Restaurant & Pub Reviews

[Mr Beefy]

I went to the British Hotel for a family dinner last night and was reasonably impressed. I think I remember eating there once before. Their were 12 of us, from memory a few had steaks, a few had battered fish, couple of salads and I had a steak sandwich. It was really nice, while all the other meals were presented well and everyone seemed happy with their meals. We were the only people in there after smaller group left as we got there which ment the wait time wasn't very long at all. Their Garlic bread as our starter was really good aswell.

The British hotel is a decent, well present pub that produces decent pub food, 7.5/10.

Down the Port or North Adelaide?

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[The Dark Knight]

I went to the British Hotel for a family dinner last night and was reasonably impressed. I think I remember eating there once before. Their were 12 of us, from memory a few had steaks, a few had battered fish, couple of salads and I had a steak sandwich. It was really nice, while all the other meals were presented well and everyone seemed happy with their meals. We were the only people in there after smaller group left as we got there which ment the wait time wasn't very long at all. Their Garlic bread as our starter was really good aswell.

The British hotel is a decent, well present pub that produces decent pub food, 7.5/10.

Down the Port or North Adelaide?

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The Port.

[wristwatcher]

It's been a long time between reviews but this one needs to be heard.

Tandoori Hut on Hindley St. 1/10

Food - crap, fatty meat, small serves and strange flavour. How do you screw up butter chicken.
Service - below average. Slow, unhelpful, without the ability to smile or relate to customers
Management - the rudest manager I have ever dealt with. Was unhappy with the experience and he over charged. Refused to honour a voucher as he claimed I ordered from the wrong menu (the one on my table was not the correct one) He didn't care and was an abisive prick. I told him I was going to tell SA Footy rest review and he didn't even care. Who does he think he is?
Restaurant - had not been cleaned or tidied from a function on the weekend and looked dirty and when I walked past the kitchen it smelt funky. Also one cubicle in an Indian restaurant serving dodgy cuisine is seriously rolling the dice.

The worst experience I had in 2017. Avoid at all costs.

[Magellan]

It's been a long time between reviews but this one needs to be heard.

Tandoori Hut on Hindley St. 1/10

Food - crap, fatty meat, small serves and strange flavour. How do you screw up butter chicken.
Service - below average. Slow, unhelpful, without the ability to smile or relate to customers
Management - the rudest manager I have ever dealt with. Was unhappy with the experience and he over charged. Refused to honour a voucher as he claimed I ordered from the wrong menu (the one on my table was not the correct one) He didn't care and was an abisive prick. I told him I was going to tell SA Footy rest review and he didn't even care. Who does he think he is?
Restaurant - had not been cleaned or tidied from a function on the weekend and looked dirty and when I walked past the kitchen it smelt funky. Also one cubicle in an Indian restaurant serving dodgy cuisine is seriously rolling the dice.

The worst experience I had in 2017. Avoid at all costs.

Wow, flunked out on all criteria.

The thing is, it sounds so "Fawlty Towers" bad that part of me wants to go to see just how bad that manager guy is.

[JK]

Work Christmas lunch yesterday at Jarmers based on the recommendation of yours truly, so this review pains me a little.

We had a group of about 25, with a larger group of probably 60 odd located next to us.

The food was its usual high standard, however the service wasn't ..

ALL meals, both entrees and mains, were served at the same time because according to one of the waiters "the chef is stressed and wants it all out now". A few people managed to cancel their entrees, but most were delivered, and many went untouched, but paid for. Another waiter volunteered "the other big group wanted a break between meals, so you had to have all yours at the same time"

I've spoken with the owner, but all I got were excuses, blaming his staff, and no genuine apology or attempt to rectify the problem.

Situation further inflamed as we were departing, when our CEO who is wheelchair bound had to wait a while to use the disabled toilet, only to find one of the able bodied waiters had been occupying it. According to the owner, staff have their own toilets so it shouldn't have happened, but again no apology. I'm not sure what the bill came to, probably around $3k, but it should have been enough to command a reasonable level of service. All in all (there were other small annoyances) a very disappointing afternoon.

