zoomaloid2000

Reviews

Restaurants, Italian, Fine Dining, Good For Groups, Hip and Trendy

Overall 6.5 28

7.5 Recommended

Food 7 Ambience 8 Service 7 Value 8

I can't understand why there are so many bad reviews. We had a lovely lunch yesterday, sitting in the courtyard in the sun. Ok, the staff haven't been trained to 5 star restaurant standard, but they are very friendly and helpful. The food was really tasty, and big servings too. The calamari and prawns were particularly good. The setting is what really makes this place special and we will definitely go back again, which is the best recommendation I can think of.

Sep 12, 2011

Aria, Circular Quay

Restaurants, Modern Australian, Fine Dining, Has Bar, Licensed

Overall 7.8 445

2.3 Not Recommended

Food 3 Ambience 3 Service 2 Value 1

First, the good. The wine waiter, the wines matched to food, the doorman.
The bad, everything else. This was meant to be a special night out for mine and my husband's 50th birthdays. After a half hour wait in the 'bar' next to a very noisy coffee machine, we were seated at the worst table in the house, at the back of the room and also well within earshot of the coffee machine. This was probably because we have dreadlocks and they assumed we wouldn't know any better.

To give the waitress credit she did move us immediately to a better table. I had booked several months in advance, stating that we would like the tasting menu with no red meat. When the waitress gave us the menu I pointed out that a dish with ham in it was red meat in my book. It then took half an hour for them to decide what they were actually going to serve us, and for a new menu to be printed up. It was so dark in the room we couldn't read it anyway. We were served an amuse bouche of pumpkin soup in a glass, and had to ask for spoons to eat it with.

The waitress looked at us as if we were idiots and told us it was meant to be drunk from the glass. Strangely enough I'm not keen on skolling hot soup and burning my mouth and throat at the beginning of a meal. When the food on the menu did arrive it was almost invisible to the naked eye and the waitress had to point out where it was on the plate, almost spearing the one sliver of salmon with her false finger nail. The dim lighting made it impossible to see what we were eating.

The next course was a baked celariac and beetroot salad with boiled egg. Half a boiled egg and a 1.5 cm baby beetroot between 2 people is a joke. The next course was served whilst my husband was in the bathroom, and left on the table with a brusque 'Here is your cobia, will your husband be a long time?'. Surely better to wait until we were both actually at the table so we could eat warm food.

Again, the portions were miserly, the plating was totally inconsistent and the fish was raw in the middle. Next up was cold tomato consomme. To be fair it was very good, but not a great choice on a bitterly cold winter's night when we had already been served a salad. The scallops (2 each) were rendered inedible by the saltiness of the glaze served with them.

At this point my husband gave up on the food and cancelled everything else. I had a dessert, which to be honest I can hardly remember as we had been served a full glass of wine with each tiny plate of food. Had it not been for the wine waiter we would have left much earlier. He introduced himself, described all the wines in detail, and was very knowledgeable and professional. He seemed to be the only member of staff, apart from the doorman, who knew what he was doing, and he spent much of the night clearing plates as well as doing his own job.

Hopefully he will be snapped up by a much better restaurant than this one.
The bill, even with a discount because we were so unhappy, was a hefty $420. Disgusting.

Matt Moran - time to get off Masterchef, get back in your restaurant and train your staff properly. As the amuse bouche was bigger than most of the dishes we paid for, you might want to rethink your portion size too.

Jun 26, 2011

Rise Restaurant, Darlinghurst

Restaurants, Asian, Fusion, Japanese, Family Dining

Overall 8.4 153

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

9 Highly Recommended

Food 9 Ambience 9 Service 9 Value 9

Fantastic degustation, must be the best value for money in Sydney. The best meal I've had since last time I was at Tetsuyas. Would have given it 10, but no-one is perfect! The staff are lovely too, and the maitre d' even suggested a cheaper bottle of wine when the one I had chosen was out of stock. That doesn't happen often. Will be making this a very regular night out.

Apr 27, 2011

Warren View Hotel, Enmore

Pubs

Overall 6.2 42

7.4 Recommended

Food 6 Drinks 8 Ambience 10 Service 5 Value 8

What I love about this place, No screaming children! The beer garden is lovely, and unlike The Golden Barley (just down the road) parents who come here control their kids. Food is ok, nothing special but cheap enough, drinks are not too expensive ($10 jugs great value), but the real attraction is the garden. Breezy, shaded, well-maintained, private enough for a tete a tete but also big tables for groups. Great place to be on a warm afternoon.

