The Wild Flower Bar & Dining at Bells at Killcare — Restaurant in New South Wales

Last Saturday my husband and I had an anniversary dinner at The Wild Flower. Some dietary requirements are easier to navigate: it is common to see menus advising which dishes contain nuts, gluten and dairy.

Between us, we have 3 dietary requirements that are much harder to navigate without the assistance of the restaurant kitchen: a known allergy to bi-valves and an intolerance to garlic and the entire onion family (we are a fun couple otherwise -promise)!

About a fortnight prior to making our restaurant booking, we emailed Jo, the Food and Beverage Manager and we were sent a list of menu items which either already met our dietary requirements, or could be adapted to meet them, although it was not clear which was which. The menu items were listed as “duck, flathead, prawns” etc. so we had to compare the list of proteins sent via email with the online menu to see how the dishes were prepared and what they were served with so we could decide what we wanted to order.

We were lucky enough to be greeted by Jo in person on arrival at the restaurant, sadly, that is where our luck ran out and the dinner became memorable for the wrong reasons.

We had brought a printed copy of the menu with us as a reminder of the dishes we were advised we could choose from that night. As it turns out, our menu was outdated - Jo advised on the night that the menu is updated daily – but it was the first time we had heard this. A little surprising given we had taken the effort to communicate with the restaurant in advance. Uh-Oh.

We reviewed the new menu to see what had changed, and made sure we placed our order via Jo so as not to cause any confusion or stress to the kitchen nor for any waitstaff who may not have been in the loop. One of the key reasons we prefer to correspond in advance is to make ordering on the day/night of the event as seamless and simple as possible for us and the kitchen team. We do not want to be annoying customers and we appreciate that garlic and onion are used in a LOT of recipes.

While Jo was warm and friendly, the chef on duty that night arbitrarily decided that the dishes we chose would be served au naturelle – no seasoning and no accompaniments, which literally meant no flavour.

We chose two entrees and two mains: • W.A Marron, grilled, lemon Beurre Blanc, Espelette pepper • Mooloolaba split prawns, chilli, lemon • Flathead, Coffs Harbour – simply grilled with oregano & lemon vinaigrette or Café De Paris • Confit Aylesbury duck leg, Paris mash, Amarena cherry

The marron was a little undercooked (we had difficulty removing it from the shell) and was served with a wedge of lemon and a few miniscule flakes of parsley. No beurre blanc or espelette pepper – and no explanation on why they were omitted - curious!

The Mooloolaba split prawns were well cooked but also served without the described chilli or lemon.

The flathead had been chargrilled (not grilled as per the menu) and had been so heavily charred in a few places, it created an unpalatable bitter taste. It was also surprisingly difficult to de-bone the fish so we wondered how fresh it could possibly be?

The confit of duck was served as described - yay! - but it was surprisingly lacklustre. To properly confit duck takes a few hours, it is not cooked to order. We had been perfecting our duck confit during lockdown, so we were stunned when the duck tasted like it had been cooked a few days earlier and then just warmed through before serving on the night. This was not helped by the lukewarm Paris mash and only 3 little Amarena cherries as a garnish when the jus served with the duck would have benefited greatly from the acidity of the fruit, to help balance the richness and saltiness.

When you plan a night out to celebrate an occasion, it is such a disappointment when you can cook better food yourself, and we are simple home cooks.

Even more disappointing when you recall sensational dinners in the same restaurant back in 2016/17 when the Manfredi’s were at the helm. Those...

Food is great, oyster was fresh and creamy, beef tartare is made tableside, great quality beef, fresh truffle is very generously added, steak and toothfish both are perfectly cooked. thank you chefs. (would have been more tasty if we actually ate main course while its still hot, thanks to the staff that made us leave the table to move a car that isn't in anyone's way)

lady that sat us down was extremely rude, my partner asked her a question about the menu, she shouted back at us: ''THATS WHAT I JUST TOLD YOU!!!'' literally turning heads from very other table around us. There are no words to describe how disgusted I am by this experience.

when maincourse arrived, a staff made my partner go out in cold dark winter night, to move our car that is infront of our cottage. FYI we were not in anyone's way, someone else took our parking spot so we had to park on the side. He could have easily told us to move the car after we finish dinner. when we told him, we had to park on the side of cottage, becasue someone else took our parking spot, he told us to move to ## which is another cottage's parking...

all in all, they all worked sooo extremely hard to make us feel 100% UNWELCOME. job well done. two star for the food,...

Id give this place no stat's if I could. When I rang to book, I asked about vegan options and was told "No problem, chef will whip you something up". I also mentioned it was a significant birthday for me. So you can imagine my surprise and disappointment when I was told, when the waiter eventually appeared, to pick from the vegetable sides, most of which were covered in butter. It took 40 minutes for us to be able to order with no apology or bread offered. We practically had to tackle the waiter to get service. Entrees arrived after an hour with mine missing. After waiting for 10 minutes called the maitre d' aside and told her, quietly, that my birthday was being ruined. A half-hearted apology saw no change in service and no offer a glass of wine even in compensation. The meals for the rest of the table were adequate but over-priced. I will never, ever return and will be telling all my local friends not to bother. There are so many better places in Ettalong, Kilcare and thereabouts. Sadly, I'll never get my birthday back. Shame on...