The Rockley Pub — Restaurant in Rockley

Problems started as soon as we entered: my girlfriend booked a table for Saturday lunch.

The table we got was near a passage and as some other reviews state, the heater isn't enough. It was cold outside and our table was in the direct path of a cold air draft making the table unpleasant. We asked to seat on a table closer to the heater but the host explained restaurant was full. Fair enough.

Menu looked pretty mediocre, overpriced pub food (and I writing this from Sydney's Eastern Suburbs, the land of overpriced pubs). But we were already starving so we went on and ordered a house made focaccia and one of each of the specials of the day.

We started with the house made focaccia with humus. Focaccia was ok but it had transversal crust (ie crispy white) suggesting it was baked earlier in the day, sliced and heated under broiler prior to being served. Sort of a bummer really. Focaccia can be baked quite quickly and a fresh one would have bren a nice twist. Humus was ok.

After a good 40 minutes watching unappealing food heading to their tables while waiting for our dishes we asked the hostess if the food was on its way. It was just about to arrive. It turned out that "just about" must have some different meaning in that pub.

We eventually gave up waiting and asked for a refund. Manager (?) went to the kitchen and said food was literally on its way. Too little, too late.

Suffice to say, when processing the refund the bloke (manager?) literally took his phone out of the pocket to subtract the cost of the focaccia but refused to refund a glass of wine we left behind when we decided that we had waited enough.

The booked table? Guess? Was left empty throughout our full stay.

Save the fuel and take this place out of your list of places to visit. It may be linked to a famous name but it is not worth it. Had this be a pub anywhere else it would be shutting its doors...

A small group of us stayed at the pub last Saturday night. Our verdict? One of the cleanest friendliest Aussie country pubs in nearly 30 years of back road touring. Let’s clear one thing up right away - it’s a pub in the bush, not a Matt Moran city restaurant transplanted. Which is great. Yeah, he bought it and funded a big reno - hired some great staff - including the terrific chef Simon. So we just compared it to all the other country pubs and it’s a beauty. And if you’re travelling around we could do with more of these. Rockley is a great little village 1/2 way between Bathurst & Oberon. We’d stayed at the pub before. Pretty ordinary. We chatted to the locals drinking out the front and they all seemed really happy at the change. The menu is clever - all the usual pub standards - then a list of Chef’s Specials. A couple of us had the lamb shanks which got the thumbs up, I tried the pork cutlet with a poached apricot - brilliant. As was my desert - a stunning Burnt Basque Cheescake. The best thing about a burnt cheesecake is that the subtle charring provides a great counterpoint to the sweetness of the body of the cheesecake. The rooms were clean and fresh - a couple of us in Room 7 felt that it needed clothes hooks, and a mirror and rubbish bin. And the associated bathroom also needed a rubbish bin, hand soap and paper towels. There’s more renovations to come, but it’s on...

Unhelpful staff who were arrogant in not admitting to making an error, who would not apologise for making an error yet refunded me the money for the meal I ordered that didn't arrive in a fair and reasonable time. I was in a relatively sizeable group, I ordered a burger, after everyone had received their meals and there were 3 seperate enquiries during our time there about my meal not having been provided. I was informed by a staff member after the 3rd request that there is nothing she could do about it, and when I queried that response, her supervisor accused me of shouting. Which was BS. I had every right to respond, "what do you mean there is nothing you can do about it". BTW, I then asked for a refund for my non-existent meal which was made, my burger subsequently arrived but that was just before the group I was with had finished their meals and we were about to leave the pub. At no time during our time at the pub did any staff come to ask the group if everything was to our satisfaction. Hopeless! My wife had the burger she ordered and said it was nothing special, pic of her burger attached, a picture paints a thousand words...