Jan 10, 2011

Splash Seafoods, Newtown

Cafes, Seafood

Overall 7 161

9 Highly Recommended

Food 9 Ambience 8 Service 9 Value 10

It's our Monday night regular haunt, the seafood hot-pot for 2 is so good we have never even tried the 3 course deal. Staff are very friendly, service is great, can't think of a bad thing to say about this place. Love it.

Nov 30, 2010

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Last updated on 1st Jun 2012

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Displaying: 1 - 9 of 9 reviews

Fountain 77 Ristorante, Glebe

Restaurants, Italian, Fine Dining, Good For Groups, Hip and Trendy

Overall 6.5 28

7.5 Recommended

Food 7 Ambience 8 Service 7 Value 8

Sep 12, 2011

Aria, Circular Quay

Restaurants, Modern Australian, Fine Dining, Has Bar, Licensed

Overall 7.8 445

2.3 Not Recommended

Food 3 Ambience 3 Service 2 Value 1

Jun 26, 2011

Rise Restaurant, Darlinghurst

Restaurants, Asian, Fusion, Japanese, Family Dining

Overall 8.4 153

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

9 Highly Recommended

Food 9 Ambience 9 Service 9 Value 9

Apr 27, 2011

Warren View Hotel, Enmore

Pubs

Overall 6.2 42

7.4 Recommended

Food 6 Drinks 8 Ambience 10 Service 5 Value 8

Jan 10, 2011

Splash Seafoods, Newtown

Cafes, Seafood

Overall 7 161

9 Highly Recommended

Food 9 Ambience 8 Service 9 Value 10

Nov 30, 2010

Centennial Parklands Dining, Paddington

Restaurants, Modern Australian, Modern European, Family Dining, Good for Brunch

Overall 5.8 46

8.5 Highly Recommended

Food 9 Ambience 10 Service 7 Value 8

I love this restaurant. The food is always excellent, and especially good value if one goes for the $50 3 course deal. I have paid twice as much at other restaurants and not been nearly as happy with the food. The service can be a little haphazard, but has always been friendly. But what really sets this place apart is the setting. To be able to enjoy good food in that beautiful place is a real pleasure.

Aug 04, 2010

Victoria On The Park Hotel, Marrickville

Pubs, Italian, Mediterranean, Bistro/Brasserie, Child Friendly

Overall 7.3 6

7.4 Recommended

Food 8 Drinks 8 Ambience 6 Service 8 Value 7

There is a new chef there now, he only started last week and the food is very good. I had fish fritters for $12, my partner had barramundi for $16. Both beautifully fresh and tasty. The 'beer garden' is nothing to write home about, but it's ok for a quick meal. There is an offer of $5 cocktails Thur/Fri/Sat nights so we will definitely be going again at the weekend for drinks and food.

Nov 19, 2009

Becasse, Sydney

Restaurants, Modern European, Vegetarian, Fine Dining, Good For Groups

Overall 8 207

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.5 Average

Food 6 Ambience 8 Service 7 Value 1

Birthday treat, had the degustation, switching to the vegetarian options for the meat courses. Everything was far too sweet and reminded me of school dinners. Very small amounts of wine poured, no offer of refills. Had to ask for ice in our water as it was tepid, even thought it was over 30 degrees outside. Never thought I would be paying $225 a head for what tasted like fish fingers and cabbage, followed by dolly mixtures and bananas and custard.

The risotto was inedible. Very disappointed. Have to put a word in for the staff, who were superb, apart from the woman who appeared out of nowhere, having not served us before, and smugly placed two huge serves of some ham concoction in front of us even though we had made it clear we did not eat meat. This was the only reasonably sized portion of food we saw all night and it looked disgusting to a non-meat eater.

Would never eat there again. Maybe take your kids for a sugarfest if you have more money than sense.

Jan 24, 2009

Tetsuya's, Sydney

Restaurants, French, Japanese, Modern Australian, Fine Dining

Overall 8.1 520

10 Highly Recommended

Food 10 Ambience 10 Service 10 Value 10

The best meal I have ever eaten. Everything was perfect, from the service to the wines matched with each course, to the beautiful setting overlooking the Japanese garden. The food was beyond compare. I have been told that the only restaurant in the world which is better is The French Laundry in California. Having now eaten at Tetsuya's I would consider going to the US just to make the comparison.

Jan 21, 2008