Rockpool Pavilion — Restaurant in North Ward

we thought we would treat ourselves to a nice dinner out, as it’s a rarity for us to find the time these days. we were greeted with a friendly smile and good service of drinks upon arrival, but as the night went on, the service got worse and the food even more disappointing. I am gluten intolerant, and was initially stoked with the amount of choices on the menu. that’s why we chose this restaurant! we ordered a few entrees to share to start; we got the baked prawns, and for $28, got 8x flavourless, small sized prawns on a bed of raw garlic, sun dried tomatoes and black olives from the jar, with some tiny & cheap gf toast on the side. it was a very unenjoyable meal, and i wouldn’t recommend it. the prawns were not good quality, and the texture was off because they were clearly from frozen. next, we ordered the calamari and some gf fish tacos to share, and the tacos were absolutely inedible. the taco shell was cardboard, and the tacos could not be eaten in a typical taco form as the shell could not even be bitten, and the taste of it was stale and cheap. the fish came from a box, and the salad served on it was pathetic and not fresh whatsoever, with old diced tomatoes. i couldn’t even eat it! the service staff didn’t check on us throughout our meal either. not to mention we had to ask for our own salt and pepper as there weren’t any on the tables. my partner ordered a scotch fillet steak, and you could tell that it was cooked from frozen or improperly thawed as it wasn’t cooked properly, and the fat wasn’t seared at all. the potatoes were drowning in oil on the plate too, and were greasy and burnt. a main that cost $35 with a steak that wasn’t cooked properly, a ‘creamy garlic sauce’ on the side that was thin and watered down- absolutely nothing creamy about it, with no more than a single potato on the side that was both burnt and oily, an absolute rip off. i wouldn’t recommend either. at this point, we debated just leaving. it felt like a joke. we should have known that something was wrong when it was 6:15pm on a saturday night, with no more than 4 tables seated and the rest, an empty restaurant. the best meal so far was pre-made calamari from a box. i ordered another entree of chicken wings as i couldn’t eat my main, and they were tiny for $18. very much a rip off. the service staff noticed the full meal on the table when clearing the used dishes at the end of our meal, and didn’t even ask if there was a problem or how we liked it. however, she did notice that we were waiting for nearly 30mins for our chicken wings. once the meal was finished, we left to pay. the manager asked us for our honest opinion as she could tell that i was a bit unhappy. she took my criticism well, and took the chicken wings off our bill as gesture to make up for the disappointment, and as we waited a significant amount of time for the wings as there was a communication mishap between staff. mistakes happen, and we were grateful for the gesture, but i should have been refunded the full amount for the tacos instead of the cheapest item off our bill. it felt very cheap of her. i had no energy to negotiate further, and just wanted to leave at this point. for people who dine out once every 6 months, i left feeling rather frustrated, hungry, and extremely disappointed. for 2x drinks, 3x small entrees, and 1x main (of literally a steak with a side of one potato, no greens or salad, and 2 sauces that automatically come with the meal which were not house-made AND were watered down), it cost us $122. an actual rip off in my opinion for tiny portions with food that came frozen from a box. you’d expect from a restaurant down at the beach in North Queensland that the seafood would be quality and fresh, yet it was all cheap and frozen. i honestly will never eat here again. i don’t blame the chefs, i blame the management. not much magic can be worked when your produce comes pre-made from a box and you cut corners to be cheap. please, taste the food that you serve on your menu before serving it to your hardworking customers. $122 i...

dear rockpool pavilion, i am sherwin hogg, and i had a recent valentines dinner reservation at your establishment with high hopes and expectations. i am really disappointed in the food that you call the "main courses". your chicken schnitzel was absolutely appalling and downright criminal. your food is a scam. i received gravy comparable to the consistency and taste of water alongside a chicken schnitzel i could almost play basketball with. furthermore, the dry leaves that you call a "house salad" was absolutely bland. no dressing, improper plating., and no variety whatsoever. i cut into the chicken schnitzel with hopes of enjoying a succulent meal enjoyed in the company of my significant other, however, my whole evening was spent scabbing on the fries of their plate because my meal was unacceptable. this is truly a disgrace and this is my honest review about the food. although your outstanding service from staff was absolutely impeccable, i fear it is not enough to hide the fact your kitchen may not be performing as they should with expectations to leave all customers with a full belly and a smile on their face. food and service is of the utmost importance when coming to a special occasion. unfortunately, you did not meet any expectations on the food, the service was absolutely brilliant with staff greeting us with a smile and having an optimistic and bright demeanour but, it is imperative that you heavily investigate into the matter of your food as this can be extremely improved upon. this will not only bring customers to think better of your establishment but will also want them to come back and remember you for something.

Thank...

Ate lunch here with some friends. Outlook was pretty nice as it’s overlooking the pool made of rock, and the ocean beyond. I imagine if the pools were busy with children it could be annoying- was not the case this day. It wasn’t too busy so we were able to be seated immediately and along the front overlooking the water without a booking.

Staff were fairly nice, and a couple being trained. Totally fine, everyone needs to learn. What was disappointing was being told that they could not make a normal classic cocktail, despite having all ingredients as seen on the limited cocktail menu. Not sure if this is because of their system not allowing it or if the waitress was a new one and didn’t know how to do it. Settled for one off their menu and I do mean settled. It looked nice but that was about it.

The food was ok, presented really well and there was plenty of it. The waitress was attentive to the things we needed - lemon, Parmesan, sauce - in a timely fashion. We did have to wait an extra somewhere between 5-10min for the second fish/chip meal to arrive however which was a little weird as we’d ordered two and one just didn’t arrive until later. Not sure if they forgot us or forgot the meal in the first place.

Overall nice outing, although it tends to be with friends. Staff were trying and were super friendly, but maybe a couple of things to...