Six Senses The Quay — Restaurant in Perth

Let down by service & taste for group lunch booking. It seems the mixed reviews are either about the service or the taste, and we had the opportunity to review this when we had a group booking for lunch recently. First the plus. The venue is superbly located right in the waterfront Elizabeth Quay, and the ambience and decor are modern and chic. Another plus was that, despite stipulating no Split Bill, they were gracious enough to let us do that in the end, cash or credit. Just need a bit of negotiation. The third plus is the concept store at the end of the restaurant utilising what would Be a dead space to showcase items that patrons could browse and pay via honest system. Very good concept. As this is primarily a restaurant, the food however had mixed reviews from our group because we get to try numerous dishes. Overall, the taste of most dishes were tasty but a few commented on the lack of sauce and dry dishes (such as curry with rice). My Make your own pad Thai with roast duck was flavoursome enough, while the duck was slightly tougher with the noodle slightly sticky. It was still nonetheless enjoyable for me with extra chilli and soy sauce. The service can be more proactive as there were no staff to check in on us except for when they serve up each dish gradually. The venue was not superbly busy and this was reflected by some staff were cleaning cutlery or arranging decors at the bar. Despite having preordered, the wait times between the first and last person was easily 30min, enough for the first to finish her meal before the last even started his. No doubt the superb venue could lend itself to a good restaurant once some of the improvement areas are attended to. I look forward to giving this venue another try soon with a smaller group, and for dinner, just for comparison. Tips: Price is reflective of the location but not align with the service from our only experience but the lunch special offers good value ($16.50 average...

Restaurant Review: A Rushed and Disappointing Experience

I recently visited for a 2:00 PM reservation, only to find that the experience was far from what I had anticipated. Upon arrival, we were immediately informed that the seating time was limited to two hours, and we had to order quickly since the kitchen was closing at 2:30 PM. The waitress stood hovering over us as we looked at the menu, which immediately put us on edge.

We placed a rushed order for entrees and requested a few more minutes to decide on our mains (at 2:07 PM). However, to our surprise, the entrees arrived minutes later — before we even had a chance to order drinks. As the food was placed, we were once again pressed to finalize our mains, which we reluctantly did. The pace only escalated from there.

As soon as we finished our entrees, our plates were cleared almost immediately, and our mains were placed on the table — all while the staff began closing down around us. It felt like we were being pushed out, with no time to savor the meal or enjoy the atmosphere. The overall experience felt incredibly rushed and impersonal, and the waitress was noticeably rude throughout.

The food itself was good, but the rushed nature of the meal, combined with the uncomfortable atmosphere, completely overshadowed it. We weren’t offered dessert, and when we asked for a second round of drinks at 2:50 PM, we were told we could have them — but we’d have to move to the bar.

If you're looking for a relaxing, enjoyable lunch, this is not the place. The entire experience left us feeling unwelcome and unsatisfied. I would rate this a 2/10, mainly for the quality of the food. It’s a shame, because with a better approach to service and pacing, this could have been a much better...

A friend who was in Perth this week on a work trip had dined at Six Senses on her first evening in Perth. She enjoyed the food so much, when I met up with her for dinner the following evening, she convinced me to give this restaurant a go. I am so glad that she did.

We ordered the salt and pepper squid and 4-piece vegetarian curry puffs for entree to share. We were served the curry puffs first. I have to admit, we were surprised that the curry puffs were really tiny...think finger food size. BUT those puffs were so flavoursome. Just as we finished them, the staff brought us the salt and pepper squid. The squid was unbelievably tasty! The squid was tender (not chewy or rubbery) and the batter was just right. And best of all, the squid pieces were not soaked in grease!

For our mains, we ordered the beef massaman curry, the king prawn pad thai and a serve of steamed rice to share. The beef chunks in the curry simply melted in our mouths! As for the curry, it was not runny or too thick. The blend of spices and flavour was mind-blowing. The king prawn pad thai was delicious. The noodles were cooked just right and the chargrilled king prawns were excellent.

I have to take one star off for this review however. We found it quite frustrating trying to get the attention of the wait staff when we wanted to order drinks mid-meal. We were seated outside under the umbrellas, next to a table of four. The wait staff never once looked in our direction. One of the patrons at the next table ended up having to wave over one of the wait staff for us.

Despite this, my friend and I did enjoy our dining experience at the restaurant. I will definitely be back to try out the other dishes...