Felix — Restaurant in Sydney

My boyfriend and I dined at Felix two weeks ago, but only now do I have the time to write this feedback. This was my second time returning to Felix because I truly enjoyed the food and service during my first visit. My boyfriend, on the other hand, was visiting for the third time because he really loves the place. When we arrived, a gentleman in a suit who was pouring wine for other guests noticed us and asked how many people we were. We said two, and he pointed us to an outdoor table. Just as we sat down, a staff member named Ukjni (not sure if that’s the correct spelling) in a black dress came over, pulled out the chair roughly, and raised her voice at us, asking, “Why are you sitting here?” We told her that the man in the suit (we pointed him out) had directed us to this table. She sighed and, without a greeting or welcome, simply said, “Wait a moment, the table isn’t set up yet.” We were still happy to wait — assuming she was just having a rough day due to how busy the restaurant was. But then it got worse. She came back and asked if we wanted tap, still, or sparkling water. We said “tap.” A different staff member came over and asked again, and we again said “tap.” But then Ukjni came back with a bottle of still water and, in front of another female staff member, loudly said, “What is this??” with a threatening and aggressive tone. We were frozen in shock. She continued confronting us, accusing us of ordering still water when we had clearly said “tap.” We replied that we were very clear about asking for tap water. She didn’t stop — kept insisting we had asked for still. People around us started looking over at our table. We then told her, “We definitely asked for tap, but if you’ve already brought the still water, that’s okay, we’re happy to pay for it.” Instead of letting it go, Ukjni continued arguing as if she needed to win the fight. At this point, my boyfriend went quiet, but I spoke up and said: “Hey, we’ve already agreed to have the still water and we’re happy to pay for it. If you already brought it, that’s okay — just please calm down.” She then left without another word. Later I asked another staff member for her name and was told it was Ukjni — again, I may not have the exact spelling right. She was an Asian woman in a black dress, and I would describe her vibe as ABC (Australian Born Chinese), though that’s just a guess. Everything I’ve shared here is 100% true, and I have the bill from that night as evidence. If management wants to verify, I am happy to provide it. I believe your restaurant has cameras that likely recorded both the audio and video of this incident. Felix was on the top of our list in Sydney — both of us work in hospitality and have recommended this place to many friends. But this will be the last time we come here, and we will no longer refer anyone else — because we don’t want them to have the same experience we did. A final word to management and to Ukjni herself: We fully understand how stressful the F&B industry is, especially on weekends. We sympathise. And we know that losing two customers won’t hurt Felix — your food is excellent, and the restaurant is always busy. But because the food is so good, it’s a real shame that one person’s poor service left us questioning the professionalism and training standards of your team. I genuinely feel sorry for those who raised and trained Ukjni — if this is the level of hospitality she brings to such a respected establishment, it reflects very poorly not only on her but on whoever thought she was ready for front-of-house service. If Ukjni takes a moment to reflect on her behaviour that day, with a calm mindset, I believe she’ll understand why we...

Was so looking forward to another winner from the Merivale Group being a huge fan of Mr Wongs, The Establishment and The Quarter Deck (Narooma on the south coast of NSW) but….

We arrived to Little Felix (next door) for a pre-dinner drink but it was closed for a private function. So went into Felix early to sit at the bar in advance of our 6pm dinner booking for two (more on this later).

We both ordered the chicken liver pâté and zucchini flowers. The flowers were delicious. But there was a subtle but definite taste of bile/vomit from the pâté. We had couples on either side of us so didn’t want to make a scene. We just wrote it off to bad luck. Google it. It happens.

Mains were great - cod, gnocchi, green beans and fries. Washed down with a lovely Pinot Noir.

Onto dessert…

We were told the table needed to be back in 15 minutes. It was 7.20pm. We’ll get back to that.

We ordered a crème brûlée and profiteroles. Meh. The profiteroles were freezing! Made with ice cream (not cream or vanilla custard - okay, maybe..) and a hard pastry. The brûlée was just okay. No great crack of caramelised top, no flavoursome crème.

So $456 later, we left at 7.35pm as asked. Never saw that requirement on the booking confirmation.

Got back to the hotel and decided to email Felix with my concerns.

The Maître D’ did call the following day. But I was not available. Called again on Sunday. Impressive. I returned the call.

I was asked if I had eaten pâté of that stature previously. Well, yes I had. In Paris on a number of occasions and in other excellent restaurants. Apparently, we were the only people to complain. I offer an alternative, maybe the only ones who couldn’t believe the awful taste! I thought it was patronising. Being told to vacate in 15 mins at 7:20pm… you see that was because we arrived early to the bar and checked in. They had us arriving at 17:35pm. But we sat to dinner at 6pm. Our mistake? Doing what we were asked and that was to check in when we arrived. The response - hmmm… “waiting staff are probably not the best to deliver that message to our diners.” Oh okay. But we felt under undue pressure to get out. And the profiteroles… they can be made with ice cream and the pastry is a modern twist. Oh okay. But it doesn’t work! As my dear old mother would have said, “he had an answer for everything”. No sense that they may have got something wrong.

I was listened to for sure. But the default position was that we were just wrong. No apology or understanding but an offer to come back next time and give Felix an opportunity to do it all again. Yeah. Nah.

If I want a great Merivale experience, I’ll go back to Mr Wongs,...

We visited Felix to celebrate Valentines Day and found the overall experience quite enjoyable. Upon arrival, we were provided with the option to dine either inside or outside. We noticed that inside was quite loud and stuffy hence we decided to sit outside for a more intimate experience. We also noted that sitting outside did present minor challenges in terms of getting served given the seats were facing away from the restaurant.

We decided to go for four entrees and one main as we wanted to try a wider variety of dishes. For entrees, we ordered the beef tartare, chicken liver pâté, duck terrine and pink snapper crudo. The standouts for us were the beef tartare and in particular, the chicken liver pâté. The beef tartare was prepared by a lovely waitress who brought over a trolley of condiments and proceeded to mix all the ingredients in front of us which was a wonderful experience. The tartare was extremely fresh, well-balanced and had a lovely texture. The chicken liver pâté was exceptionally rich and creamy and wonderfully accompanied by the acidity of the currant relish and buttery brioche. This is a must try dish in our books!

For mains, we ordered the Tournedos Rossini wagyu tenderloin. This dish took more of the simplistic route to let the steak shine. The wagyu was exceptionally tender as we expected given the price point. The foie gras paired wonderfully with this dish, as it was extremely rich, creamy and enhanced the flavour profile. Overall, this was a great dish from a taste perspective, however we felt that the price wasn’t reflected in the dish.

We also ordered a side of truffle fries as no French steak is complete without some French fries! This was an exceptional side, filled with lots of flavour. The fries were wonderfully crispy and perfectly seasoned, and the truffle plus parmesan combination was a classic crowd pleaser. The portion size was generous for the two of us, evidenced by us struggling to finish the dish towards the end.

For dessert, we ordered a chocolate tart and a rum baba. The chocolate tart had a strong dark chocolate flavour and this was paired well with the acidity of the yoghurt sorbet, which cut through the richness of the chocolate. The rum baba was a special and would be a hit for the rum lovers out there.

Overall, we had a lovely experience with authentic French foods and would love...