The Falcon Restaurant — Restaurant in Newcastle-Maitland

We've been to Falcon 20+ times and usually love it, we've always spoken highly of it to others and recommended it. Tonight however for the first time our group had a really off-putting experience service wise that soured our dinner entirely

We arrived and were asked if we wanted drinks about 5 minutes after sitting and we ordered them, all good. Then around 15 minutes later a second staff member asked if we wanted food yet, but a couple of the people in our group were mid conversation with one another and weren't ready, so she said she'd circle back in a bit, which is normal

Cue around half an hour latter and we still hadn't been re-visited by her or anyone else, and four of the staff members (including her) in the meantime had done a shot at the bar in clear view of our table? A bit strange but fair enough, we were okay with slowly sipping drinks and talking/waiting. And then eventually, a different staff member walks past and asks if we'd like food and we order (between 30-40 minutes after last being asked anything).

So we order, and then at about the 1.5 hour mark we're eating. Once we're done eating we sit and chat for another 30 or so minutes (I'm always mindful of not taking a table for too long, but there was multiple empty 4-5 seater tables in the bar and I'm sure upstairs also as it wasn't particularly busy).

Shortly after this point, the guy I presume to be the manager walks up and essentially asks if we're going to order more drinks or leave, and then awkwardly glared at each of us individually about whether we're ordering a drink... Keep in mind, there's multiple empty 4-5 seater tables available, they're not at capacity and needing to move people on to make space (I would totally understand if that was the case). A couple of people ordered another drink (not in small part because of how awkward the silence was when he asked each person)

All 5 of us agreed he gave off a really weird vibe when he came up to us, as though we were a nuisance hogging a table from potential customers and not ordering anything, when we'd ordered both drinks and dinner, and the bar wasn't even full, with multiple seating options for a party of a similar size. It's also not our fault we were there for a longer time than usual because we weren't served in a timely fashion.

In short, we were served very slowly, ate and drank, and were then questioned very awkwardly about whether we were going to order more drinks or leave, despite there being multiple empty tables for any...

Had some tasty food here and the staff are really friendly, however we had a poor experience with our drinks bill.

I ordered half a pint of the draught ale for $5, but after a few minutes the bartender came over to the table with an opened can of summer ale, and said the barrel of the ale I had ordered had ran out and if I wanted to try the can instead. I assumed as the $5 drink I ordered wasn't available I would only be charged the $5 for the can instead, however I was charged $8.50. From my point of view if a) he hadn't opened the can already, or b) he let me know he would charge me $8.50 instead of $5, I would have ordered the draught lager instead and only paid the $5 I was expecting to.

We also had a bit of a mix up with my wife's drink order. She asked if the bar served hot drinks as she wanted a cup of tea. The bartender said no but he could make a tottie, which we unfortunately misheard as a 'hottie' (a hot squash). That was fine as it was just a miscommunication error but we were very surprised to see we were charged for a double whiskey at $16. We should have been asked if we wanted a single or double (which would have avoided the whole misorder in the first place), and to just assume we wanted, and charged us for, a very expensive double was not acceptable.

Overall we could have been really happy with our dinner here but we were dissapointed that we were overcharged for the drinks and to have walked away feeling we were ripped off - we had absolutely no intention of paying €24.50 for a couple of drinks with our dinner. We hope the Falcon takes this feedback onboard so that they are clearer with customers in the future about what they will charge for the drinks to avoid any...

I opted for the chicken and waffles, while my partner chose the chicken nachos. Despite the promising reviews and the unique concept, the chicken & waffles disappointed me. The waffles were dry and thin, and the chicken, while decent, didn't leave a strong impression. The portion felt lacking for the $28 price tag, leaving me wishing for a side of fries or something more.

Note to restaurant: I would like to offer a suggestion for improvement. It would greatly enhance the meal if the waffles were made thicker and fluffier. Additionally, a biggger peice of chicken or if serving a smaller portion of chicken, consider cutting it up and arranging it more even

My partner's nachos were, at best, average in terms of taste and presentation.

On a brighter note, the mocktails were a standout highlight, and the service was satisfactory. The atmosphere was pleasant, though a bit on...