3/10 (decent food the only slight saving grace)

[Magellan]

Work Christmas lunch yesterday at Jarmers based on the recommendation of yours truly, so this review pains me a little.

We had a group of about 25, with a larger group of probably 60 odd located next to us.

The food was its usual high standard, however the service wasn't ..

ALL meals, both entrees and mains, were served at the same time because according to one of the waiters "the chef is stressed and wants it all out now". A few people managed to cancel their entrees, but most were delivered, and many went untouched, but paid for. Another waiter volunteered "the other big group wanted a break between meals, so you had to have all yours at the same time"

I've spoken with the owner, but all I got were excuses, blaming his staff, and no genuine apology or attempt to rectify the problem.

Situation further inflamed as we were departing, when our CEO who is wheelchair bound had to wait a while to use the disabled toilet, only to find one of the able bodied waiters had been occupying it. According to the owner, staff have their own toilets so it shouldn't have happened, but again no apology. I'm not sure what the bill came to, probably around $3k, but it should have been enough to command a reasonable level of service. All in all (there were other small annoyances) a very disappointing afternoon.

3/10 (decent food the only slight saving grace)

Jesus Christ monkey balls that's some poor customer service. At least Basil Fawlty was creative enough to make up lies for his inadequacies.

[mighty_tiger_79]

Banned

[mighty_tiger_79]

if only those Owners in the hospitality industry really knew the flow on effect of such poor performances and said reviews on here.
I think I would have completely lost it!!!

[locky801]

Loved this thread starting to try a few of these places out, alot of great varieties around SA

[Moe]

I took Mrs. Moe and the Moettes to see the Lobethal Xmas lights last weekend.
I had never been, so we looked for a place to have dinner along the way.
We stopped in to the Bedford Hotel in Woodside.
A very old style country pub, we took a gamble.
Very happy with the outcome.

Kids meals for $10 were quite large and worth it.
Oldest lad had the spicy chicken salad and gave it the thumbs up.
Wifey had some chicken dish, which I cant remember, but she loved it.
I had surf & turf. Porterhouse was brilliant, seafood sauce lovely.
Bruschetta for entree was delectable.

Only negative was paying $1 per dinner roll, and working in the industry, Ive never understood charging for a bread roll.
Also, ice in soft drinks should be a given.

Moe's rating: 8.5/10

[Spargo]

Glenelg Footy Club yesterday, 16 adults & 16 kids (yes, we booked)
Kids meals ($9 including a soft drink) are FREE when ordering with an adult - nice.
I had the beef burger $19 & wifey had a chicken parmy $21. Burger was spot on with plenty of bacon, onion, tomato, cheese, relish & onion jam. Missus said her scnitzel was tasty - kids had a pizza each which they scoffed.
$40 for all 4 of us is excellent value, washed down with a few Boags’ & ciders watching the kids run around on the hallowed turf.
The staff were very efficient & friendly - top marks as there were a few punters there. All our meals came out within 10-15 mins & everyone in our group were happy.
I’ve been critical of The Bay previously with their running of the bar/bistro - not this time.
9/10

[JK]

Think my last review was the first negative one I've given, but unfortunately here comes two on the bounce, strap yourselves in, it's a fair ride ...

Family dinner at Zak's (Greek Restaurant at West Lakes) for 6 adults, 3 teenagers and 2 under 10's. Zak's has been around a long time (maybe 20 odd years) so I've been there plenty of times previously and it's always teetered between very good and excellent in my experience, unfortunately thats a thing of the past.

Our waiter was officious and had no sense of the customer being right (and we weren't being Fwits) ,, We waited 1.5 hour for our mains to come out (after waiting about an hour before we could place orders). Probably a result of a largish group they had in for a Birthday (probably around 30 people in that group).

The wait was something I was alright about, it was a nice evening to sit outside over the Lake-front to just chill out and catch up with family over whats been happening over the Xmas period.

