Eddy & Wolff Asian Restaurant — Restaurant in Gold Coast City

I went on the 13/01/2023 at 5:45pm for dinner as this restaurant was recommended to me. I am disappointed that I have to write this review, but our experience of Eddy + Wolff should be shared so that the restaurant may improve as overall, it has potential. However, given that it is tucked away in the suburbs about a 20 minute drive from Surfer's Paradise in a little strip mall, for the price per person, it left us underwhelmed. In particular, because it is in the same price category as restaurants that are beachfront or have spectacular views yet it is lacking in most categories that you would rate restaurants.

I'll start by the good things: the depth to the flavours of some of the dishes was exceptional.

Some constructive criticism: The menu has items in a foreign language with no explanation. When we tried to ask the waiter, we were offered very little explanation. Perhaps a better explanation on the menu would assist patrons. The service was abysmal. The attitude of the waiter was unprofessional at every exchange (point number one, he acted like we were annoying him by asking him to explain some of the ingredients that were in a foreign language. He literally sighed and rolled his eyes every time we asked him a question). When we first walked in, he was by the door, so I greeted him, however, he immediately scowled at me, and palmed me off to a waitress. When we asked for the bill, he literally threw down the EFTPOS machine, turned and walked away. Either the waiter or the restaurant's policy is extremely inflexible. I am a vegan and I do not like onions. When I requested that a dish come without onions, the waiter said to me "We will not make substitutions as you will have a bad experience." Which is ridiculous. If I don't like an ingredient, then I WILL have a bad experience. He was argumentative throughout and the whole exchange left me reeling. We were not offered drinks at regular intervals and sat there waiting. The red wine was hot. The wine list is extremely limited. The set menu experience is restrictive. If you are vegetarian or vegan, you have only one option in each category (and also because of point 3, no changes will be made). The restaurant feels sterile and has no vibe. It could be sexy, moody, trendy. But in reality, it is...

We chose to have the Lucky menu at $75 per person which gives one item each from the BBQ, Snacks, A Bit Bigger and Sides. We also had a drinks, totalling approx $20. Seats at the bar were hard to get into as there was barely any room between diners to squeeze in and you have to kind of hop up. Then the waiter pushes you in from behind and there you are. Not ideal if you need to get down again especially for shorter customers. Service was good, however food was rather disappointing with quite small serves and not all flavours quite hitting the mark.

BBQ: King Oyster Mushroom - texture was good, they had a kind of soy savouriness however not exciting and no specific point of view. Bo Luc Lac - Beef - not beefy, had a glaze but beef itself lacked seasoning. Snacks: Korean Fried Quail - alluded to Korean fried chicken but quail wasn’t brined and breading did not give that nice Korean twice fried crispy bite. Fortunately the magic sauce on the side noticeably added taste. Scallop Cerviche - This dish looked elegant however the flavour came from the sweet pickled radish - that was it. The radish flavor overpowered the other ingredients and the scallop itself was sliced so thinly that you didn’t get its sweetness or essence. A Bit Bigger: Lap Yuk Belly - The pork which while tender due to sous vide, was dry. Unfortunately the orange sauce also needed more depth. Char Grilled King Prawns - This was the best dish. These were tasty and just right. Had burnt garlic butter, shrimp paste and chilli oil. The prawn meat was succulent. Loved the chilli butter sauce and added it to the Chicken rice. We were advised we could eat everything on the plate but really, eating shells and burnt legs is not really appealing. Sides: Chicken Rice - rice was perfectly cooked but flavor did not quite get there. Green Beans - While perfectly just cooked, did not have distinct intention. Yuzu soda - just a hint of yuzu flavour. Mocktail - this was the non alcoholic version of Siam High thai which originally had vodka, Thai Basil, mango purée, sherbert syrup, lemon, lime and egg whites. Refreshing.

Had read some good reviews beforehand and menu looked interesting so we went with fairly high hopes but honestly,...

My third visit to E+W last night, it’s my favourite restaurant on the Gold Coast and is worth the drive down from Brisbane for dinner! I love its unexpected location, uber cool & energetic ambience, warm knowledgeable service and creative pan Asian menu.

Head Chef & co-owner Vien has a serious talent for balancing the sweet/salty/sour/spicy spectrum and the highlights for me are the hibachi grilled prawns, soy sauce ice cream and ox tongue skewers (something I never would have ordered until the team highly recommended it!).

The drinks menu is well curated with a solid selection of everything from Australian wines to sake, Asian-liquor cocktails, rare Japanese beer and everything in between. Manager Rafe has a fine appreciation of all the drops and recommends great pairings.

At E+W, most seats are around the bar so suits a party of 1 to 4 but there’s also two small tables which can be booked for a larger group. (This would be a fab venue to host an intimate cocktail party!)

All in all, I recommend the “Dine Like The Wolff” experience which allows the chefs to serve you their current favourite dishes - a must-visit for locals and tourists alike!

PS. I can’t help but add that the recent 3 star review (an anomaly amongst all the 5 stars..) complaining about the loud music was ironic as the music is one of the things I love about E+W and largely why it feels like you’ve stepped into an edgy laneway bar in Asia. This is definitely not where I’d take my grandmother for a serious conversation - but it’s not designed to be, and asking a restaurant to change one of its elements just because it doesn’t suit you, is...