Eastbank Cafe.bar.pizzeria — Restaurant in Sydney

Online reviews about this venue are mixed at best with a score of 3.8/5.0. Anyway given it’s on Groupon and location offers the Harbor Bridge 🌁 view we have decided to give it a go. And post-dining experience is largely in line with those Google reviews. There you go. $99.95 for two 2️⃣ offers a shared entree, main each, dessert 🍮 each and a drink 🥃 each. Take a seat 💺 indoor to avoid high UV at 18:00 🕕. How can I forget to book 📕 a time at 19:00 🕖 to avoid UV? We largely missed out the Harbor Bridge 🌁 view by sitting 🪑indoor with only a peep 🐥 of the bridge 🌁. Ordered a red wine 🍷 and Coke Zero 0️⃣. Both are ordinary and standard. I give it 3/5. Shared a tomato 🍅 bruschetta, portion of which is so meager. It is clearly not something you would expect from this price and this venue. And tomatoes 🍅 are not fully marinated or cured which taste 👅 a bit raw. 2/5 in afraid 😱. Main course largely makes up 🔝 for the shortfall of the entree. Both ordered chicken 🐔 scallopini. Size is generous and flavor is aromatic with tender texture, which I quite enjoy 😉 but my eating 🥣 partner is fussy about it. Well I can only speak for myself, can’t I? In my view it deserves 4/5. Move on for dessert 🍮. A tiramisu and a panna cotta, both of which look 👀 delicious 🤤 for me. Yet again my counterpart thinks tiramisu tastes weird. Well, we are all fussy 😩 in our own ways, aren’t we? I’d happily give it 4/5. Online reviews do mention service quite a bit. One of those that strikes me is that the waiters seem to work under penalty with not a single smile 😊 on their face, which proves to be quite true in my observation. You would think 🤔 with this price, this location and this class service would match those of five 5️⃣ star ⭐️ restaurants. Unfortunately it’s very much a yum cha style, or Jetstar service. That is, staff drop the plates in front of you and hardly spare a word of greeting. It’s pretty much like 👍 bang ❗️ bang ❗️ bang ❗️. Here’s what you ordered. Just eat. I have no time to waste on you. Even McDonald’s can offer more smiley 😊 faces. Anyway it doesn’t bother me. I’m more of person 🧍 of substance than form. 2/5 is fair in my opinion. Overall it’s a mixed experience with some upside and some downside. I’d give it 3.5 out of 5 just to align with the online rating. Will I go back again? Probably not. $50 pp isn’t a big deal but unless they improve their menu it doesn’t give you the loudest bang ❗️...

Extremely Disappointed – Unprofessional Behaviour and Poor Service

We visited Eastbank Café today, 1/05/2025, because we had guests visiting us from another city and wanted to show them a lovely experience in Circular Quay. Sadly, it was a complete disappointment—and honestly, quite embarrassing for us to have brought our guests there.

We used a prepaid Groupon voucher for four people (around $190), expecting a nice lunch in a premium location near the Opera House. Instead, we were met with rudeness, unprofessional service, and poor-quality food.

The waitress (a Chinese lady) did not greet us warmly—no smile, no basic courtesy. It felt like we were being judged for using a voucher, and her attitude remained dismissive the entire time. One of us asked where the bathroom was and was told to go to the train station because the restroom was “for customers only”—even though we were customers. Later, we asked for a spare spoon to share dessert and were rudely told “no.” We also asked for chilli sauce, which never came. We didn’t feel comfortable enough to follow up because of the staff’s attitude.

Meanwhile, a male staff member was walking around outside trying to get people to come into the restaurant, making strange noises to scare away birds. This kind of behaviour felt cheap and out of place for such a high-profile location.

One of our friends, who joined us but wasn’t eating lunch due to fasting, was told she had to order a main meal or sit at another table. She offered to have coffee or a salad, but the waitress refused and told her to move. We were shocked by this.

The food wasn’t great either—undercooked pasta, bland bruschetta, and average presentation. Drinks and dessert were okay, but that’s about it.

We were all so upset that I couldn’t even enjoy my food. I couldn’t even look at the waitress because of how rude she was. She didn’t wear a name tag, so we couldn’t even report her properly.

This was honestly one of the worst dining experiences I’ve ever had in the CBD. It’s a shame because we were hoping to create a nice memory with our guests, and instead, we left feeling embarrassed and disappointed.

I truly hope management reads this and reflects on how this level of service is unacceptable—especially in such a beautiful and...

RUDE NEW BOSS

Anytime we visit Circular Quay, we always sit at this restaurant. On previous visits, we were welcomed by a nice gentleman, around 40-45 years old, who I believe was Italian. He greeted us in a warm and friendly manner every time

But today, we had an unpleasant experience with the manager, who appeared to be of Asian descent. We were a group of seven, and I asked for a table where we could all sit together. I pointed to the tables I preferred, but she insisted that only the middle tables could be joined. I said ah okay so these tables cant be joined, she responded with a harsh attitude, saying, “I told you, we don’t join those tables. I didnt say anything and I was like okay

I decided to accept the middle table and went back to confirm, but when I tried to speak to her, she completely ignored me. I said, “Excuse me,” and when she finally stopped, she refused to even look at me while I was talking. Her rudeness for no reason left me upset, and I asked, “Can you look at me when I’m talking to you?”

At this point, I spoke to a waitress, who said she couldn’t help because the manager was in charge. The manager then rudely interjected, saying, “I’m the boss here, you have to talk to me.” Frustrated, we thanked the waitress and decided to leave.

We went next door to another restaurant, where we were treated much better. This place lost seven loyal customers that day, as we used to visit regularly in groups of 5-6 people.

We will never return as long as that rude so called “boss” remains there with such an attitude. I’m not saying this to have her fired, but she definitely needs to learn how to speak to people with respect, like the kind Italian gentleman who welcomed...