Temple of Tastes Restaurant — Restaurant in Queensland

Where to start on this review. We booked and had confirmed the outdoor terrace (basically the selling point of this “premium” restaurant). We arrive, and sorry there is a wedding on and you’ll be sitting in the breakfast buffet next to reception. Multiple couples turned up to be told the same with the excuse “we normally call the day before” except that weddings are booked months in advance so why were these dinner bookings available and taken if they weren’t? Bit of a honey trap scam as it’s too late to find something equivalent within 24 hours or if you find out on the night.

Food was just ok, nothing special not particularly better than a suburban cafe. Funny things to note were the scratched stained tabletop, also the complimentary bread being provided with our dessert instead of before the entree, a creme brûlée burnt pitch black and a waiter forgetting to put in our drinks order only come much later after the food was finished to give us the wrong wine (white instead of red). Another curious “service” element was the taking away of main plate but casually discarding used/dirty cutlery in the middle of the table until dessert was served.

Creme brûlée for dessert was burnt pitch black which made it an interesting flavour. The crescendo to the night however was drunk wedding guests wandering through our breakfast buffet with shoes off, yelling, singing with beats playing loud enough that we were yelling across our table to be heard.

So lessons for anyone looking to eat here.

Ring in advance to see if you’ll actually be sitting where you booked - THIS IS A MUST as the restaurant uses honey traps to get you in and then leaving you no choice but to accept what secondary seating they give you. Don’t go if there is a wedding on - it’s not romantic to sit in a breakfast buffet next to the hotel reception Help/guide staff to understand the order they should serve courses specifically that the bread comes before entrees and not with dessert Burnt food isn’t healthy or tasty to eat

Can’t give zero stars so I suppose one star will have to do.

I’ve never had to do it before but this was an exception so I have photos of:-

The scratched up old table Burnt food Video of the drunk guests And dirty cutlery dropped on the table and forgotten after retrieving our main plates.

And we were not the only couple there also appalled at their Saturday night “fine...

Excellent fine dining.

For similar prices to the beachfront, you get artfully presented meals and fantastic flavors. Price comparable to almond beach restaurant, experience twice as good here. Service, flavour, presentation, ambience - all twice as good for the same price.

For entree we had the beetroot and the pork belly. Pork belly was the most tender and softest we've had. Beetroots were wonderfully done. We had the steak for main, and I also had the gnocchi in a main size because the only vegetarian main didn't tickle me. The steak was excellent and tender with an incredible mango puree. The gnocchi wasn't to my liking, the herbs and spices were gritty in the gnocchi and the flavour wasn't nice for me. The rest of the dish, especially the mushrooms, were excellent. I figured this was more of an issue of my own taste preferences so I didn't make a fuss (although these days you'd hope for more than two vegetarian options) but the waiter immediately offered to make it up to us with a free dessert and was very apologetic. These days that's rare - I've had drinks spilled on me and not gotten the drinks for free in the past. So I really appreciate the focus on service.

We got the edible flower and honeycomb dessert which was absolutely exquisite. Delicate flavoring with unique edible flowers. Again, beautiful presentation.

This was a five star experience with food and five star service to match. Would highly recommend and we really appreciate the waiter going to the effort of ensuring we were happy.

The waiter in general was very attentive and competent. He was very quick between all the tables and checked in with us regularly and cleaned the table quickly...

We stayed at the Pullman for a week with multiple encounters with the restaurant, overall interestingly mixed. We generally paid 25-50% lower prices as an Accor Plus member so review might be more lenient.

Breakfast options & food quality in general is fine. Chicken Supreme at dinner was good & excellently presented. Desserts are lovely & not too overly sweet, how we like it. Great tropical feel & ambience around the pools & flaming torch lights.

However the steak game really needs improving - the lunch Black Angus, while cooked ok, was a cheap cut with lots of fat & tendon & the kitchen forgot the gravy. Also presented a bit like a pub meal than something befitting a 5 star hotel. Steak issues don't seem isolated, with another patron at dinner on a separate night needing to talk to the manager about the poor quality of his Wagyu rump.

Prices on the dinner menu online also don't match the onsite menus & need updating.

Staff was also a bit mixed. Highest marks to server Alain at dinner with his excellent service, & Sidra, the young lady running lunch at the Lagoon Bar all by herself!

Unfortunately some of the other servers seem to be working tourists who definitely fall short of expectations for a 5 star hotel, & need more training. Specific issues to address - tables left waiting 10 min without menus or water until we had to flag someone down for them, forgetting to take drink orders on return, & one forgetting to provide any cutlery.

TL;DR - good but some areas fall short of a 5 star hotel; steaks & some staff...