Sandhills Sports Club - Home of Bargara Bowls — Restaurant in Bargara

⭐ 1 Star (Would give zero if I could) - A Horrendous Experience at Sandhills Sports Club

We visited Sandhills Sports Club for what we hoped would be a pleasant family dinner, but it turned into an evening of frustration and disappointment. We were a group of six adults and two children, including my elderly father, who we brought along so he wouldn’t be home alone. What we expected to be a relaxing night out quickly devolved into one of the worst dining experiences I’ve ever encountered.

The problems started when my father and I didn’t receive our meals. We waited patiently while everyone else at the table finished their food, but after 30 minutes, there was still no sign of our orders. I had to approach the kitchen staff to inquire about our missing meals, and instead of getting an explanation, I was given a vague assurance that they would "chase them up." Another 10 minutes passed with no action, prompting me to follow up yet again.

Finally, after a total of 45 minutes of waiting, our meals—a steak for me and seafood linguine for my father—were supposedly being plated up. At this point, my father had had enough and told the waiter to send the meals back to the kitchen, making it clear that the chef could "stick it up his arse." Despite this, another staff member came over to apologize but offered no real solution, only a half-hearted apology and a dismissive "we can’t help the past" when I pointed out how long we’d been waiting.

To add insult to injury, instead of resolving the issue, the waiter felt it necessary to get security involved, as if we were causing a scene when all we wanted was the meal we ordered, or at the very least, some acknowledgment of the poor service. Eventually, we were given a refund, but by then, the damage was done—no compensation, no drinks, just a terrible experience that ended our evening on a sour note.

We asked for the duty manager but a lady explaining she was a supervisor or the wait staff later tried to placate us, stating that their policy usually includes offering free drinks or meals in such situations, but none of that was offered to us. Instead, we were left with empty stomachs, no resolution, and a complete disregard for customer service.

I will not be returning to Sandhills Sports Club, and I strongly advise others to avoid this venue if you value your time, money, and dining experience. This is a place that not only fails to deliver on the basics of hospitality but also manages to make their mistakes...

Dreadful experience . Yes it was a Friday night . 3 couples we arrived before 8pm when the kitchen is taking last orders at 830 pm. So the food was average BUT expensive . My Turkish roll was dry and the pulled beef sandwich looked unappealing but tasted ok. One of our group orderes nachos and they never arrived . We were presented with a plate of oysters that none of us ordered . We said not ours and we were told to eat them anyway. It was when we asked where the last plate was and discovered that the nachos were the oysters and the manager then told us off for eating the oysters . So 6 dinners - couple of bottles of wine we decided to go and finish our meal with coffee and cake , in the cafe ! Get to the cafe decide what coffees and cakes we are having - go to order get told the coffee machine has been closed for the night , yet the cafe is still serving , and several staff standing around not doing anything. So 6 coffees and 6 cakes not ordered. If Sandhills wants to attract more than just the bowlers and bogans and poker machine users , they need to ge their act together. Responsible service of alcohol should allow the alternatives to people who are driving or do not want to have another drink. Yes we are all imports from big cities Sydney and Melbourne and while we love Bargara and we are all her to stay as we have retired . And oddly enough we are all cashed up . Sadly Sandhills won’t get our business in future . We will make a coffee at home and buy a cake at the cheesecake shop. We tried to see the manager but he would not come and talk to us , we asked twice over about a 30 minute period. If the manager did not have the balls to do his job surely he had an assistant manager who could speak with us . Like that line in Pretty Woman , do you work on commission, Big Mistake !!!

So end result , 6 people go to dinner 5 got fed. 6 people wanted coffee and cake which would have been a sale of at least $100 . 6 people left without coffee and cake !!

An unhappy customer tells 10 people so that’s at least 60 who will hear our story and hopefully many more will read this.

While we don’t expect Bargara to have 24 hour coffee we do expect a bit more than what we got tonight! Plenty of other venues where we can eat drink coffee...

11 February 2023 update: We've recently discovered their "light" or half sized meals. They are perfect for us as a regular meal is a struggle to finish. It's a great option and one we will now purchase frequently. August 2022 update: After being semi-regular patrons at the old club for 15 months, we have just been to the new club for the first time. We deliberately waited for the excitement of the opening to die down and that would seem a good decision. It was busy ... REALLY busy and the dining room was FULL. We had to be seated just outside the perimeter but that suited us fine. When ordering we were advised the wait would be about an hour and we chose to order and have a couple of drinks. Our meals came out about 50 minutes later and we were very happy with them. Perhaps the freshest chicken schnitzel I have ever had, nice chips and coleslaw that was possibly lacking a little flavour but nevertheless ok. The crumbed flathead was perfectly cooked and very fresh, the salad and chips were generous. The Angus rump was cooked medium rare and so very tender that a steak knife was not even required. All in all ... a lovely dining experience. We're so glad this place is only a few minutes walk from home.

April 2021: We moved here eight months ago and are 200 metres around the corner but only tried the club this evening for the first time. Well what a complete surprise. Friendly staff, reasonable drink and food prices and the food was great. The music wasn't too loud either which allows us to talk without yelling. We'll be...