The Watermark Townsville — Restaurant in Queensland

Average at best. Very disappointed as we have been here a few times and it's been really good. Not sure whether it was because it was a Saturday night on a long weekend and really busy but it's standard has definitely dropped. Hubby and I decided to go out for a very rare date night so we got a table for two and as soon as we walked up to the table the first thing I noticed was all the bits of a ripped up coaster under the table and the dirty chairs that still had food on them. The waitress looked scared (understand if she's new) but service was terrible. I asked the waitress if there were any specials she just said mmmm no and then awkwardly walked off. The menu is very unexciting and boring. Entree came out super fast in about 15 mins (fish tacos we shared, sorry didn't get a picture as we were starving, they were really nice and fish was really fresh). But the waitress took our plates as hubby had finished but I still had food on my fork about to take my last bite of our entree (my biggest pet hate, so unnecessary and makes people feel unwelcome and rushed and you should wait until everyone at the table is finished). Eager to get rid of the plates from the entree but took over an hour to get our mains. Drinks came out pretty fast but my wine glass was dirty.(I had the Italian Pinot gris and hubby had a beer. Wine was nice so when I went home I googled the bottle so I can buy it myself and to my disgust it's $13 a bottle from Dan's and that's exactly what I paid for my SMALL glass... I understand they have to mark up prices to make a profit but charging $55 for a bottle of $13 wine is atrocious). I had the lamb rump which was dry and overcooked and way too sweet with not enough puree underneath to balance it. The salad was very bland on the side as well with little to no dressing or flavour. Hubby said his gnocchi was ok but I have made him better (compliments to me, but why pay $35 for something I make better at home). Because it took so long for mains to arrive we unfortunately couldn't wait around for dessert as we had to leave to pick up the baby from the sitter. I didn't really hold hope for the dessert anyways if the rest of the evening was anything to go off. The general cleanliness and presentation of the restaurant has gone downhill. Service used to be amazing and now it's terrible. Food used to be worth the price you paid but now feels like a pub with fine dining prices which is a rip off. very disappointed. Don't think we will be returning...

When someone asks for a discount because of your stuff up, you don’t respond with “HA! YOU WISH!!”…

I went there a few weeks ago for my birthday along with 9 of my friends and family. The food was fantastic, I was raving about it to everyone at my table, and the drinks were the same. Delicious. However I still left with a bitter taste in my mouth.

My parents had organised a cake to surprise me, and I had no idea until my mother had to ask a staff member if they had accidentally given our cake to the table next to us. As it turns out they had. They wrote the wrong table number on the box but still wrote MY FULL NAME on the cake box, if the staff had stopped to think about the fact that the booking names didn’t match on both cakes this would never have happened. They took the cake away from the other table but only after they had put sparklers in it, sang the birthday song and started cutting up the cake that DID belong to the other table, which was full of children who might have been touching the cake with their hands after eating and touching who knows what else. Two people at my table have SEVERE seafood allergies, and we didn’t even get an apology from the staff for their mistake when two people from our table of ten couldn’t even enjoy the cake (including the person who actually paid for the cake) because of the risk associated with it considering there was seafood on the other groups table. When we were packing up and getting ready to pay, my mother politely asked the girl clearing our table if we would be getting a discount because of their mix up and the girl yelled “HA! YOU WISH!”, to which my mother responded with “yeah, I do, you stuffed up!”…

We were waiting to pay while some others from our table paid for their food when I noticed that the same girl who had just yelled at my mother was gossiping about us to another member of waitstaff behind the counter directly behind us. My mother asked someone else for a discount who we think was a manager and he did give us a small discount but that situation has left a bitter taste in our mouths, and none of us will ever be back. Fix your service, that was absolutely disgusting. The attitude and service we copped from the girl serving us was genuinely the worst we’ve ever had, she shouldn’t be working in customer service with an attitude like that if she can’t...

Our recent visit to Watermark Townsville in early January was deeply disappointing, especially as we were looking forward to returning after some time. Unfortunately, the experience fell short in multiple areas.

From the outset, the greeting we received at the door was cold and uninviting, setting a negative tone for the evening. When we ordered a Negroni—a classic cocktail any competent bartender should easily prepare—we were informed by the waiter that the bartender didn’t have the basic ingredients (gin, Campari, and sweet vermouth). This was baffling and unexpected for a venue of Watermark’s supposed caliber.

We opted for simpler drink orders, yet one drink—a simple orange juice—failed to arrive. After reminding the waiter, the juice was eventually brought out but was then spilled all over my guest. This lack of attentiveness and professionalism was shocking.

The food, when it arrived, was underwhelming and far from the quality we anticipated. The venue itself looks tired, and the staff appeared disengaged, leaving us feeling unwelcome and disappointed throughout the meal.

By this point, we had endured enough and decided to leave, settling our bill and heading to another restaurant along the Strand for dessert and coffee—a far more enjoyable experience.

Watermark Townsville has great potential due to its location, but the current state of service, quality, and ambiance leaves much to be desired. It’s clear the establishment needs significant improvement across the board to meet even basic expectations. Sadly, I cannot recommend it based on...