However, once the food came out, these were the experiences:

- Mixed Grill (my meal) was OK - The Pork & Chicken Skewers were dry but flavour was OK, Lamb Cutlets were actually very good, Chevaps were the standard Beef variety you buys at Coles or a Butcher so nothing special, but cooked well enough, Chips were very good.

- Kalamari (nephews meal) - Had two pieces and couldn't eat anymore due to how chewy/rubbery it was. I swapped most of my Mixy with him and whist the squid was edible it was definitely chewier than it should have been (Estia's and Ellenika's etc would never serve it like that), and pretty poor for a $35 dish.

- Lamb Salad (Missus meal) - Supposed to be Lamb, Feta, Pine Nuts, Pumpkin. Lamb was the driest Ive ever tasted, came with Walnuts instead of Pine Nuts and there was no Pumpkin so they chose to replace it with Olives.

- Octopus (Old Mans meal) - He only had two bites and left it behind, dry and chewy and such a waste of what should have been a heavenly tasting creature.

- Spaghetti Bolognese (kids serve for my 8 year old). Looked and tasted like it was straight from a Heinz can.

So, nothing impressive about the food, service or wait times .. At $35 a meal, and a bill (with quite a few drinks) around $700 I don't think it unreasonable to expect a half decent meal.

Waiter then returns with the chef and/or owner to hear about the unsatisfactory meals, and he asks my missus who said "Well my salad was supposed to have 4 things in it and 2 of them were missing" .. Owner dude laughs and says "Oh yeah we had no Pine Nuts after the big group, so we just used Walnuts". I said to him "Look mate I get that things like that can happen, but surely if you cant supply the advertised meal you inform people BEFORE, rather than just taking it upon yourself to change aspects of their meal?" They offered us free desserts but we all declined.

Throughout the waiting period, my young lads (7 and 8 year olds) are playing along the balcony and slipping out to play outside then returning. Both had been warned (by me) not to interfere with other diners, or pull/hang on the fence etc. Well post dinner, the waiter is pulling the Roller shutters down as my 8 year comes back in for fear of being shut out, and he pulls the shutter down straight on his head with a pretty bloody loud bang. I immediately check on my lad and tell him play time is over, go sit down .. I then mention to the waiter that I don't appreciate what he's just done to my son. He avoids it until I pin him down on the matter and he just flippantly brushes it off "Oh that. that was just an accident" - I said "Im sure it was, but it was easily avoidable with the slightest bit of care".

Now, this is the bit Im probably going to cop a spray over, so I hope I choose my words correctly .. I hadn't realised until the end of the evening, that the previous owners were no longer there, and the new owners, operators, chefs etc, are all Indian .. Lol no disrespect intended, but they aren't cut out to be running a specialised Greek restaurant. The quality and authenticity of the food all kinda made sense then.

Terrible experience, and the first time I've ever started a banned list, but these guys are the only ones on it ... BANNED!!

Rating 1/10 (The chips were actually pretty decent)

[Magellan]

Think my last review was the first negative one I've given, but unfortunately here comes two on the bounce, strap yourselves in, it's a fair ride ...

Family dinner at Zak's (Greek Restaurant at West Lakes) for 6 adults, 3 teenagers and 2 under 10's. Zak's has been around a long time (maybe 20 odd years) so I've been there plenty of times previously and it's always teetered between very good and excellent in my experience, unfortunately thats a thing of the past.

Our waiter was officious and had no sense of the customer being right (and we weren't being Fwits) ,, We waited 1.5 hour for our mains to come out (after waiting about an hour before we could place orders). Probably a result of a largish group they had in for a Birthday (probably around 30 people in that group).

The wait was something I was alright about, it was a nice evening to sit outside over the Lake-front to just chill out and catch up with family over whats been happening over the Xmas period.

However, once the food came out, these were the experiences:

- Mixed Grill (my meal) was OK - The Pork & Chicken Skewers were dry but flavour was OK, Lamb Cutlets were actually very good, Chevaps were the standard Beef variety you buys at Coles or a Butcher so nothing special, but cooked well enough, Chips were very good.

