hours to get a table), and the food not particularly better than a decent Thai fusion restaurant elsewhere.

If you are a glutton for punishment, however, the smoked kingfish salad was an exceptional stand out favourite of our table. Otherwise, for quality Thai without the attitude and the long delays, try the other offerings in Thainatown instead.

Feb 19, 2012

Little Darling Diner, Balmain

Restaurants, French, Family Dining, Good For Groups, Hip and Trendy

Overall 8.7 5

8.5 Highly Recommended

Food 8 Ambience 9 Service 9 Value 8

Although open now for 6 months, we only stopped in for lunch this weekend. Having peeked through the windows a few nights before when they were closed, we were keen to see what sort of vibe the Little Darling Diner had when open.

The Little Darling Diner reflects a recent trend for a more urbane and sleek experience towards the Rozelle end of Darling Street that we're keen to see continue.

The comfy leather club chairs and sofas scattered amongst the more usual tables demonstrate the intent here, this is a place where you can enjoy afternoon tea, a pretty good meal, or a great coffee.

Decor is delightful, barely restrained Balmain-meets-Paris, with a fantastic mezzanine floor at the back overlooking a courtyard, and a fantastic lower level that seems purpose made for the jazz that is served up with excellent food 2 on Friday and Saturday nights.

Food is upmarket, well presented and French-inspired, as befits the overall concept, and is served up by some very friendly, professional and helpful staff. Steak-frites, as mentioned by another reviewer, is excellent (mine was done absolutely perfectly), but there's plenty more to choose from. At lunch time, if you don't feel like a heavy meal, the deli sandwiches are good too.

We're kicking ourselves for not coming here sooner, but we're keen to make up for lost time!

Jan 10, 2012

Aj's Indian Restaurant, Eastwood

Restaurants, Asian, Indian, Seafood, Vegetarian

Overall 8.4 131

8.5 Highly Recommended

Food 9 Ambience 7 Service 10 Value 8

It's easy to why AJ's has such a following. With Indian food gaining a higher profile in Sydney, AJ's is leading the charge.

We visited AJ's with some friends who were regulars, but even still, I'm sure Sanjay would have greeted newcomers just as warmly.

Given the excellent service, and knowledgeable staff, there's really no need to use the menu. After discussing our preferences, Sanjay promised to return with a selection which would make us happy. And make us happy it did.

The seafood curry was a stand-out favourite, delicate yet full flavoured, with excellent quality ingredients. The scallops were inspired, and matched perfectly with the coconut based sauce.

Well worth the visit, and we're looking forward to our return!

Nov 25, 2011

LYNN Shanghai Cuisine, Sydney

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

Overall 8.4 132

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

8.5 Highly Recommended

Food 9 Ambience 8 Service 9 Value 8

Anthony Bourdain clearly needs to get to LYNN, as the xiao long bao here leave others far behind. They were the high point of our visit, with a delicate, refined flavour, and a good textured firm but not leathery wrapper, beautifully constructed.

Other notable dishes we enjoyed greatly are the bean and bamboo shoots in minced pork (delicious), and the hot and sour pork wonton noodles (again, delicious!).

The service was excellent, the staff were knowledgeable and extremely courteous, and we especially enjoyed having a chat with Teresa, who after berating us for using our mobiles at the table rather than talking to each other (in the nicest possible way!), made us feel very welcome.

The large windows into the spotless and efficient kitchen are great, as seeing the chefs at work is fascinating, and gives a great sense of involvement in the dining experience.

We did, however, make the same mistake that "Princesstansy" did, and order far too much in order to sample as much as possible, but that's hardly a problem, we just took the remainder home and had it for dinner!

We will definitely be back to this great restaurant, and are keenly looking forward our next visit.

Nov 21, 2011

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Displaying: 1 - 10 of 22 reviews

Signature Grill, Rozelle

Restaurants, Modern Australian, Steak House, Family Dining, Romantic and Intimate

Overall 8.2 15

9.5 Highly Recommended

Food 10 Ambience 9 Service 10 Value 9

Feb 24, 2012

Longrain Restaurant & Bar, Surry Hills

Restaurants, Thai, Vegetarian, Hip and Trendy, Banquet

Overall 7.1 255

4.8 Average

Food 6 Ambience 4 Service 4 Value 5

Feb 19, 2012

Little Darling Diner, Balmain

Restaurants, French, Family Dining, Good For Groups, Hip and Trendy

Overall 8.7 5

8.5 Highly Recommended

Food 8 Ambience 9 Service 9 Value 8

Jan 10, 2012

Aj's Indian Restaurant, Eastwood

Restaurants, Asian, Indian, Seafood, Vegetarian

Overall 8.4 131

8.5 Highly Recommended

Food 9 Ambience 7 Service 10 Value 8

Nov 25, 2011

LYNN Shanghai Cuisine, Sydney

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

Overall 8.4 132

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

8.5 Highly Recommended

Food 9 Ambience 8 Service 9 Value 8

Nov 21, 2011

Big Stone, North Sydney

Restaurants, Japanese, Spanish, Tapas, BYO

Overall 8.7 32

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

8.5 Highly Recommended

Food 9 Ambience 7 Service 10 Value 8

We just stumbled upon Big Stone looking for somewhere to eat on a Tuesday night in North Sydney, and we were very satisfied. I note the negative reviews below, however, that does not reflect our experience.

