zedz

Reviews

Overall 5.9 42

2.8 Not Recommended

Food 3 Ambience 2 Service 2 Value 4

We decided to try out Maggie's, being local and all. The service is hit and miss but mostly miss. The women are pretty cold and seem annoyed. We ordered the duck parcel, the belly pork with chinese greens and the barbecue chicken papaya salad.

Duck parcel wasn't too bad, but very small. It was similar to a larb duck on iceberg lettuce. The belly pork was not crispy at all. It also had a boiled pork smell, possibly indicating the lack of freshness. The barbecue chicken had some of the cheapest cuts of deep fried chicken to one side with a side of papaya, carrot, cabbage drowned in mayonnaise. It was similar to a papaya coleslaw.

At the end of the meal, at the counter, the waitress looked at me and chatted away, not even acknowledging me trying to pay my bill. Lack of service and lack of quality food suggests that people should give this a wide berth, unfortunately.

Feb 24, 2012

Wine Plate, Newtown

Restaurants, Bars, Tapas

Overall 8.8 13

8.3 Highly Recommended

Food 8 Ambience 8 Service 9 Value 8

Went here on the weekend. The charcuterie plate is delicious and great for a couple of people to share. The pork belly special was also very nice. service is friendly and efficient and the wine list is extensive with different varietals and blends, and varying options on sizes for the budget conscious. Sit down on the higher tables, the low tables are too low and uncomfortable. Great new place in newtown, newtownians should give it a go.

Jan 07, 2012

Luxe Bakery Cafe, Newtown

Cafes

Overall 7.7 14

6 Average

Food 8 Ambience 5 Service 5 Value 6

Went here to dine in for breakfast. It has a nice buzz, but slow, unprofessional service. The waitresses are snappy, not fast snappy, but they snap back at you if you ask a question. They spend exorbitant amounts of time wiping down benches with coffees waiting to be put on tables and food to be served. Now about the coffee. You can spend 20+ minutes waiting for your coffee as it seems that takeaway orders take precedence over dine-in. Even if the takeaway order was taken 15 minutes after yours. The quality of the coffee is surprisingly average, when the cafe is situated next to the superb Campos.

The pastries and bread are great though, but everything is So expensive. All in all, take away, do not dine in, skip the coffee and avoid the service.

Oct 05, 2011

Sole Espresso, Newtown

Restaurants, Italian, Spanish, Tapas, Has Bar

Overall 6.7 8

5.5 Average

Food 4 Ambience 8 Service 6 Value 4

Ok, I am going to put a disclaimer here, this only applies for the breakfast. I haven't been here for dinner/tapas or wine. Saying this, I did come here one morning. The coffee, I must say, is great. The ambience is excellent, laidback with the huge armchairs and sofas. The service is fine, pretty casual, a little non-chalant and unconcerned.

I ordered char-grilled bacon with poached eggs. When my meal came, there was no bacon. I enquired about this. After apologising profusely, the char-grilled bacon was on its way.

When the bacon arrived, I was extremely disappointed. The "char-grilled" bacon was pale, with no semblance of any brown (let-alone char grilling), it seemed like it was boiled/heated through. The rind was just too chewy. I also ordered some loose leaf english breakfast tea on the menu for $4 and received an exquisite teapot with a typical teabag within. If I had known that, I would have ordered the coffee!

I have also ordered sandwiches before, which are pretty good. The prices themselves are a little on the expensive side for Newtown, but forgivable. All in all, I would say this is a great place to have a coffee and a sandwich (during breakfast/lunch, I don't know about other times) but skip the cooked breakfast options and tea!

Jul 02, 2011

Pickwick's Restaurant, Enmore

Restaurants, Modern Australian, Off Street Parking

Overall 4.7 17

5.8 Average

Food 7 Ambience 6 Service 6 Value 4

Pickwick's is at the site of the old Razor's Edge restaurant, near the Enmore theatre. As we entered, the restaurant was three-quarters full. The waitresses seemed a bit disorganised and run-off their feet.

