Azul Moroccan & Spanish — Restaurant in Sydney

Hi I live in Mosman and this is my neighbourhood, I'm a local to your cafe. I don't go every day but I do visit the place once in a while, mostly weekends with friends and family. This morning I went for a run to the Spit reserve with a friend, who isn't a local. When we finished I asked him if he wanted to have a coffee or breakfast, he said he could not eat much after the exercise but he was happy to have a coffee. I took him to my local cafe and I approached a member of staff very politely and asked if I could have a coffee with my friend at a table, he said no, only take away. I found this rude but you know what, I'm also a businessman and I fully understand they can make $30 per head at a table of four and the business needs to maximise weekends as a main source of business. Completely understandable except the cafe was half empty, and I expected from the manager a more professional way of handling the situation. He could have said something such as, guys I'm happy for you to take a table but Sundays is a busy period for us for brunch and lunch, please take this empty table for 10-20 minutes but if I get a family for lunch, would you mind if I take it back? I'm certain that if that was the case we would have finished the coffee by then anyway. My guest, my friend, was shocked. I explained the situation to my wife and my mother in law are also very frequent users of the premises when we go kayaking, etc. We have decided not to support this local cafe with friends and family, due to very poor management of the situation. Hopefully this helps the owner to have a conversation with the employees and create a better solution to circumstances described as above. Kind...

This restaurant was one of my favourites hence we visited for Father’s Day today, it was a glorious beach cafe serving up great seafood with even better service, unfortunately not anymore! After waiting two hours all we had received was an appetiser and food for the kids, all served separately. When the main course eventually arrived after nearly 2.5 hours, the fish was salty and dripping with oil, we left it. When we complained about how long we had been waiting we were told “it’s not McDonalds”, we concur, we would consider McDonalds a higher end dining experience with better service compared to that dished up at Plonk. As a result of the 2hr 45 min wait (we didn’t bother waiting for desert) with young children we were told half the bill would be waived. Adding insult to injury we were charged for drinks that arrived at our table that we had sent back and only had the children’s meals deducted. When my wife explained that the proprietor had agreed to waive 50% of the bill when we went to pay (at the counter, we gave up waiting) she was laughed at and told she was not telling the truth. Please note, I am not one to post a review, this is the first one and probably the last, generally speaking I find the service in Australia exceptional and the food very high quality, despite a great view and an even better band, the service is not only dreadful it is rude and obnoxious and the food is very poor and overpriced. Sydney has an abundance of terrific restaurants, perhaps visit one of...

“Welcome home”… an honest warm welcome as we entered the wooden, boat-like reception area. Seated on the enclosed deck, overlooking the yachts at the Spit Marina with the afternoon sun sliding through the blinds, the Plonk team made our two families laugh and feel like the only guests in the establishment. The kitchen has taken the best of seafood with influences from Italy and the Levante to create simple but rewarding dishes. It is rare to find a restaurant whose staff are as confident in making recommendations from the menu (prawn linguine, just do it), for me that is a sign they know what they are talking about and are passionate about the customer experience. Our children (K-8 age range) were all spoken to kindly and with respect, being looked after with mains and desserts. All four boys walked happily away from the deck onto the small sandy beach while adults could finish coffees and chat. The desserts were beautiful, notably the knafeh (think baklava nest with creamy mousse, strawberries, petals, pistachios and divine rose water syrup), but the bijou creme brûlée was also delectable.

For a last minute Saturday lunch with friends, I was blown away and will return for another, different experience the next time. Next time I will put more money on the parking ticket machine so I can stay longer and avoid the parking fine i incurred! Then again, time well-spent with friends...