xtirax

Reviews

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

Overall 8.1 290

8.8 Highly Recommended

Food 9 Ambience 9 Service 9 Value 8

I have been to Waqu 4 times, and they never disappoint. I try to go there every time the seasonal menu is changed.

At $60, the degustation is still one of the better value degustations around, especially for the quality. The dishes are always inventive, fresh and delicious!

Nov 28, 2011

La Tratt, Fairfield

Restaurants, Italian, Fine Dining, Romantic and Intimate, Air Conditioning

Overall 8.5 44

9.8 Highly Recommended

Food 9 Ambience 10 Service 10 Value 10

La Tratt is a gem! Coming from the area, I was a bit weary of Italian "fine dining", but I'm happy that La Tratt proved me wrong!

I went with a friend and we had the mid week summer special for $45 which included white wine, an entree, main and dessert. And every single course was a delight!(Although I must highly recommend the mushroom tart for entree and lamb for the main).

Customer service is also top notch, the waitresses are always smiling and look happy to be doing what they are doing. Thanks La Tratt for a nice dinner.

Jan 06, 2011

Baroque | Bistro Bar Patisserie, Sydney

Restaurants, French, Vegetarian, Fine Dining, Hip and Trendy

Overall 7 113

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

3.8 Below Average

Food 5 Ambience 6 Service 2 Value 2

I've previously had a work dinner at Baroque and the experience was nothing short of fantastic. I raved on and on about Baroque, so when planning a dinner with my friends, Baroque was the first place that came to mind.

Upon arrival, I informed Baroque that I had 7 people coming instead of the 6 that I booked for. The nice lady serving us kept a smile on her face and told us it was fine. At this point, I was thinking "Wow, these people leaving negative comments about their service are out of their minds! Service is fantastic!" They didn't even hassle us when a member of our party was running late.

We proceeded to order our main meals. When the waiter brought 3 of the mains to the table asking whose main it was, we instinctively pointed to whoever ordered the dish, he set the main down and when the friends on the other side of the table said that they had also ordered the dish, he muttered "I was just over there." Perhaps, not something you should say in front of your customers?

When the 4th main came out, the same waiter announced that it was the steak, my friend proceeds to ask if it was the "300 day angus" as two of us ordered steak, to which the waiter responded "it is the steak on the menu." Both our mains were "on the menu", so I do not understand why the waiter could not have just said "yes" instead of responding to us like we were stupid.

My main was last to come out, and there had been a mix up. I called a waiter over (that was a lot of effort in itself, I understand they are busy, but 5-10 minutes.. really?) and informed them that I had ordered something else, she promptly took the dish back and spoke to someone who was presumably in charge, they quickly apologised for the mix up and said that my main would be on its way. Kudos to them, the lady I dealt with was apologetic and pleasant. Unfortunately, I still received my meal as everyone was finishing theirs.

I am known to my friends to be a macaron fiend, so after the meal we headed over to the counter to purchase a few boxes. We stood there for a while before a waitress came around and asked us if she could help us with anything in a less than friendly tone, I guess you couldn't call it a rude tone, but I expected a bit more from this restaurant I had thought so highly of. We told her that we wanted to purchase some macarons, to which we were told that they do not do take away for macarons during dine in and they only serve macarons when a customer is seated.

Really, now? When was this rule put in place? I went to Baroque in December on a Friday at 7:30 pm to purchase macarons and all was fine, I went to Baroque in November and bought a dozen after my dinner, and they allowed me to. What changed? And why haven't Baroque written this anywhere? I was sorely disappointed. Their salted macarons are my favourite, and would have improved my lacklustre evening. I should also note that during my last visit, we received complimentary macarons, although I don’t expect them to be giving away free macarons all the time, at least let me purchase them!

I left Baroque extremely annoyed, and I for one do not think that any restaurant should have their customers leaving their restaurant angry and frustrated and it appears that I am not the only one who feels this way judging from the numerous negative comments I’ve read.

I felt really embarrassed to have so strongly recommended this restaurant to my friends as I felt that I was also responsible for ruining their evenings.

I would not go so far to say Never go to this restaurant, as I have had a great experience with them in the past but if you're looking for a great night out with friends, you might want to go somewhere where the service is not a hit or a miss, but rather somewhere that is consistent with their service.

Jan 06, 2011

Alio, Surry Hills

Restaurants, Italian, BYO, Degustation Menu, Private Room

Overall 7.5 271

8 Recommended

Food 8 Ambience 6 Service 9 Value 9

Went here on a Saturday night and booked for the June degustation, when I called it was fully booked but luckily the girl on the phone managed to find me a table. I was running late for my 8 pm booking and gave them a call and was told it would be no problem. Service is great, when each dish is presented, the waiter/waitress would introduce it. The staff are always attentive.

Everything was cooked gorgeously and I would have given it a 9 if I had not found 3 pieces of bone in my fish. I'm very bad at spitting out bones so it made the experience slightly annoying. Despite reading a previous review regarding the beef being a disappointment, I thought the beef was cooked to perfection, it was so succulent and went really well with the peas and potatoes, the calamari was also wonderful when combined with the chilli lemon sauce.

I am usually quite impressed with desserts no matter what they are, but found that the pannacotta was a bit mushy for my tastes, however, the blood orange sorbet was divine. I went here with a deal on jumponit, so I paid a mere $29 for my meal while my partner paid full price, so it was a bargain and well worth our money! Although even at $72, I'd recommend it.

Ambience was rated 6 mainly due to the really loud party that were situated in a corner of the restaurant, it was a birthday party so I expected it to be loud but not to the point of some patrons banging the tables and screaming. I am a fan of bustling restaurants but that also slightly tarnished the experience for me.

All in all, Alio is still a great restaurant if you're looking for quality food at a decent price!

Jun 20, 2010

Rise Restaurant, Darlinghurst

Restaurants, Asian, Fusion, Japanese, Family Dining

Overall 8.4 153

8.5 Highly Recommended

Food 9 Ambience 8 Service 8 Value 9

You'd be hard pressed to find another good quality degustation in Sydney at such a good price, at $48 on Tues/Wed/Sun, it's really a bargain! I've been here twice and aside from the one weird dish with some strange egg thing in it, the experience has been great. The atmosphere is very relaxed and the food tastes divine. The sashimi is especially fresh and the cauliflower soup (as dull as it sounds) is delicious. If only all other degustations could follow suit and offer quality food at great prices.

Apr 13, 2010