Calli’s Grill — Local services in Sydney

The power of social media enticed us here but honestly don’t waste your time. We had a booking for 4pm and arrived about two minutes before , thought we might be able to come in and sit down but had to go back outside and wait even though the restaurant was completely empty. You pay $50 per person for ‘unlimited seafood boil and sides’ that’s only if you manage to get the waitresses attention as they manage to avoid eye contact at every opportunity. There were only 3 tables including ours in there during our seating and 3 waitresses but none of them seemed interested in actually doing their job and spent most of the time on their phones , either sat on the tables or behind the till. I don’t care what sort of restaurant I’m in, the staff should never be sat down. It looks lazy and unprofessional. Customers also shouldn’t have to keep beckoning them over to do their job. I have never been to a restaurant where we haven’t been checked up on once. When we did eventually manage to get some help there wasn’t a smile between them and they slammed the seafood buckets down. As well as the bad service the food wasn’t up to scratch either . The octopus was the toughest I’ve ever had , almost inedible and I think that’s how they manage to charge an extra $15pp for not finishing the food because you can’t even chew it!! I never thought I would leave a restaurant that specialises in seafood saying that the chicken wings and rice were the best things in there. They must have known it wasn’t a great experience because as we paid they immediately took the tip option off , and rightly so. We took an hour and 15 minute train journey here , but you’re better off spending the extra money in Sydney centre for a...

Update: Finally got to visit here again, and managed to try the all you can eat seafood boil - definitely worth it! That sauce 👌🏼 and all the sides that are included are amazing. The staff were all welcoming and were kind enough to help us with the order and recommend food. I have read other reviews speak about the lobster so must just be that one issue, but everything we tried this time around was on point, and we tried alot. I'm glad I was able to experience the true Calli's Grill!

Feb 2023: I didn't feel this had the personable ambience that people enjoy from small business though I'm sure meeting the actual owners versus staff makes a difference. Customer service and ambience was standard for the area - the staff there were quite young so I can't be too hard on them.

I had been wanting to try this place for awhile and was particularly excited about the lobster roll which turned out not to meet the hype. It came with packet chips instead of fries, I believe the brioche bun and tonkatsu sauce were pre-bought from the standard grocer, just added lobster. For $20, the portion size was not filling at all. We did get corn on the side which had their signature cajun sauce and it was 👌🏼.

I was excited to see the other menu for cakes and filipino food, so also ordered a premade empanada and a cashew slice from the glass display but the chicken was dry, not very flavoursome, and the slice tasted as if it were stored poorly.

Considering their cajun sauce is amazing, I will consider trying their seafood boil as that's their signature specialty....

Under usual circumstances, I don't lean towards leaving reviews of this tone, especially for relatively new businesses that are still finding their footing. That said, it's important for me to communicate when I perceive an unfair value proposition, which I unfortunately felt was the case here.

We decided to order two servings of your beef & reef, for which we paid over $100. The dish comprised a modest piece of steak and three - yes, only three - small prawns, layered atop a large portion of rice. I suspect the generous rice serving was intended to compensate for the more scanty quantity of the main ingredients. At a price point of over $30, we found this offering to be lacking.

Additionally, we purchased 500 grams of prawns for $38, expecting to receive the amount advertised. However, as evidenced by the attached photo, we received only 267 grams, which is approximately half the quantity promised. In certain contexts, such a discrepancy could be seen as gross misrepresentation.

I do want to acknowledge that the flavours of the beef and reef were quite enjoyable. However, considering the quantity and pricing, it isn't an experience I would be inclined to pay for again. Your culinary skills are evident, but I would recommend a thorough review and adjustment of your pricing and serving sizes to provide a better value proposition to...