We were led to the upstairs room and the waitress took our order. She was literally breathless all night, which was strange, as they seemed to have enough staff but probably could do with one extra. It possibly was due to everyone wanting to go the theatre, so wanting a quick dinner.

We ordered a slow cooked pork and a duck breast for a main. The slow cooked pork was shredded and bland with over-acidity of the sauce. The duck was firm and oversmoked and four small slices do not a breast make. At $20 an entree, and getting seriously the smallest serving of duck I have ever seen was disappointing.

The mains that we got (the Kingfish and the Poussin) were actually quite nice. The Kingfish was well cooked and had a delicious squid ink risotto. The poussin was flavoursome with a tasty jus. They both cost around the $30 mark.

All in all, the food and service was disappointing for the price. The prices are as high as a hatted bistro with the entrees probably being more, with much much less in quality and quantity being served. The mains, although tasty, not deserving the high price tag. The service is rather haphazard. Sorry, but I would recommend people give this a miss.

May 08, 2011

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Last updated on 1st Jun 2012

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Maggie's Thai, Erskineville

Restaurants, Thai

Overall 5.9 42

2.8 Not Recommended

Food 3 Ambience 2 Service 2 Value 4

Feb 24, 2012

Wine Plate, Newtown

Restaurants, Bars, Tapas

Overall 8.8 13

8.3 Highly Recommended

Food 8 Ambience 8 Service 9 Value 8

Jan 07, 2012

Luxe Bakery Cafe, Newtown

Cafes

Overall 7.7 14

6 Average

Food 8 Ambience 5 Service 5 Value 6

Oct 05, 2011

Sole Espresso, Newtown

Restaurants, Italian, Spanish, Tapas, Has Bar

Overall 6.7 8

5.5 Average

Food 4 Ambience 8 Service 6 Value 4

Jul 02, 2011

Pickwick's Restaurant, Enmore

Restaurants, Modern Australian, Off Street Parking

Overall 4.7 17

5.8 Average

Food 7 Ambience 6 Service 6 Value 4

May 08, 2011

Iiza, Newtown

Restaurants, Japanese, Licensed, Outdoor Dining, Serves Dinner

Overall 7.1 37

6 Average

Food 5 Ambience 7 Service 7 Value 5

Ok, has something changed here? I love Iiza before, I loved the service, where you used to have to listen carefully and you would have pleasant communication problems with the shy waitresses. The food used to be immaculately presented.

I was so looking forward to tonight. So what did I find? The surroundings are still very cosy, very warm and a nice respite from the outside. The staff have changed, that's the first thing I noticed. They speak perfect english and dressed a little more casually (replete with aussie thongs), I thought that was a bit curious, and made me a bit worried about the authenticity.

Then I ordered the tempura squid. I love tempura, its light batter, contrasting with, perhaps, a savoury sauce. What I received was a much thicker, powdery batter, seriously thick overpowering the chewy squid. The squid itself was difficult to swallow, my dinner partner saying it was almost inedible. Sorry, this was a little unpleasant, and I would rate it a pale imitation to even a chinese salt and pepper squid when a tempura should stand proudly side by side.

Next the karaage chicken. I always look forward to the karaage, its crunchy coating perfectly balanced with the light soy and, perhaps, a drizzle of japanese mayo. What we got was much much lighter batter, no crunch, with overpowering curry powder taste and very large chicken pieces, not at all fit for chopsticks. To accompany it, some watery tartare of some kind, not anything like a japanese mayo.

Teriyaki kingfish wasn't too bad, but lacked the true teriyaki flavour. The vegetables were cut rather harshly and thrown together. All in all, I am unsure what's happened to Iiza. I am sorely disappointed in this, as I really did love this place.

Apr 27, 2011

Queen Victoria Hotel, Enmore

Pubs, Modern Australian

Overall 6.6 10

6.2 Average

Food 7 Drinks 6 Ambience 5 Service 8 Value 5

Having always been a fan of the Razor's Edge, I was excited to see them in the new home at the Queen Victoria. That was a bit of a mistake.

