The Sand Bar & Bistro — Restaurant in Queensland

Mmmm, bit hard to score and comment. Paying a premium for a “bistro” (aka pub) meal on Fraser.

Sure plenty of pubs just across the straight (Hervey Bay) itemise food options for similar prices, maybe. But me thinks the quality here is what is lacking.

So, I think 3 stars is generous.

Between the 4 of us 2 had the special bangas and mash and some gravy. Good reports on that.

Another mate had a hard lived chook burger. Must have been off the same chook as my schnitzel, bit tough. I had pepper sauce (well that was what was ordered) I’m not sure what it was actually was other than a gravy sauce of some indescript flavour. I needed some moisture relief in any event.

Schnitzel served with fries, yes they were fries under seasoned. Came with salad (read lettuce [green] leaves of some description) and red onion and dressing. The description “salad” has fallen a long way.

The chook schnitzel, Bgr me if it had not been on fire 🔥 before being plated. It was tarnished with those nice burnt bits you like to see on a very slowly cooked brisket.

Pro, you’re not going to get an under cooked chook here 👍

I’m not even going to mention the cheesy garlic bread or the crispy (soggy and cold) cauliflower. I think if you get this far you might get the impression underwhelming.

Back again, no, not someone seeking punishment.

Tonight between the 4 of us 2 had prawn linguine (missus and I). Yummo. Certainly very nice.

Friends had vegetarian pizza, they say beaut too.

Lesson, on our experience, skip the chook.

Ohh, and I upped the rating to 4 stars...

Disappointed and Confused by Poor Communication. We recently visited this venue with three families, arriving well before the advertised 2:30pm closing time. Staff watched as we organised tables, set up high chairs, and collected menus. One family placed their order shortly before 2pm. However, when the remaining two families went to order at 2:05pm, we were abruptly told the kitchen was closed, despite the website indicating a 2:30pm closing.

When we raised this with the manager, he simply apologised and explained that management had recently decided to close the kitchen at 2pm, though online hadn’t been updated yet. At no point during the 10–15 minutes we were setting up were we informed we needed to order before 2pm.

As a result, two families—including young children—had to leave and find food elsewhere while the rest of our party stayed behind. For the sake of five minutes, we were left confused and disappointed. This kind of rigid, poorly-communicated policy makes us question the customer service priorities and business model here. A very...

Very popular spot in the island to eat and gets extremely busy. Long queue to order at peak times but there is a good variety on the menu to choose from. However prices are “island prices” so be prepared. When we ordered we were the first in a group of 4 others. We ordered only 2 simple meals however ours was the last to come out and everyone else in our party had finished theirs by then. While waiting, I did go to the counter to enquire if my buzzer was faulty and was told rather rudely that our meals were still being prepared and to just have patience. This was not appreciated 😠 As we bought our own supplies to the island, I think we’ll just stay in our accommodation and cook our own meals from now on. It’s really not worth the hassle of fighting to find a seat and then having to wait longer than expected...