Sails at Robe — Restaurant in Robe

If you make the effort to get to the picturesque coastal town of Robe in South Australia, it’s a rite of passage to order a lobster. Robe promotes itself as a hub of local fresh seafood for visiting tourists which makes for a rich quantity of choices in this little town. Sail’s at Robe in one such place where, if you’d like lobster, pre-ordering is well recommend. This is for two reasons: 1/ to ensure stock control; but more importantly 2/ on a Tuesday night, this restaurant, even at the early sitting, was full.

On that, my advice is to first study their menu online, there’s a great deal of wonderful options, make your reservation, let the team know your order and you’ll have a wonderfully pleasant evening. Half a lobsters comes one of three ways for around $95 accompanied by triple roasted smashed chat potatoes. You have a choice of for you lobster to be cooked natural with cocktail sauce, grilled with garlic butter or Thermidor, the lobster cooked in its shell with white wine, cream and topped with cheese.

We ordered two; the garlic butter and tried the Thermidor which was very complimentary to the flesh of the lobster. In addition we ordered a fresh and crisp salad consisting of shredded iceberg lettuce, dill, parsley, pear and cucumber with a subtle vinaigrette.

The restaurant itself is fairly conservative with plastic chairs and sticky wooden tables. There’s an outdoor dining area which in summer would be magical. It’s evident that no one is really here for the décor. The staff are friendly and intimately know their way around the menu but the hero, quite rightly, at Sail’s is the lobster. It’s rich, sweet with a slightly briny flavour. And it’s presented beautifully in a minimalist manner.

In addition, if you’re a dessert fan, Sail’s delivers some really tempting options for your consideration including a unique lemon curd tiramisu, a crème brûlée and a decadent chocolate fondant topped with a poached pear.

If you’re seeking an experience that engages your senses on a holiday treat , Sail’s on Robe is an absolute must. It’s too...

If I could give less than one star for service and Atmosphere I would - it was so terrible to feel that you go for an expensive meal and the staff treat you like you are unwanted & annoying

When I asked the waitress if I could have 2 more minutes to decide on my order I was clearly told “NO the kitchen will close so I need your order now” This is at 740pm

If you want to charge people for a high end meal and an enjoyable experience then the following would apply

Give people more than 2 minutes to order

Let people have an enjoyable drink (and it arrives) before you demand they order as the kitchen is closing (and no demanding)

Have the kitchen open longer than 8pm

Be polite - for staff to be so rude to people who are patrons is just unacceptable

Food came so quick we arrived at 730pm and kicked out by just after 9pm

I could write so much more…

What a disappointing experience but an expensive bill !

Pasta was tasteless and my husband asked - was there Chili as per on the menu ? Sour Waitress was unhelpful & rude - it certainly was not what was on the menu

Some meals were good ….but waitress and staff were so rude unhelpful it made the experience very unenjoyable

For an expensive restaurant it was really poor - dining is an experience not a rush so the kitchen can finish and staff can go home

What a joke …..sadly the joke was on us paying that much for a meal and we were rushed out in less than 2 hours !

My tip is go to the pub ….The Cally is worth a million on this place so go there as better food and great staff ! Oh yeah - and they are pleased at the pub...

If I could leave no star, I would. Dined here last time we were in Robe (group booking), spent approximately $1,000. Had a lovely experience, so we wanted to go again. Walked in last night (group of us again), only to feel unwanted by the owner Anna, who clearly did not want our kids there. When I asked her if this is a kid friendly restaurant, she responded, "if they're well behaved". We got up and left. When Anna asked my husband if we're leaving, my husband responded "yes, because I'm not interested in your attitude". Reading through the reviews on here, someone else said they experienced an unpleasant waitress also, I wouldn't be surprised if they're talking about Anna. When my husband spoke to Adam (Anna's partner) the following day, he too gave attitude. So glad we didn't spend our money there. We have dined in many restaurants, some high end, and never have we experienced such attitude from restaurant staff. If you decide to dine here, make sure you don't take your kids - their kids menu is just for show. We went across the street to the Caledonian where the staff were down to earth and very accommodating. I wonder how much money Anna & Adam's attitude has cost them. Very unprofessional restaurant owners, especially judging by their response to one of the other...