- Kalamari (nephews meal) - Had two pieces and couldn't eat anymore due to how chewy/rubbery it was. I swapped most of my Mixy with him and whist the squid was edible it was definitely chewier than it should have been (Estia's and Ellenika's etc would never serve it like that), and pretty poor for a $35 dish.

- Lamb Salad (Missus meal) - Supposed to be Lamb, Feta, Pine Nuts, Pumpkin. Lamb was the driest Ive ever tasted, came with Walnuts instead of Pine Nuts and there was no Pumpkin so they chose to replace it with Olives.

- Octopus (Old Mans meal) - He only had two bites and left it behind, dry and chewy and such a waste of what should have been a heavenly tasting creature.

- Spaghetti Bolognese (kids serve for my 8 year old). Looked and tasted like it was straight from a Heinz can.

So, nothing impressive about the food, service or wait times .. At $35 a meal, and a bill (with quite a few drinks) around $700 I don't think it unreasonable to expect a half decent meal.

Waiter then returns with the chef and/or owner to hear about the unsatisfactory meals, and he asks my missus who said "Well my salad was supposed to have 4 things in it and 2 of them were missing" .. Owner dude laughs and says "Oh yeah we had no Pine Nuts after the big group, so we just used Walnuts". I said to him "Look mate I get that things like that can happen, but surely if you cant supply the advertised meal you inform people BEFORE, rather than just taking it upon yourself to change aspects of their meal?" They offered us free desserts but we all declined.

Throughout the waiting period, my young lads (7 and 8 year olds) are playing along the balcony and slipping out to play outside then returning. Both had been warned (by me) not to interfere with other diners, or pull/hang on the fence etc. Well post dinner, the waiter is pulling the Roller shutters down as my 8 year comes back in for fear of being shut out, and he pulls the shutter down straight on his head with a pretty bloody loud bang. I immediately check on my lad and tell him play time is over, go sit down .. I then mention to the waiter that I don't appreciate what he's just done to my son. He avoids it until I pin him down on the matter and he just flippantly brushes it off "Oh that. that was just an accident" - I said "Im sure it was, but it was easily avoidable with the slightest bit of care".

Now, this is the bit Im probably going to cop a spray over, so I hope I choose my words correctly .. I hadn't realised until the end of the evening, that the previous owners were no longer there, and the new owners, operators, chefs etc, are all Indian .. Lol no disrespect intended, but they aren't cut out to be running a specialised Greek restaurant. The quality and authenticity of the food all kinda made sense then.

Terrible experience, and the first time I've ever started a banned list, but these guys are the only ones on it ... BANNED!!

Rating 1/10 (The chips were actually pretty decent)

Far out, what a catastrophe. Hope your lad is OK after the roller-door incident, I think I'd be far less sanguine if a loved one was injured/threatened by a waiter's negligence followed by an apparent lack of remorse.

[Spargo]

They probably ended up going home & having toasted sanguineses...

[Magellan]

They probably ended up going home & having toasted sanguineses...

With lots and lots of tomato sauce, or at least red food colouring.

[valleys07]

Wow, JK. Like you mentioned, my previous experience dining at Zak's has been nothing short of excellent. Great food and pleasant service.

Won't be heading there anytime soon based on that experience. I hope your lad is ok!

[Alaska]

Wow JK does not sound good I fear the same "Group" has now taken over Sammy's,
The food is reasonable but the service is non existent

[Spargo]

Wow JK does not sound good I fear the same "Group" has now taken over Sammy's

I think you’re around the mark.

[Magellan]

Wow JK does not sound good I fear the same "Group" has now taken over Sammy's,
The food is reasonable but the service is non existent

I reckon our intrepid dining thrill-seeker JK should eat at Sammy's to (a) prove this assertion and (b) see if he can claim a negative review hat-trick.

[MatteeG]

the previous owners were no longer there

This information is key when having a bad experience where previously it was good.

Cheers for the heads up.