Firstly, this place looks great, and is in the perfect position if you're out and about in glenelg…read moreand looking for a bite or drink.
So after making a reservation for 6pm and then calling a couple of hours later to only get the answering machine, I left a message to say we would be 30 mins. later, and wanted to change the reservation to 6.30. Of course when I arrived I see they crossed out the reservation and marked it a No Show. We were seated but a note to management to make sure you check your messages.
Onto the evening.
The girl serving was friendly and seated us with menus. As with most Adelaide restaurants this is now where it gets frustrating when comparing it to the US restaurants we frequent. We didn't see the girl again for another 10 minutes which is when she asked us if we wanted water for the table. She then disappeared for another 10mins or so until revisiting to ask us for drinks at which time I suggested we order drinks and all food to move things along. I also asked if they would provide bread for the table which she said they would.
It took another 5-10mins to get the drinks and then another few minutes to get the bread, of which there were 8 small slices, for the 9 people on the table.
I then got her to come back and requested more bread which of course took another 5-10mins.
Guessing by now you get the picture and problems with service.
A note to the management who I'm sure are probably going to dismiss and ignore this, but after working and frequenting many hotels and restaurants throughout the world, I would suggest have your bread ready, have your water ready. When you seat people, ask them immediately which water they would like, and immediately have another staff member put some bread on the table. It not only gives the customer something to nibble and drink while waiting, but will give you some time to go and serve the other tables or for the staff to go and chat in the corner amongst themselves which seems to be a favorite past time of the overpaid hospitality staff in Adelaide.
Now to the food. We sat downstairs as they were booked out upstairs. They have an upstairs more casual menu and a downstairs, fancier menu. They would not allow you to look at and order items off of the upstairs menu downstairs, they say because the 2 kitchens are separate. This makes a little sense, but, firstly if you have a group of people in your restaurant and you have a couple of people preferring to order something off of the other menu, let them. Get the staff to go upstairs, request the meal and bring it down. You are in the service industry. Serve your customer. You are much better having a happy customer who feels you have gone beyond to make sure they've had a great night. Word of mouth is key to your business survival.
Food wise, the squid entree was tasty, the ceviche was ok but fish is overpowered by the fruitiness of the sauces and while the plate is colorful, the fish looks more like it's been ravaged and torn apart by the local sharks before placed on the plate. Others said the soufflé was just ok.
For mains I had the 14 hr lamb, which again wasn't bad, a little flavorless. I would suggest they bake in more of a sauce or pressure cook it with vegetables etc to infuse some flavor, as once you cut into the chunk of lamb it gets quite plain and stringy.
Other family members had the skirt steak which looked ok but was very inconsistently cooked with pieces ranging from medium-well to rare. They were all described as being medium. Also when preparing skirt steak, the meat should be tenderized with a rub, ala the Mexican carne asada, and well rested after cooking, and generally served sliced across the grain, so it does not come out chewy.
Another member had the seafood sausage roll which was quite good, but again a little bland. I would like to see an interesting spicy sauce on the side to go with it.
We ordered all of the sides available, as you don't get much on the side of your dishes, and they were probably the tastiest things of the night while being quite small for the $8.50 each.
White sangria was great although overpriced and the wine and beer list is good.
Again nice setting, average food and service overall. We had a much nicer, tastier, and cheaper dining experience across the square at the Italian Restaurant without the $50 per head price tag.