Bistro by the Dam — Restaurant in Jarrahdale

Ordered the kids meal. A tablespoon of vegemite in every slice. Someone's never made a vegemite sandwich before lol. Milkshakes meh. Milk in a cup. Food - depends on the menu item. Chicken parmy was perfect. Everything else is what you'd expect from a remote cafe with no competition. Double the price and flavourless(elderly-friendly) uninspired menu that's hit and miss. Normally it be ok with if the other aspects were good, like views, kids activities, facilities, etc they weren't.

Toilets, 1 per gender, a furnace - 50 degrees on a 33-degree day, cramped, zero airflow and they directly open to the eating area at the front so people can hear and see you do your business and the male/female are connected using a 60x60 mesh window so you can also hear the other persons every move, gross. Can't stress how gross they were. People walking out were covered in sweat, red faced and I made sure to look everyone directly in the eye to make it as uncomfortable as possible.

No shade for cars. No playground. no grassy area. Nothing for the kids to do. The singer was great. The staff were great.

The place and food were below average. Views, meh. Can't see the whole dam. Should have put it on the other side with the carpark overlooking the dam.

Lots of open doors, aircon was at max and the place was 40 degrees inside. Should have shut the doors my buddies. Def needs an upgrade to have self closing doors and a few more AC units and the toilets with their own unit in the main entry area with vents at the bottom and exteaction fans that didn't turn off and run constantly with 10x whatever airflow you think it needs.

Would I go here again? Nope. Has it its charm but not for us. Although... Maybe on a day it's raining like crazy and we happen to be in the area for something else.

If you're desperate for a dam and food, I would suggest go to Canning, Wungong, or Mundaring dam and take a picnic.

Don't drive here and expect anything more than a...

We just went here on a whim and had just planned to get coffee as it was obviously busy. Being Mother's Day we did not expect to actually get seated however as it was after 2pm we got lucky and there was a table for two.

There was live music (which I'm not a fan of as it's usually too loud) but we were at the furthest end away from it so could talk and my mum didn't have to remove her hearing aids because of the loudness. The singer wasn't too bad and had a decent song list.

The service felt a bit strained probably due to the volume of people. People at the table next to us had to repeatedly complain that one of the meals had not turned up. It did take a while before our food arrived (40min), however we were grateful to have been able to have a meal and a table on such a busy day.

The food was cooked well and was tasty which also made the wait ok. It was hard to decide what to choose but we were happy with what we had ordered.

The negatives: sitting next to the toilet was a bit unpleasant due to smells wafting out. The toilet I went into needed a good clean. The staff seemed overwhelmed with the amount of people and a couple of them looked like they'd rather be somewhere else, this may have been because it had been a very long and hectic day however.

Would I return here? If I was in the area again, yes, for sure. It has a nice view over the dam, the food was good and the interior is pleasant and tidy. They've won plenty of awards and so on too so that says a lot. I'd probably choose a less hectic day but appreciate that we were able to get a table on Mother's Day when we just expected to get a...

Took my hubby here after seeing they had changed names owners and previously having a lovely meal when it was Cafe by the Dam which closed in Feb 22. Booked a table for two via email stating it was for a lovely lunch with my husband. Arrived and greeted by nobody, had to search for someone to ask. Young lady who obviously forgot how to smile looked at some tables and found ours. A lovely table for two by the toilet!!! We said no thanks and went to another raised table outside. Impossible to sit at as the stalls are too high it’s just not practical. Moved ourselves inside by the window. Hubby ordered a beer and the burger and I ordered the steak sandwich and a wine. The wine and beer were the only good things. The burger was clearly a packet/frozen pattie and the chips again frozen and most of them hard and not cooked through. The steak sandwich was edible but the same issues with the chips. From the name I was expecting some lovely homemade dishes but that is not the case. A colleague visited the following day and had the same experience. Very disappointing and really not what I’d call a ‘bistro’ with boring frozen food and homemade signage. I’m glad I went now before I have visitors at Christmas as there’s no way I’ll be taking them there. Yes the view is lovely and most the staff were friendly but that’s it I’m afraid. Please check the reviews are not for the old Cafe by the Dam as it’s a...