Bar 100 is in a great building that's on a great location so a couple of us thought it would be a great place to kick start our Friday night on a long weekend, and grab a quick meal as we settled in to our 3 days of R and R.
The general bar/ restaurant area has a nice modern, relaxed feel to it. There was a live singer somewhere in back, and although we couldn't see her from the entry she sounded great and added to the easy going atmosphere. Confident we would easily unwind we sat down to dinner and that's what this review is about - my dining experience.
The first thing we realised when we were seated is that the speakers feeding the music are directly over the restaurant seating, so when milling around the bar the music is an enjoyable addition to your conversation but when sitting down to eat it stops it. As you can't see the band, you are left looking at one another around the table while listening to them. Thankfully they were good, so even though conversation was out of the question we could enjoy.
The next thing I realised is that the head waiter (or boss man) was standing within a metre of our table, and although we could not hear him it was evident that he was not at all happy with what was going on at several tables (including ours) as his very jerky pointing and animated facial expressions when talking to waiters made it abundantly clear things were not going well in the dining area. I understand that this guy was just trying to do his job, but whoever planned the seating and the kitchen so that he is facing the restaurant as he does it needs to think about how difficult it can be for guests to have fun when it's abundantly clear the staff are miserable.
Opting for a healthier choice, I decided to have the lamb and haloumi salad for dinner. At about $20 The promise of slow cooked marinated lamb, with freshly pan fried haloumi had my taste buds dancing in anticipation. Unfortunately what arrived was as disappointing as the seating. Cold shaved lamb and cold, rubbery haloumi were mixed in with sliced tomatoes and lettuce. The tomatoes were floury so I left them alone, and the salad had no dressing so the lettuce was just lettuce. The lamb was okay, but like any cold, shaved meat it was quite dry, and the haloumi was really chewy. I was starving so I got through it, but it was dry and chewy and needed a lot of pepper to give it flavour. Unfortunately all of us ordered the salad and found it wanting, so I can't elaborate on the menu.
For me, the highlight of dinner was the house Cab Sav which was really good, and most of the wait staff were friendly so although I would never recommend Bar 100 as a place to eat, I will go back with a crowd of people and try the bar only experience in future.....if we are lucky the same band will be playing and we can sit out back and enjoy them while we drink. read more