Above 8 Rooftop Bar & Lounge — Restaurant in Sydney

I attended Above 8 in early May. To say that I was disappointed would be an understatement. The Venue itself is really beautiful however the staff were very inexperienced and that really impacted our night. The DJ on the night was rude and played mind numbing music and when asked to play other tunes simple didn't not respond. I was at a 50th gathering and we had the cake and sang Happy Birthday the Birthday girl tried to give a quick thankyou to her guests, I asked the DJ to just turn down the music just while she spoke but instead he turned it up! So rude. When I complained to the manager on the night she replied "This wasn't booked as a Private Function" However, our 35 or so women were the only ones in the venue spending money there was no one else anywhere near where we were gathered. The food and drinks were expensive and the food was really bad $26.00 for a cheese burger, literally a bun with a meat paddy and cheese. And it wasn't even a good tasting burger. My table had pizzas and they were really ordinary under cooked and soggy. The wine we chose our waitress couldn't find we waited 1/2 hour or so only to be asked to pick another bottle. At the end of the night we had to pay by table as the bar closed after two hours and went to table service. Everyone was so over the lack of service and rudeness of the DJ that we decided to go downstairs to the Club part of the venue. The security guard at the lifts refused to let us go down there implying that we were all over the limit (impossible as you couldn't get a drink). I told him that I had had 2 drinks since 5pm and it was now 9.45pm but he insisted I had red eyes and was told to leave. The final straw was that when we had all paid for our bills and had left the venue the Birthday girl was called by the bar staff and told that someone hadn't paid for their table and that she needed to come up and settle the $315.00 bill which she did. I sent an email the next day as all the guest had paid and had proof of the payments made all with Credit Cards. I asked for copies of all the table bills which they sent and in fact they had charged the wrong people for the wrong tables and had absolutely no idea who had ordered what. I contacted the manager by email about this and told her about the stuff up and the overall nightmare of a night we had there. No refund was given to the Birthday girl and no explanation in regard to the lack of service/rudeness by the DJ or the security guard on that night. I WOULD NEVER GO BACK THERE! and will NEVER recommend...

Came here for 4 others for a birthday dinner. We ordered the Sweet Potato Crisps, Prawn and Avocado Salad, Panfried Crispy Skin Barramundi, Prawn and Pesto Pizza, XO E Granchio Pizza and Orecchiette Alfredo Pasta.

The Sweet Potato Crisps were thin and crispy, seasoned well, and had a nice guacamole to accompany it. The Prawn and Avocado Salad was very nice; all the ingredients were very fresh and the yuzu dressing was a very nice touch. The crumbed fried prawns were cooked perfectly, and both the avocado and mango were at the perfect ripeness for the salad. The Panfried Crispy Skin Barramundi was perfectly cooked, and it had great seasoning, crispy skin, and was complimented well by the sauce vierge. The Prawn and Pesto Pizza was tasty, the prawns and pesto went very well together. However, the XO E Granchio Pizza was a little disappointing, the flavours didn't quite work for our group (especially the XO sauce), and the spanner crab seemed a little unfresh as it had a very fishy taste. On the other hand, the Orecchiette Alfredo Pasta was probably the group's favourite dish - crispy pork crackles, perfectly cooked pork belly and al dente pasta, all with an amazing creamy sauce bringing it together. The whole group had enough to eat and we were all very satisfied at the end of the meal.

The service was not too long. Additionally, our waiter, Anthony, was friendly, funny and helpful; offering suggestions on what to order, checking in with us throughout the meal, and assisting us with photos. The atmosphere was good; nice decorations, waterview (apart from the carpark next door) and because the restaurant was not too busy, it was not too noisy.

Overall, this was a very enjoyable experience, with high quality food, and service comparable to fine dining. We only paid ~$32pp. I definitely recommend the Orecchiette Alfredo Pasta if you visit. We...

#HumiliatingExperience

I’ve visited the place few times and always considered this one of the nicer places in Hurstville, with good food, atmosphere, and service. However, today’s experience was beyond disappointing.

After finishing our food and drinks, we let the server know we were done and ready to leave. We waited about 10 minutes for the bill, but it never came, so we went to the bar and paid directly. A few minutes after leaving, while I was in the lift, the server approached running to me, I hold the lift for him and he said, “You’ve got to pay.” I informed him that I had already settled the bill, but he didn’t seem convinced and kept questioning me. I didn’t fully understand his last remark, so I repeated that I had already paid. His colleague then confirmed to him from behind that we had indeed paid, and he just walked off with a casual “Okay”—come onnn!!! no apology, nothing??.

What made the situation even worse was the way he approached me, almost as if I was trying to avoid paying. The tone, body language, and overall attitude. Being accused of not paying, especially in a public setting, was embarrassing and humiliating.

Things like this happen, and I totally understand that, but if you’re going to confront a customer over an unpaid bill, at least double-check first before approaching them, especially when they are companied by someone?? And if you do make an error, a sincere apology is the bare minimum, isn’t it?? This experience left a really bad impression!!! Very displeased!!! please do train the staff members to handle these situations as I’ve realised how humiliating this can be!!!!!!

I’d have given zero star after today’s experience but obviously 1 is minimum, so lets say it is for the food and the server with beard who got us water in the beginning,...