The Lady Daly Hotel — Restaurant in Adelaide

We went for a comedy event, so booked a table a couple of weeks ahead. At no point when booking a table, were we advised that the event was actually outside in the beer garden. Yes they do have heaters. NO IT IS NOT WARM. Given it was 8 degrees outside,Had we known, we of course would have dressed warmer. Second issue. The mushroom risotto I ordered was, in my opinion, a very unpleasant meal. Its a challenge to plate up/ present risotto so it looks appealing, but at least try! I was starving, having not eaten all day, and freezing cold. So I resigned myself to eating it, but even so, could not even get half way through. It was very salty, and I felt the rice not quite done.. Just a little gritty still. When our table was cleared, I pointed out it was not that great. The waitress (manager??) said she'd come back to discuss. She came back, plonked down at the table and said" walk me through what's wrong with it". As soon as I said I found it very salty, she picked up a spoon, and ate some!!! And then told me her opinion was that it was good, but she did like salty foods, so she could see how some people might think it was salty! When I said about the grittiness, she ate some more, and suggested it was cooked perfectly, that her risotto she makes at home is usually way overcooked and gluggy. Um well.... Thanks for sharing... But that's not really relevant. 🤷 I was offered something else, but being I'm coeliac and dairy intolerant, the choices were pretty limited, and tbh, I couldn't be bothered at that point. She suggested some fries, which I agreed to. But the statement then... "We won't put any salt on them, just in case it's too much again.. not that I'm being condescending, but you know, you obviously don't like much salt" um ok. And then when they were brought out... Again pointed out "they are not salted, but here's some salt in case you want some. " (Diploma of hotel management, and 15 years working in hospitality/ 35 years eating out.... NEVER had/seen someone eat food from...

Booked a birthday party here, with a 5 month lead in time. 4 days before the party, I was called by a member of staff to say that they had double booked and could we change the date? I asked when the other booking was made, which was not that long ago, and said that if anything needed to be changed, surely it would be with the other party in that case. The very embarrassed girl on the end of the phone said that her manager wanted to cancel our party as we weren't bringing in as many people, and the other party would "drink more" as it was a 21st and ours was a 40th.

The upshot was that both parties went ahead, but we only got the function space for 2 hours, then we were very rudely kicked out into the front bar, where we had to jostle with regular punters for space. It was a real disaster and very stressful for the person whos significant birthday it was.

Its a great space, but has a terrible manager who doesn't own her mistakes. I will...

Staff literally couldn’t manage a piss-up. Had no idea how to manage table turn-over with half the restaurant empty (waiting for people who had booked an hour or more later) and patrons told to ‘take a seat at the bar’ that had no seating left. Most people would happily have eaten within the hour and moved on. One female staff member was aggressively rude when this was pointed out to her and a young guy on bookings had to calm her down. When our food came it was Luke warm.

This place is next to the Entertainment centre so is very popular before a show. If it was managed well it would be a gold mine.

The business seriously needs a very good restaurant manager. Take it from someone who has worked in the industry internationally for years - this is no way to run a business.

On a positive note, the bar staff were brilliant - kind, efficient...