Making our way upstairs, we were led to a small room, with removable glass wall. We were basically sharing our space with the beer swilling, smoking, loud friday night crowd in the beer garden next to us.

The room was rather bare, kind of like a function room, with tables laid out, replete with projector and hidden screen. It lacked the coziness of the old razor's edge, I would just describe it as "a room" and not really a friendly space. The service was the old razors edge. I would say professional and friendly. One can choose to either order the drinks from the waiter, who will get drinks from the bar and you will have two different bills at the end, as they are separate businesses or get the drinks from the bar yourself.

We had the Duck and the Poussin, both that we found rather lacking in flavours. The creme brulee was rock hard with a powdery custard underneath. I don't blame the owners of Razor's for the decrease in quality, just that they are doing what they can with what they have to work with, ie pub staff and an underloved room, shared with an over noisy, loud, boisterous beer garden.

Apr 27, 2011

Cafe C, Newtown

Cafes, Modern Australian

Overall 5.6 45

6.5 Recommended

Food 6 Ambience 7 Service 6 Value 7

Cafe C ebbs and flows in quality and, unfortunately, at the moment, it's suffering a bad patch. The pastas have primarily a flavour of chicken stock, no matter which one you order. Pesto pasta or sundried tomato, both have that overpowering flavour.

Nachos also are pretty disappointing, also tasting suprisingly strange (I prefer the nachos at a few cafes down the road). The burgers are pretty good though and when there's live music, the atmosphere is difficult to beat. Service staff are usually pretty good, but seem understaffed when the place is busy.

Jan 03, 2011

Simizu, Darlinghurst

Restaurants, Japanese, Serves Dinner, Serves Lunch

Overall 7.8 24

6.3 Average

Food 6 Ambience 6 Service 7 Value 6

I really enjoy japanese, elegant, fresh, simple and this is what I expected when I visited Simizu for dinner. Instead, I was severely disappointed. The service staff were friendly enough but we had to repeatedly ask for some water as they kept forgetting. This is forgiveable. Average food on the other hand is not.

Lets start off with the gyoza. Japanese gyoza should be small, delicate, thin pastry, subtle. Instead, we were served a flat korean gyoza, oversized, moon shaped and not particularly nice. Served with overpowering raw onion all over it.

Next the mains. Karaage chicken, not particularly hard to do so the chicken was a bit dry but tasty but served with a side of strong Thai sweet chilli sauce and not, perhaps, mayo? Sashimi "combination" is a combination of not particularly fresh tuna and salmon. A combination sounds like you would expect a lot of choices, but to only get two (and not particularly fresh at that) was disappointing.

All of this served on just plain circular dishes, the first japanese place I have been to that haven't had beautiful glazed japanese plates. Perhaps, I am just too spoilt.

Japanese usually respect their cuisine, it's disappointing when reality doesn't meet expectations. Perhaps, if you skip the sashimi and don't expect authentic, you may want to give this a try. But there are so many better japanese places around darlo, so try the others first.

Jan 03, 2011

Benchmark Wine Bar, Canberra

Bars, European, French, Vegetarian, Has Bar

Overall 6.6 5

5.8 Average

Ambience 6 Service 6 Value 5 Food 6

I had a pleasant experience about a year ago, so I decided to come back. Was a mistake. Ordered a few wine flights. Wine glasses were noisily dropped on the table, wine poured (with the wine bottle held close to the neck) and promptly left without any explanation of which flight was which or what wine was what, just a mad jumble of glasses.

Water was poured in tumblers but spilt all around, without any effort to wipe it up. Cupboards were constantly being slammed shut and a mop and bucket dragged, clatteringly, across the floor. This was at 8 pm. A wine bar is not only about the wine but the experience as well. It's a shame that this bar seems to have gone downhill since my last experience.

Oct 06, 2010