Bat Country — Restaurant in Sydney

we started our night down at the Coogee Palace - the hemmes'd version of the place. After one drink (chipped glasses for both of us) we thought sod this, we want something nice for an evening out. So up the hill we schleped. And it was utterly worth it. What a find.

The place was busy for a weeknight, but not unpleasantly so. The bar snacks are tasty (i love a good pickle), the staff are knowledgeable and friendly and the main attraction - the drinks are wicked. I drank a fantastic array of cocktails, ending in some kind of flaming witches brew served in pewter. My mate, rather tamely, stuck to wine. She knows her grapes, and she was particularly impressed with their short but interesting wine list - including the bubbles.

Maybe it was just because the Palace was so awful, but Bat Country rules and has replaced all those achingly hip york st bars in...

I took my family of 8, ranging in age from 17yrs to 72yrs, to Bat Country last Friday for breakfast and then again that night for drinks and dinner. In short, we all agreed it was a terrific. Its a small, hospitable venue with quirky decor (all Hunter S Thompson related), friendly staff and a great sound sytem. You can talk and hear your companions while they play some killer tunes in the background. Everything we ate was excellent and we complimented the Owner/Chef both times. Favourites included the truffle scramble eggs & the pancakes for breakfast and the calamari and choritzo pie for dinner. Finally, the cocktails were the bomb. My 70 year old mother loved the Rolling Stone Rose and my mother-in-law the San Juan Slipper. The fire show that comes with Destros Blazer was a show in itself. Do yourself a favour and visit...

Food and drink is ok - they’ve only got two beers on tap and it’s from the same brewer. Bit of variety wouldn’t hurt. Ambience and location is great but service level of staff is atrocious. ‘Table service’ in name and name only - I don’t think they really understand the level of service and frequency you need from your staff when doing table service. Place looks run by 21yo’s who have little concept of customer service, and we had a server flat out ignore us as she walked past when we tried to order another drink, but all of a sudden they’re on the ball when you’re leaving and it’s time to pay the bill. A decent place let down by staff who want to do the...