Bank Bazaar and Bank Bar & Café [with outdoor garden café] — Restaurant in Sydney

What a brilliant 2022 re-opening. Huge congrats to Cherilyn and team for the beautiful "make-over" to the historical Bank Bazaar. It is sure to become a real gem in Richmond/Hawkesbury, NSW, for both locals and “big city” day travellers.

Food? Nice!!! (thank goodness). The Bank Bar and Cafe serves a full breakfast and lunch menu but no dinner yet. Cafe-style, simple and inexpensive but produced with flare and flavour from the local Chef. The is also a professional barista who delivers on the drinks-side. Coffees, smoothies, teas, hot chocolates. Effort put into both taste and presentation. Little extra touches like a flame and stand the owner brought out to our table in the gardens to put under my mum’s tea pot made me smile.

Presentation of the entire establishment is worth a visit alone. The main inside area has a classic high ceiling, chandeliers and is warm as toast through this chilly winter. There are a couple of rooms/spaces with high end “market” shopping (ugg boots and Aussie nick knacks, candles, designer hand bags and Italian scarves)

If you enter from the front on the main street, you walk past a long gourmet dessert bar to reach your table so good luck there!! Break away private dining and tea rooms are now set up for High Teas and parties. The new waitering/table staff are also locals, attentive and super friendly. And as of last Saturday, I was delighted to see a bar set up in the courtyard for cocktails and more. (There also an accessible side/back entrance into the courtyard and main inside area)

Regular Live Music Saturday is a treat. Nothing quite as magical than to sit in the rich, calm Bank Bazaar Gardens in the sunshine with a very hot coffee (or cold cocktail), listen to the live music and enjoy a quality meal.

Full disclosure: my sons' Cooper and Spencer aka The Turnbull Brothers now perform every third Sat of the month (11-2pm ), with a line up of other professional local musos that vary week to week. Brilliantly eclectic mix of music from modern easy listening contemporary guitar/voice artists, through to a violinist and even a beautiful harpist. And of course, the Frank Sinatra/Michael Buble voice of Spencer T. So huge thanks to this venue for supporting local musos and bringing live music back to all our lives.

There is loads more room for this business to grow; apparently there is a much bigger kitchen for the Chef on its way and even plans to open the Bank Bar and Cafe on Sat nights and all day Sundays at some stage. (Currently open Monday - Sat). Can't wait for that. For now, the staff is new. Everything is new. There was even a new basket of blankets on hand last Sat for anyone sitting outside. So please come visit as this business gets off the ground, and be generous as you give the lovely team a chance to bring it all together. This place will be something special for many years to come.

Despite my connection through Sat music, this review is very much from the heart. I have always felt that this beautiful building and unique courtyard in the heart of Richmond has just had so much untapped potential - and crying out to be noticed. It’s delightful to see it coming back to life again in such a wonderful, community-centred way with owners who are willing to go that extra distance to deliver for all of...

Sorry to say this but I am not a happy customer. I invited my best friend to BankBazaar hotel to have lunch with her kids. I chose this location based on its interior and exterior appearance and the ability to enjoy lunch under the shelter of trees. It is also a convenient place for kids as there is a small playing area too.

This was my second visit to that restaurant and the first experience was nice and I was well treated. Unfortunately, the second visit was the worst experience that I have ever had at any restaurant. I decided to call BankBazaar and reserve a table and asked them to arrange a kid's chair with the intention of having pre-preparation to make my friend feel more welcome and comfortable. But it seemed to be that there wasn't any pre-arrangement though I called them before I went to the place. One waiter who is a boy came to our table and was gentle and he treated us very well. He arranged the kid's seats and took our order as well. We ordered food and drinks for the kids and were served on time and it was good. But my friend ordered creamy chicken soup and I ordered crispy skin salmon fillet. After waiting for about 20 minutes we were told that creamy soup isn't available and we tried to order a chicken burger. It was served in a shorter time but unfortunately the taste of the bun was not at a satisfactory level, it was too dry. Afterward, my friend asked the waiter (who was not the first one) to refill the pepper bottle. The waiter treated us in a very unpleasant, impatient (and I suspect he was annoyed) way and it made me feel really embarrassed in front of my friend. I notice sound like "Chick" from him which implies that he does not wanted to treat us very well. After another 30 minutes the same boy came and let us know that Crispy skin salmon was not available. I was very disappointed after getting to know about this as they took such a long time to communicate this to me. Then I ordered chicken Caesar salad. That dish was also not at a satisfactory level. I had wanted to treat my friend very well by bringing her to this restaurant but I was really upset that I was unable to do so.

Sorry to write this as a customer but I would like to express that it made me really upset and uneasy to face my friend regarding the treatment of that one waiter, and the delay in being told that the initially ordered items were out of stock. From my point view, I would like to suggest that in future, please be well organised and keep advising your staff to be gentle to the customers and treat them well as we all are paying with our own hard-earned money to get your service, not to have our time wasted and be treated rudely, like an inconvenience, while being served...

I have been coming to the Bank Bazaar since it opened many years ago.It was a unique oasis in an elegant building in the heart of Richmond with a beautiful outdoor garden setting and lovely antiques. Since the original owners sold the business in has deteriorated. The wait for food - even on a slow day - was ridiculous. The garden setting has been destroyed with outdoor tents which I hope are not permanent. It was untidy with brooms, ladders, tarps and service areas visible to public. It is the small details that made this place aesthetically pleasing and special and they have now gone. You cannot run a business on the cheap - you need to employ staff, have a menu on offer that you can service quickly so there are not long delays and keep the spirit of the place the same. It is a heritage building - locals want the shade of the tree, to see the tree not canvas tent roofing and have the gardens tended and fountains running. Keep the original staff - they have the relationships with locals. I wish I knew it was for sale I would...