The District Bar & Restaurant — Restaurant in District of Gungahlin

In the past we have had our family celebratory dinners at Casey Jones, but we decided this time we would give The District a go.

I reserved a table for 8 for my sons 16th birthday. Our party consisted of my 2 sons (14 & 16), my 74 year old mother, my partner and his 3 daughters (aged 7, 9 & 13). I asked at the time of booking, if we could be seated in the covered patio area if possible.

We arrived.promptly for our 7.30 reservation. The restaurant was busy and very atmospheric on our arrival. Our table was situated just to the left of the front door, I think it was Table 1. It was a warm night and the bi-fold windows were open, which was a great.

There was a table of about 12 or 15 men (at a guess I would say their ages ranged from early 20s to mid 30s), situated just on the otherside of the open windows. They were a happy bunch, chatting loudly and enjoying themselves. Unfortunately, after we settled in, we noticed their constant use of foul language.

After about 5 minutes I went to the bar to order drinks for the table and a serving of mixed dips and bread. I asked if there was any chance if we could be moved to another table, but as they were fully booked, it was not possible. I explained what the issue was, and was told that the men were members of the football team The District sponsored, and there was nothing that could be done. I accepted that, but asked if a suitible table became available, could we take it.

When I returned to our table with the drinks, I siad to the men, "Hey guys, I know you are having a good time, but we would appreciate it if they could keep the bad language to a minimum as our party consisted of my elderley mum and young children".

One man replied, "How about you and I sort this.out in the carpark". I laughed and brushed it off. Thankfully, another man came up to me after I sat down and apologised and said that they would keep it down and stop the swearing.

A few minutes later, the waitress I spoke to at the bar arrived with our dips, and let us know there was another table now available for us. My partner thanked the waitress, and let her know that after we spoke to them, the men had agreed to tone it down, so we were happy to stay where we were.

It was very noisy, so I think she misheard what was said. She replied abrubtly, "We cannot ask patrons to quieten down and stop swearing!". So I reiterated that I had already spoken to them, we didnt need to move anymore. With that she placed our platter of dips down (not too gently) on the table, rolled her eyes and walked away.

We were all astounded st her rudeness, so we finished our food and drinks, and went home to order pizzas from...

Well it is a bit tricky that they remove the beer and sauce from the specials(sauce will charge $3), by decreasing the price from 32 to 30.

I won't complain as it is fair and a very common way to ‘increase’ the price but looks dropped(I am not being sacarism). Not sure if the steak goes lighter or not. As long as the steak remains same weight, I am totally fine with it.

I love to keep this restaurant here to go more often as I usually go there once a week. Occasionally taking 2-3 bigger dishes with friends. Nice setting, good feeling around.

Worth to notice that it is the first somewhere I usually go, those staff never can be nicer whoever take payment most. They even don't bother to ask a name as I am living in the local area. It may because I usually go get a cheap lunch special? I go to Zambrero often, they also can call my name when walk inside…when I used to work in hospitality I did better to treat people in a nicer manner. But any business or staff can have their own style I can't judge people being different than myself. And I won't complaint about this.

Just saying my feeling, free to express feelings in the country, does it?

I still give it full starts as I do wish a good restaurant nearby having a good reviews feel like I'm living in a...

I love this place. Quality food every time with excellent service.

Edit: I’ve amended this to 3 stars from 5 stars after coming here with my baby. It was clear that prams were not wanted and despite coming here a week earlier and having no issues this was suddenly now a problem. I sat down at a table and was asked to move because I had a pram. The manager had allocated “pram tables” in the back corner in the sun (my child was hot and unsettled as a result). They were also incorrectly included in the 1.5 meter rule for social distancing. I told the waiter the table wasn’t suitable for children yet the manager insisted that I move. I had planned a long catch up with a friend but had to leave before we ordered our meals because they booked the table we had been allocated that was “pram friendly” despite being other tables available that we weren’t allowed to use due to having prams. The waiter who was communicating with us was not friendly and honestly, it seemed like us being there was simply an inconvenience. We tried to move to a table without a reserved sign and was told it was also suddenly booked after asking for a menu. It will be a long time before I try this venue again. If you want to go somewhere that welcomed all patrons, go to Casey...