Behind the unassuming façade lurks a restaurant that is far more than their stated offerings of "Japanese Tapas". Big Stone is not merely a dime-a-dozen Sydney take on an Izikaya.

Don't be put off by the somewhat Spartan décor or that it might be a bit quiet (as it was when we went), this place is worth a visit.

There may be places that offer better value in terms of quantity, but I think that Big Stone is more about the quality and execution. This isn't somewhere to visit if you're after traditional Spanish tapas flavours, this is something different.

The handwritten menu is delightfully sweet, and the service was impeccable. Our server was knowledgeable and polite, happy to answer questions and direct us to the specials.

The food line up is nicely varied, yet holds firmly to the stated themes. There are the takes on Japanese classics through to more robust main-stream offerings of steaks and pork belly.

We started with some pickled vegetables over drinks to start, which were a little mild for our taste, but nonetheless tasted home made, and did the job of getting the mouth watering. This was followed by some well presented beef and potato croquettes (fairly good, but more beef would be nice) and some gorgeous tempura salt code and potato stuffed zucchini flowers (mind-blowingly good). We followed that with a scallop ceviche special that was the very essence of freshness, and a beautiful Wagyu beef salad that was flavoursome and tender.

The portions are not huge, but you'll need to save room for dessert. The churros are well worth it, as is the matcha creme brulee.

The beverage list is reasonable, however, something to try is the sake tasting set ($15 for a set or 4 sake). These are presented in unique cups with a useful key on the tray. In short, we'll return and work our way through the rest of the menu.

Oct 01, 2011

Sushi Bar Rashai, Annandale

Restaurants, Japanese, BYO, Licensed, American Express

Overall 6.8 91

7 Recommended

Food 6 Ambience 6 Service 9 Value 7

Unlike some of the other reviewers, we found the service was very good and attentive. It was a busy Friday night too, which was nice. Given the other reviews though, I think that we must have come on a bad night because we were disappointed by the freshness of the sashimi. The portions are big, and fairly reasonably priced, but we felt the quality just wasn't there. We found the texture and the flavour of the sashimi below standard.

As for other dishes, a stewed pork in soy special was excellent, and the seaweed with chilli is brilliant, and the gyoza were little crispy pockets of delight. I would like to try Rashai again to give it another chance, as it really didn't live up to the other reviews on the night.

Feb 16, 2008

Ettamogah Pub, Rouse Hill

Pubs

Overall 4.1 81

4.6 Below Average

Food 6 Drinks 6 Ambience 3 Service 3 Value 5

The venue shows a lot of promise from the outside, but once you're into the bleak interior courtyard, with rows of identical tables, your enthusiasm wanes. That said, if you just want a reasonable place to meet up with a few mates, where the kids can be entertained, then this isn't a bad choice. The service can be excruciatingly slow on weekends, and tables can take a long time to be cleared. It would be good if they had a dedicated area for smokers, as being mostly an outdoor venue, there are a lot of them.

The food, when it arrives, isn't too bad, on the up-side of average, they need to work out how to serve the large number of patrons more promptly though. Waiting up to an hour for a steak isn't going to get people coming back in a hurry.

Feb 14, 2008

Back Bar& Bistro @ 3 Weeds, Rozelle

Pubs, American Express

Overall 6.9 38

7 Recommended

Food 7 Drinks 7 Ambience 7 Service 7 Value 7

A good place for a Sunday afternoon, or a weekend wind-down. Reasonably prompt, unfussy service, in a laid-back environment. We ate in the bar/bistro, the food was pretty good, we enjoyed the pies, but the tapas could have been a little more imaginative. The pizzas were enjoyable though, and the selection of cocktails is pleasingly different, we had a few rounds to taste most of them, well made, and reasonably priced as well. Not the cheapest venue, but certainly a comfortable one, you're getting what you pay for, as the food is definitely above average. We'll be back, especially when the weather turns cooler, to get rid of the Sunday afternoon blues!

Feb 14, 2008

Eastwood Garden Peking Restaurant, Eastwood

Restaurants, Asian, Chinese, BYO, Wheelchair Access

Overall 7.2 79

6.8 Recommended

Food 7 Ambience 6 Service 7 Value 7

We went for an early lunch on a Sunday, and had no trouble getting a table, but by the time we'd had the first of the 2 course Peking Duck, there was a large queue and the place was packed. Definitely a popular place with the locals, we had no problem with the service, unlike other reviewers, and the place was very busy. The Peking Duck isn't the best, I have to agree, but the San Choy Bau was pretty good, but we were very impressed with the dumplings. Good value in a popular spot on the Eastwood strip, we'll be back!

Jul 30, 2007