Fish at The Rocks — Restaurant in Sydney

Our first meal here was so scrumdillyumptious that, on our way back to the hotel, we made reservations for the next available night (Thurs first, then Sun).

So if you’re looking for a cosy little restaurant representing the best that australian seafood has to offer, I’d highly recommend you make reservations of your own!

But… because we had one meal there that was ‘stellar’ whilst the other was just ‘pretty good’, here are some points we learned from our experience.

Daily Specials:

If it’s available on their list of specials, their seafood chowder is superb- it felt homely and heartwarming, yet tasted refined and delicate- it was just delish. Both my wife and I wanted more after finishing our bowls, and it was the one dish we were sure we wanted to order again.

But alas, on our second night, it was not available, so we opted for their seafood broth instead. Sadly, that wasn’t as compelling. That’s not to say it was bad (it was still chockful of fresh seafood) but the soup base kinda confused me, with a flavour profile caught somewhere inbetween an Italian zuppa di mare and a Thai tomyum.

Takeaway- if you like to start your meals with a heartwarming soup and the seafood chowder isn’t available, instead of the seafood broth, maybe pick the Seafood Pie and let them know you’d like to share that for your appetizer. Which brings us to…

The Seafood Pie:

Simply put, their seafood pie is delish! It might not look very compelling for $40-odd dollars in photos, but as you chip away at the buttery filo pastry and uncover a lightly creamed medley of fresh seafood, I’m sure you’ll think it worth every penny.

Crustacean Platter (mix) vs Grilled Scampi or Moreton Bay Bugs alone

Whilst their menu offers a Crustacean Platter for Two, it isn’t a hard and fast rule, and you can actually order a halved portion (which portion wise, would be ideal for sharing, alongside another main like the stuffed barramundi or seafood pie for a party of two).

This is what we did the first night, and I would recommend it over any individual grilled seafood main. Why? With the Platter for One, you get perfectly grilled scampi, prawns, bugs and lobster (enough for a halve each) alongside a mini salad, fried chips and an accompanying assortment of dips.

On the other hand, if you choose for a mono-type grilled crustacean (like we did the second night when we chose just the bay bugs), you don’t really get more seafood, but rather, just less variety, and you’d miss the accompanying chips and particularly for me, the cajun spiced butter dip. Considering their similar price (Platter for One vs either the Grilled Bugs or Scampi), I think the Platter is just more satisfying.

Alright, this review has probably been overly lengthy. If you have the chance to dine here, I hope you enjoy it as much as my...

Was looking forward to the experience after reading the Google reviews but all I can say is that I am very disappointed, and so was everyone in our party. First, we sat down at 630 pm for dinner. We are told that the table is reserved after us for 8pm - I get it, they are trying to run their business. Then the starters took 45 minutes to come through, because of some delay in the kitchen. Then one presumably manager approached us to apologize and said: 'If it were up to me, this wouldn't happen'. Pretty rude, and not to mention as a restaurant manager, it is up to you! Eventually got our main courses more than an hour after we sat down. Fish was really overcooked. Everything else about the food was absolutely unremarkable at best, plain mediocre at worst. Also there was one lady, presumably the owner, just walking around the restaurant and chatting to customers. She never came to see us, despite the fact that we were the table facing issues (delays from kitchen...). Also she was drinking wine while working, walking around and working behind the counter - pretty unprofessional. Never received an apology for the food coming so late, and the manager rushing us to finish because there was another party coming after us. Mediocre food, horrendous service. I do not understand the...

Went with my wife and brother to celebrate a birthday. I was going to go to an RSL for a Buffet dinner (Bankstown) but I opted for this as once we walked past outside and my wife said let’s come here some day. I wasn’t looking for value for money, but I anticipated exceptional service and a wonderful ambience. I found neither. The owner/waiter didn’t crack one smile throughout and didn’t even say thank you to us at all. Yet, he had the hide to present me with the keypad and asked if I wanted to contribute a tip. I was displeased that I paid a small tip but he caught me off guard and my instinctual response was to avoid conflict or even a negative feeling. As for the food, it tasted okay but it was embarrassingly little. The worst part of it all was my wife asking later to drop by McDonalds to get a small supplementary meal. She wasn’t feeling comfortable to ask for a second main given the original main was half of what an entree should be. It costed nearly $230 (small tip included) all in all, and this could have paid for 3 persons to have unlimited buffet meals with bottomless drinks twice over at Bankstown RSL or wherever else. Was left feeling very disappointed….. also surprised that there are people out there with money to throw away… so much for the...