Belmont 16s — Restaurant in Newcastle-Maitland

Have been going here for years though recently bought a house around the corner and so recently been going more often. After the new renovations we have experienced some issues with the club. One time my partner went to lunch with a few of his friends and when the meals arriced there was one meal missing. When they approached the staff they were reassured by the manager there was an issue when processing the order through the app and so because it hadnt gone through the money would automatically go back into the account after 24hrs. No offer of any compensation for the poor experience, the person sat around and watched as everyone ate. Not even an offer of garlic bread to help them feel more comfortable.

Despite this, we went recently with our friends to the new Martha restaurant upstairs, we had a nice view and the service was good though this was tainted firstly by the fact you are unable to use your members card (the resturant is a part of the so not sure why this is), but secondly by a call from the manager not long after we left asking for some "clarification regarding the bill as its still showing in the system". To be honest I was mortified at the call, more so because we had split the bill with our friends we had invited out and could see the transaction had gone through in our bank and so had to ask our friends if they had paid for their half. Luckily we were still at the venue having a cocktail down in the boatshed. We then sent the screenshots of the payments made to the manager that had contacted us. He was thankful a d apologised, though due to the call I had replied with a message to see if he could follow up with issue of the missed meal and the payment not coming back into our account after 3+ weeks. I was told he would hand it over to the manager tomorrow as it was the same manager that was dealing with it. I was never contacted during the day, not even to explain they had been busy an unable to look at it today. So, my partner and I went in as we thought it may help to see someone in person. We spoke to the manager on shift Todd who was absolutely amazing! He was reactive, he listened to what our issues were, apologised for the things that had happened and offered some sort of reimbursement. He previously was not involved in the issue and you could tell he was busy but he handled everything so great. My partner works managing hospitality venues and I am a manager in health care and so appreciate not all issues can be addressed the same but after having more than one issue and no real communication we felt it may be valid to raise it in person. Todd was extremely helpful, understanding and it was obvious he was doing everything he could to ensure our concerns were adressed while at the same time protect and promote the bussiness. We were reluctant to go back after the other experiences, though Todd listened and valued us as patrons. The 5 star rating is for Todd otherwise the venue and overall experience would of...

Today we tried Salt Kitchen at Belmont 16s for lunch. Although there were some pluses - particularly the wonderful view - on the whole it was a very disappointing experience - seriously overpriced, particularly given the total lack of table service and the food was at best mediocre. The venue pitches itself as a cut above its immediate cafeteria neighbour, Sails Eatery (where diners queue, cafeteria style for pre-prepared food), supposedly providing food "cooked to order" and able to be ordered "from your table by scanning the QR code and wait for your meals to be delivered!". (All quotes are from the venue website.) In our experience neither was true. For a start, there is no table service at all. Food is ordered from a central point and then you have to pick it up yourself. The lack of service is puzzling given the premium prices (eg a "classic" snitty is $23 at Sails but $26 at Salt - what is the extra $3 meant to be for if not some table service?). It is also fundamentally flawed as an ordering process, if 2 courses (starters and mains) are ordered. We had no sooner collected our starters and barely started to eat them when the buzzer went off again to collect our mains. Uneaten starters were left to go cold on the table as we went back for a second time to collect our mains. This is not a "contemporary dining experience" it is a joke! The entree of Thai Green Curry Spring Rolls sounded interesting and was a bit different to boring old spring rolls, but really was just mush in a spring roll wrapper, with no prawns discernable. Certainly not worth the $17 price. The garlic turkish bread entree was tasty and well toasted. My salmon with risotto main was hit and miss. The salmon was beautifully cooked but the accompanying prawn and salmon risotto was dismal. It was almost cold, had little taste and lacked the creaminess of a good risotto. Plus I don't understand why the risotto also had salmon in it when there was a salmon fillet as the hero of the dish. Strange. Needed less salmon and more prawns! My partner's Hawaiian Schnitzel also disappointed. The schnitzel crumb was soft not crispy, as you would expect from something fresh out of the frier. The salad had no dressing and the chips were just average. Overall nothing was inedible, or so bad as to send it back to the kitchen but at $95 for these 4 plates of food we expected a lot better. (All prices are club member prices. Members of the public pay more again.) I won't be eating at Salt Kitchen again - its a flawed concept, overpriced, with no service and hit and miss food quality. I suggest you try Sails instead - same dining space with same spectacular views and much...

Visited the 16's for dinner and drinks at the Boatshed & Martha on 20 April.

At 11:20 pm, we queried about the next courtesy bus departure at the lobby and were informed by a young male that the bus would depart at 12:00 am. Trusting this information, we decided to wait and enjoy another drink.

Just before 12:00 am, we returned and asked the same male if we waited out the front for the bus. We were informed that the bus was now departing at 12:20-12:30 am and if we would like to book the bus.

We questioned why the bus was now departing so late, as I’m sure any person would, and was told that the bus had travelled outside it’s normal 5km radius ‘which it doesn’t normally do, but sometimes does’. We asked why we weren’t told that we had to book the bus when we spoke to him at 11:20 given we may have not been able to get a seat if it was booked out and if we had been given upfront and accurate information, we could have made alternative arrangements to get home and not spent the additional money on cocktails waiting.

Instead of taking any accountability, offering an apology or acknowledging the inconvenience caused by the misinformation, he remarked with a smug look on his face, "we didn't have to buy drinks" and "I didn't make you buy drinks”. Well done 16’s on employee training and just the overall values...