Nikola Estate — Restaurant in Middle Swan

TLDR: service, food, atmosphere all terrible $89 each for half a plate of cold cheese and plain potatoes - quite possibly the worst meal I’ve ever eaten.

We attended the raclette night hosted here last night. This particular winery isn’t one we have been to before, despite living in the area and exploring much of the swan valley.

Booked and paid online, a long table style all you can eat raclette, a glass of mulled wine on arrival and a desert.

The venue was tricky to navigate and poorly lit. We arrived at the restaurant and saw individual tables all in rows rather than a long table. The raclette station was set up on a table at the entry with an employee serving the cheese. The sides were all uncovered in small bowls beside three large trays of shaved meat.

We were seated by the maître d’ and advised to go up to the raclette station and wait for a plate of potatoes and cheese and then add whatever sides we wanted.

We decided to wait for our mulled wine before joining the queue for the cheese. While waiting, the maître d’ returned with some table water that he proceeded to bang on to the table with some force.

After 15 minutes, a waitress came and asked if we had our mulled wine and had we been spoken to about what to do. We said no to the wine and that we were waiting for that before we had the cheese. She said it shouldn’t be too long but that they were running low and she would return with the bread.

It was probably another 5 minutes before the wine arrived, with no fruit or whole spices in other than some pulp from an orange that was floating around on top in tiny bits making it unpleasant to drink and quite messy. We both opted to leave it and thought we would try a wine.

We got up and went to the cheese station, was served with plates from the kitchen rather than the cheese at the station taking away any of the theatre of the experience of raclette.

The deli meat sides were warm, i stuck to prosciutto to be safe as unrefrigerated ham is not for me. Both salads were empty in the bowls so we had asparagus, cornichons and pickled onion to choose from. Once seated back at our table, we began to eat our meals of what was cold congealed cheese with completely bland potatoes and pickled veg that i have in a jar at home. The waitress returned with a wine list (no bread) and couldn’t remember who it was for (Table next to us) then remembered she was getting us bread. Returned with bread that was dry and had obviously been left out for some time. We had actually finished eating by then, i had chosen not to eat most of mine as it wasn’t enjoyable at all.

Table was cleared and I asked for a wine list. And we waited for desert. Ordered a glass of wine each and a fortified.

Now - at the point of booking and when we were seated i mentioned that we are a nut free table due to allergies.

Desert arrived with a mount of slivered almonds on it. I advised the waitress that we are allergic and she took the desserts away.

The other waitress returned and said they had no fortified but we could have a tawny port - we opted for just the wine we had ordered instead.

Fresh deserts returned, mine still had nuts on it. I had given up at this point so just left it and had half of the pear that hadn’t touched the nuts.

Still no wine and deserts are cleared away. We were sat for probably another 15 minutes before I approached the waitress and maître d’ and asked if she hadn’t had any of the drinks we had ordered. She said oh didn’t you get the wine? I said no, but don’t worry about it as we are done.

We left, unsatisfied and unimpressed. If I hadn’t paid already I wouldn’t have. This was the worst dining experience I...

We booked and dined in the new Woodcutters Restaurant on the weekend. We arrived 10 mins late due to heavy haulage trucks on the highway. We were told on arrival that they were "preparing" our table and asked to wait. The restaurant was 1/3 full with ample tables everywhere. When our table was ready we were walked toward it and then asked if we would like to sit at one of the other tables - very strange after waiting for 5 minutes to be seated. We were greeted by a friendly wait person and ordered a cocktail each. Another wait staff appeared soon after to take our meal order. We decided to pair the suggested wine with our entree when it was ready. Five minutes later the wine waiter appears with our cocktails AND our wine that we were going to have with our entree - unfortunately, not the wine we ordered. Never mind. The entrees were lovely and would recommend the Kangaroo. Our mains arrived shortly after with a side salad. The salad leaves weren't washed properly and had sand throughout the dish. I raised this with the wait staff when they came to clear dishes away and was asked "do you want another one?". We had finished our meal so - no. No apology at all.15 mins later the floor manager arrived and said "did you have sand in your salad?" Yes, I replied but I don't want to make a fuss - just thought your kitchen should be aware. His reply was "I will bring the head chef out and you can talk to him" No, I said - I don't want to make a fuss. His response was "ok" and he walked off - very strange and a little confrontational. Mains for me was a little underwhelming but my partner had the duck which was cooked and presented beautifully. Desert was lovely and also presented beautifully. Then to the toilets - nicely fitted out and clean - a bit of a mismatch of chrome and gold tapware and door hardware but that's just my OCD ;-). However, the entry door had the worst squeal I have ever heard - fingernails on a chalk board didn't come close. Really, how hard is it to oil the doors. My partner went to the men's and it was the same, the sound screached through the entire restaurant. When he suggested to a wait person that the doors really needed attention he got a coursery smile and no more. Another thing that was also disappointing in a fine dining restuarant was they have Palmolive pump soap from Coles or Woolies as their soap dispensers - I know, it's a small thing but to me it's about the entire experience. Surely (if they use cheap handwash) put the product in a nice dispenser. The restaurant is very nice with warm tones and a quality fitout. We said in front of the fire on a dreary Winters day - very nice. On to paying the bill. I assumed the salad would have been taken off the bill - but no mention of it. Then a 1.5% card charge to end the day. It is definitely not a cheap restaurant - can't card charges be absorbed in the meal, if they need to be charged at all ??

All in all we left feeling a little flat. No suggestions of a wine to go with our mains or coffee to go with desert. The staff seemed nice but didn't go out of their way to...

Nikola Estate is a stunning wedding venue with breathtaking views, but I was left extremely disappointed with the management of my big day.

I had been promised exclusive use of the venue but closer to the date, I was told there would be other weddings taking place on the same day and it would be a matter of luck if I got the place to myself. Despite having made verbal promises, the venue failed to deliver on any of them, I seriously encourage brides and grooms if they are considering this venue to have everything written. I had to go back and forth over 10 times just to get the menu I wanted, as there was a lack of attention to detail by the venue coordinator. -The renovations they had made to the venue ended up not looking great in some areas, and there was no transparency about when the work would be completed, with the venue coordinator saying it would be done before my wedding, only to change their tune last minute. A dedicated menu tasting, which was promised and I had planned for, was changed to a group tasting with 10+ other couples with only 4 days' notice and no option for a different date. We never got a tasting because we had COVID and couldnt attend, they would not even schedule a separate one for us (which was the original premise of the menu tasting when we signed up) The food service on the day was a disaster, with multiple dietary requirements mixed up, and drinks service was also inadequate with no water on any of the tables. The venue coordinator agreed that I could bring individual cake boxes, only to change their minds a week out from the wedding and refuse to do so, and I had to get a completely separate wedding coordinator to assist with this. To top it off, before my ceremony, a kids' birthday party was scheduled to finish and start packing up, leaving no time in between for pack down. In the "sales" phase, be prepared to be wowed however once signed it is all downhill from there. Expect a 3 week turnaround to responses via email.

In conclusion, I highly recommend prospective brides and grooms to reconsider Nikola Estate for their big day and thoroughly research their options before signing a contract. In my connections with other brides at Nikola, they have had the same experience. My experience was a complete letdown, and it was only thanks to my separate wedding coordinator that the day was saved from being a...