Unfortunately, this was one of the most negative dining experiences I've had in recent years, and it has compelled me to write my first Yelp review.
We arrived on New Year's Eve excited for the evening ahead. The place was full and bustling. The first sign something wasn't right was when they announced they were out of champagne flutes so we'd have to drink our BYO champagne from wine glasses. No worries, we're not precious people, so all good. Then, for those of us not drinking, they took around half an hour to offer us a drink. The poor waitress was clearly flustered after what had been a long day, and the announcement that two staff had called in sick that day certainly didn't come as a surprise. Our friend who had organised the dinner was told to 'cut her some slack' and to 'not be such a bitch about it' when she asked when our food order was going to be taken. That was interesting to say the least, and not something I've ever witnessed in a restaurant before. Calling the patron a bitch? Really?
Eventually, after around 40 minutes the waitress took our food order. The boys ordered some beers. Oh, they've run out. Boys go to the bottle shop. Bottle shop is closed (now obviously this is not the restaurant's fault, but it certainly added to the comical feel to the evening and reminded us that we were well and truly on Sydney's North Shore. And I grew up there, so I can say that). We ordered some starters which were not very good. The calamari and the mushrooms were stone cold, but I could tell if they had been fresh, they might have been pretty tasty. At this point the empty plates littering the tables around us were cleared after over an hour. They were definitely feeling the pinch of being under-staffed.
The most bizarre part of the night was when the "famous" opera-singing waiter got up and sang. Like, really loud. Cue entire restaurant staring awkwardly at the floor. Had our meals been on the table, this might have been kind of enjoyable. But we were still waiting for mains, and we were hungry. My favourite part was when he reached what we thought was the end of his song and everyone clapped, and then he indignantly cried "I'm not finished!" and kept singing. Awkward.
Our mains arrived 2 hours after the time of our booking. I had the sizzling garlic and chili prawns and they weren't great. I didn't finish them. It IS worth noting that some of our friends really enjoyed their mains. I think the lamb went down a treat, as did the soft-shell crab.
And just to top it all off, after I finished eating I asked where the ladies' was, and was told I'd better hurry because the bathroom closes at 11pm. Really?
All in all, based on past reviews it looks like this is a good place for breakfast and not such a good place for dinner on a busy night. I think a set menu for NYE would have made much more sense, in fact that's what I was expecting when I sat down in such a large group. Staff calling in sick is a real shame, but sadly, this is not really the customer's problem. Having lived in New York City for the past two years, I thought maybe the restaurant was new and was just experiencing some teething issues. A quick Google search indicated otherwise - the restaurant has been open for quite some time.
Next time, we'll probably just go watch the fireworks. read more