Belles Hot Chicken Barangaroo — Restaurant in Sydney

It was 7 of us and 5 of us wanted $30 unlimited wings and 2 wanted to just order off the menu but the staff try to force them to have $30 unlimited wings else no one could have them which was completely unnecessary.

Spoke to the manager who was initially rude and stern saying he will only allow this time and we can't do this again as if we were committing a crime and made the situation very awkward and embarrassing.

I'm really not sure what the issue was. It's the same as 2 of my friends walking in separately but sitting with us. We were sharing a table with a random couple any way.

The wings took a while to come and my other 2 friends already had their food before we got our wings.

They only brought 3 trays of wings for 5 of us to share - I thought we get a tray each so was expecting 5 trays with 5 different flavours of wings. There were 8 wings in each of the 3 trays between the 5 of us.

And then we had to wait again for the second round of wings which again took a while to come. This time we're were lik 5 or 6 wings in the tray and they only brought 2 trays.

We paid $30 x 5 people for wings and got 3 trays of 8 wings and 2 trays of 5/6 wings. Essentially we paid $150 for 30 wings at most plus drinks.

They sell 8 wings for $26!! That means for $150 we could have got at least 45 wings. That was sooo not worth the money!!! They did give us 2 trays for chips and 2 trays of coleslaw too which was nice of them.

The only good thing was that they had best chicken wings I've had in a long while and the people I was...

It's so interesting that a restaurant boasting such a low standard of food, drink and service such as Belles Hot Chicken has the capacity to afford the rent of such a uselessly large venue. I am wondering a lot of how they are still in business.

Obvious issues with our meals included the room-temperature chicken evidently fried 5-6 hours before service, major inconsistencies between the same meal, and a general stale texture consistent across all 20 dishes we ordered. It was borderline comedic to see two people order the same dish (mac and cheese) to be presented with two different dishes, one resembling squashed banana bread and the other swimming in full cream milk. I begin to think about how such a small menu can have so many, albeit shameful, variations.

Lastly, I have been thinking a lot on how underprepared staff at this venue are for having a customer. A restaurant with an array tables that seat upwards of 30 aimed at big groups seems really comedic when coupled with staff usually crossing their fingers that no one comes in that day. In review, the only parts of our customer service experience that we weren't belittled like year two students or spoken to in a condescending manner were delivered by the Me&U app on my phone.

If you are considering visiting this venue I would first ensure that you are not dining in a group more than two people, and everyone is comfortable being spoken to like a 9 year old.

I look forward to this restaurant turning into a grill'd in the next...

Nothing but good chicken here.

Located in the Barangaroo development Belles make tasty chicken drumsticks or wings in a variety of seasonings to suit any palate.

Usually each dish comes with 3 pieces.

Try the original Southern style or if you want to branch out a bit try the Paprika (Medium) flavour.

From there on in it's a matter of turning up the heat - flavour wise, with Hot, Really Hot and a favourite of mine, set to ignite the hair on your head - the appropriately named Really #*!?ing Hot.

If chicken doesn't float your boat - and I imagine there'll be some of you reading this saying "yep that's all good but I'm vegetarian or vegan" - you can select fish or mushroom.

There's also some great sides to choose from including the ever popular fries, coleslaw, pickles (how can you not like pickles) and the peculiar addition of mac and cheese - and I digress, last I went to dinner here my friend ordered the mac and cheese, I mean come on!

Finally the sauces. What visit here would be complete without ordering dipping sauce for your chicken - or fish or mushroom.

A selection of 5 great sauces at $2 a pop, or 3 for $5. Personally, give the blue cheese, ranch and mississippi comeback a go.

You can also get soft drinks, beer and wine whilst you order.

Overall a great venue with some undercover dining, but watch for those...