Rendezvous Cafe — Restaurant in Northern Territory

This is from my experience in Dec 2024. Finally getting to it after putting it off as it was a very bad experience:

I made a booking enquiry on Nov 18th via whatsapp for a group dinner for 20 people on 29th Nov. Their replies were delayed and I had to go there in person 2 times to make sure they had my name down. I offered to pay a deposit on 2 separate interactions and the lady manager declined and said it was adequate to pay on the day. One hour before the dinner reservation time, this lady manager sends a message to say that there is a $20 per person minimum spend for the night and that she doesn't do "functions" for this price. Since this was new information to me, I said I will try and see what can be done. Her response is to ask me to cancel the booking if I like. All of this, 1 hour before the dinner! And then she takes it further by going back on her agreement to allow for split bills.

When we arrived, she was adamant that we pay up $400 before we even sit down. She stated that she was worried that we would just eat entrees and then walk away! She also continued to say that we were welcome to cancel this booking!! I had no choice but to pay for it because I had already informed the group about the location and the menu and didn't want spoil the nice end of year dinner that we were all looking forward to.

After we had our dinner, I went to the counter to pay for the total bill of approx $1000. She suddenly changed her mind and said loudly that she would offer split bills. This confused my guests and made me feel embarrassed.

All of the above made me feel very frustrated and frankly shocked that a Darwin business would be so unprofessional. I also feel like the lady manager was discriminatory towards us because of our skin colour. I have never experienced such poor treatment from any business.

I wonder if the owner will also support her behaviour because she was quite arrogant in her dealings with us.

I do like the food there so it is quite sad that I will not be recommending this place to anyone. They don't deserve to run a business in this location and this opportunity should be given to another business who treats their customers fairly. I will also raising this complaint with the NT hospitality peak body.

BTW- I have written proof of all of the above as it was done through whatsapp messages. Don't try to...

We went here after hearing good feedbacks about their vegan options. First of all the old lady waitress at the restaurant was not helpful or have the patience to explain what vegan options they have. She was seen busy and not willing to spend a minute with us at the table (not sure how we can order without her guiding given the menu is unclear with nothing written as vegan ) , so we decided to switch the tables and the other middle-aged lady waitress was very helpful and tried to explain what we can order as vegan. We were happy and we ordered Vegan Laksa, Gado Gado without eggs and prawn crackers (so it will become vegan ) and a noodle soup. After waiting so long for 40 mins we got our order and while we were going to eat Gado Gado we got suspicious with the yellow thing on it and we called and asked the waitress to find out it was "eggs", we were very disappointed with the way they cater for the customers despite telling them not to add. There was not an apology or explaining how this can be done better etc . We were just disappointed and we will never...

I stopped in on a Friday lunchtime and ordered the wonton laksa — and couldn’t resist adding beef for just a few dollars more.

The laksa was delicious!

The broth had simple, balanced flavours with just the right little kick. The wonton filling was tasty, and the dough a bit on the doughy side — which, for me, is perfect. I loved the texture.

But the star of the show? The beef. Holy moly. Succulent, tender, melt-in-your-mouth goodness, full of flavour that perfectly complemented the broth.

I’ll admit, I thought I was being a greedy guts ordering extra beef — especially since the serving was already generous — but zero regrets. Worth every bite (and the apology to my stomach later).

Full disclaimer: I’m a laksa newb! But if this is the standard in Darwin, I’m cheerin’.

Five stars also to the friendly, efficient service. I especially appreciated that, even dining solo, they brought me a whole jug of water instead of just a glass.

Thank you, Rendezvous Café —...