City Extra 24 Hour Restaurant — Restaurant in Sydney

If Willy Wonka Made Mulled Wine in a Cough Syrup Factory

Let me begin by saying mulled wine is one of my all-time favourite drinks. I’ve worked in bars for over six years and made it countless times, so I know exactly how it should taste: warm, spiced, a bit sweet, and comforting—like a hug in a mug. What I got at City Extra was less “hug” and more “aggressive dental bill.”

The mulled wine here? Imagine if Willy Wonka had a sugar rush and decided to invent a new flu medication. That’s what it tasted like. It was so sweet, I could hear my pancreas sobbing. It had the thick, syrupy consistency of something you’d be prescribed for bronchitis, not something you’d expect to enjoy with a scenic view of the harbour. I genuinely thought they’d mixed it with melted red Skittles and regret.

Naturally, I mentioned this politely to the waitstaff. Enter: Anna, the manager, who swept in with the confidence of someone who’s clearly never tasted actual mulled wine and declared, “That is how mulled wine tastes.” No room for discussion, no curiosity about our feedback—just a flat-out denial of reality. I was half-expecting her to throw in, “And the earth is flat too, by the way.”

To be clear: we were polite, we were respectful, and we were met with the customer service equivalent of “tough shit.” It was honestly baffling. The whole experience felt like being gaslit by a Christmas market knock-off.

To sum it up: If you enjoy sugar-laced disappointment served with a side of smug dismissal, City Extra is your place. If you enjoy mulled wine that actually tastes like mulled wine… run. Fast. Preferably to literally any other establishment that understands that hot Ribena is not a...

I did an UBER EATS order from City Extra on 1/2/2024… Very average Spaghetti Bolognaise/Garlic Bread. $33 for large spag bol, not worth the price. The meat was average quality/barely any celery or carrot in the pasta sauce/the pasta was below average pasta used. Pasta tasted doughy. The bolognese as said, had no tomato bolognese sauce flavour. No flavour, a weird sort of taste whatever herbs were used, was basically just beef mince on pasta. The garlic bread was hopeless. Poor quality butter/basically zero garlic on the toast(look at pics below)/no herbs on top. It was basically just butter on white toast, the bread used wasn’t good quality.. Only thing they got right was making the garlic bread well toasted. It was laughable for them to say garlic bread($7 defo waste of money). Butter was toasted on both sides which made it fatty. Also in the Spag Bol, way too much pasta and not enough meat sauce. Definitely not worth $33. I have had much better Uber Eats pasta orders from other places for $20-$25. I have ordered their rump steak before it was okay. But I won’t be going back to City Extra for a while, unless they change their bolognese sauce(change the meat/the sauce recipe/and the pasta used). The garlic bread needs to change totally to(the butter used was to salty and fatty/actually add garlic to the bread or much more than in my order/don’t butter bread both sides/and add some herbs eg parsley and other green herbs). Very disappointing dining experience. Below average all round. This restaurant has potential it’s been around for yrs, I hope they improve their garlic bread and spaghetti bolognaise, otherwise I have no plans to order from here for a long...

As the waitress seated us at the front area, the beauty of the harbour and the lush warm sun rays is inescapable, so the mood was already established and it seemed nothing can go wrong. To share, we ordered the fish ‘n’ chips and that bread with the fancy stuff on top. Everything was delivered with a smile. 12 minutes later, the platter was set, and I wondered, can the food compete with the ambience? The fancy bread was my first pick. It seemed kinda cute with all the colourful garnish toppings. I tasted it and..... it was a delightful :) It was the fishes turn. Could it compete? Unfortunately, it lacked of flavour and the experience dipped. Until suddenly, the waitress asked, ‘Hey, is everything ok?’ with a delivery of soul and the ever present smile. The moment became clear. Surrounded by the suns rays, I was transfixed by her gaze. I questioned myself, is this love at first sight? Who is she? Did god deliver this angel to this realm? What for? Is there an ultimate purpose? 20 minutes later, the meal was finished. My friend went to pay the bill, and I was still seated. A few minutes passed and I was unsure where she went. I walked into the restaurant puzzled as of her location. The holy waitress immediately noticed my confusion and informed me she was in the bathroom. Jesus. This waitress is a godsend. I shall conclude this review by stating this, I don’t do drugs but damn, that was such a dopamine experience. Now if you excuse me, I’m gonna go play...