Alfie's — Local services in Sydney

My review of Alfie’s…

We had 2 coeliacs in our group, the menu has no indication of what is gluten free or not, although it does have ingredients listed. However, key ingredients that contain gluten and presumably other allergens are not listed for some reason. Due to this the menu appears to be very GF friendly upon first look, this was also the expectation given Bistecca is great with GF so we didn’t think that our experience at Alfie’s would be so different. The butter and mayonnaise wasn’t gluten friendly which wiped out quite a few items on the menu, both of which do not naturally have gluten in so seems like an odd choice to add in or not to have a very easy GF alternative.

I also have a shellfish allergy and when I requested to have the Rosti without the mussel tartare I but was told no, however, when the 2 coeliacs were given the rosti it didn’t have the tartare because of the mayonnaise so I could have had it.

Just like the rest of the menu the dessert menu was also misleading and whatever ingredients that have gluten were not listed. It’s so misleading and it can make people sick if they don’t ask, and I don’t believe it should totally be the responsibility of the customer to ask about every single little thing when it’s so easy to add a GF or list the ingredients that contain gluten on the menu so there’s no ambiguity, and I’m not even one of the people with coeliac disease.

When the staff were asked about allergens they were never sure on the answer, which is okay but instead of just checking they’d give a very unreassuring ummm uhhh yes I think so, which doesn’t make anyone with an allergy feel comfortable to order something let alone eat it when the staff seem completely unsure. It feels very uncomfortable for customers to need to push on allergens and it really shouldn’t be that difficult to get a straight and confident answer. It’s the fundamentals of hospitality.

We were also told a rush had been put on our food because we were late when we arrived 10 minutes early so that was inaccurate and if that was the case we didn’t need to know. It felt like our waitress was hovering, not attentive but just awkwardly hovering and watching us.

Something as little as a GF or a listed ingredient on a menu makes such a huge difference to so many people and they tell all their friends about the different experiences. Customers are much more likely to be gained through recommendations of friends and family so even if they don’t have an allergy you’re putting customers off unnecessarily. It is a real shame because the food itself was actually amazing, but we wouldn’t come back or recommend it based on this experience. The staff need to be upskilled in allergens and the menu needs updating to be less deceptive. Also Chris Brown is a choice for steak...

Warning for groups with 5 or more people, because Alfie’s don’t want you to know.

We dined at Alfie’s last night, a group of 13. The food, especially the steak as the main dish, was really nice. But our experience was spoiled by their sneaky extra charges.

But first… food was very nice, and prices were reasonable for the quality and taste. The staff were very nice people. They even poured a wrong drink and let us have it. Honestly really good overall.

Music was uncomfortably loud and was a niche foreign mumble rap by a live DJ.

But the overarching feeling comes from Alfie’s added a hard-to-see "discretionary" fee to our bill. This wasn't mentioned on their website or over the phone. We spotted it on the menu, but it was written in tiny, faint grey print. When we asked the manager about it, she refused to remove it, saying it was the restaurants choice to include this fee. They also added the typical (max) 2% card payment surcharge. So 12%.

They said it was to cover the extra effort. But it’s literally the same steak for everyone, and we ordered 2 of every side. What’s the difference in effort?

What Alfie’s did seems to go against the rules set by ACCC that restaurants must clearly and openly communicate any extra charges. Alfie’s way of hiding this surcharge feels intentionally misleading and unfair to customers. Nothing in website. Hidden on menu. Forced upon customers. NOT DISCRETIONARY. The manager argues it was their discretion, Not ours. Wouldn’t that be a COMPULSORY charge? Not the Sydney that I remember.

Even though the food and staff and restaurant was nice, the way Alfie’s hid this charge and insisted on it- despite our objections- left a bad taste. It’s not just about the money; it’s about being honest with customers. We think Alfie’s should be more transparent and fair. I’m sure most customers will recognise the great food and staff.

Alfie’s can: -Mention it on the booking form -confirm emails get sent -clearly state it on the menu as per ACCC -change the wording to compulsory, or give the discernment to the customer -and many other things

The sad part is that the team was so nice we would have tipped way over that amount Had they not hid it and we had...

FOOD: We were so hyped about the sirloin steak until we tried it, meat is very tender and perfectly cooked to a medium rare. Just wasn’t the hype or did not meet my expectations, as it wasn’t that mouth watering. 6/10

The cauliflower fioretto was cooked well, along with the sauce, I’d give it a 7/10 since it was scrumptious.

Honestly, my favourite part was just the chips, in which I was dissatisfied with the sirloin since I thought the sirloin for $39 came with the chips.

Honestly, the menu could be better. I would suggest adding more seafood, or sourdough options, as well as any poultry dishes, since there’s around 4 types of salad that you can choose from the menu, more selection would look more satisfying to the customers.

SERVICE (most important): Friday night late afternoon, not even the most busiest period of the day, the waiters were just chilling and talking to one another standing near the bar, while we were waiting for our food menu. The lady who was in charge of welcoming guests mentioned to us on the table that “one of the waiters will come to your table to give you the food menu” after we mentioned we didn’t want any drinks from the drink menu. Suddenly, we were waiting for 10-15 mins until we called one of the waiters to come up to us, since they were all just standing near the bar. Was just a little bit dissatisfied with the service as there is no sense of urgency in the quiet time of the day.

We got more disappointed when more customers came into the restaurant, and with the waiters giving the food menu out instantly, giving them the service we’d hope for but unfortunately did not meet at all.

Although, one the ladies was really sweet to us, wish we asked for her name!

ATMOSPHERE: It was a vibe, the music especially.

OVERALL: 2/5. If you’re someone who is a first time customer, encourage to try this place out. But, it’s an experience I had that I would not enjoy to come back for a long while. Food could have been better, if the service was pleasing. Just a reminder that anyone could be a professional critic coming into the store and with that kind of experience I just mentioned, something needs to be...