Forrester's — Restaurant in Sydney

While I love this pub, I don’t recommend going there for any big sporting event. We tried to book for the Matilda’s game, but they didn’t accept bookings of less than four people.. Fair enough! I arrived two hours before the game to make sure we got a table. It was lucky that I did, as while the pub was quite empty, there was only one table with no reserved sign on it - they’d left almost no tables for walk ins. Strange practice, I thought, but okay, got a table right in front of the biggest screen, happy days. Five minutes before the start of the game (6pm) the hostess came to deliver a reserved sign to our table, with 7pm on it. She apologised and was very nice, but what the hell? If the table was booked before I arrived, put the sign on the table earlier, so we could have known to go to a different pub. If it was booked after I arrived, why did you accept the booking? The table is taken - I think it’s terrible form to book a table out from under a paying customer, especially on an important game night. Regardless, it was obviously far too late to get a table at another pub, so I explained the situation to the hostess, and to her credit she created a table for us upstairs. While I appreciated her trying to help, the table she gave us was terribly situated and we the screen nearby was tiny and quite hard to see. For the second half we ended up going back downstairs and standing to watch, as the view and atmosphere was much better. The whole experience just left a really sour taste in my mouth and I didn’t understand why they would run the bookings in this way. Sad, as this was one of my...

Forrester’s is a great local hotel in Surry Hills, having been in the area since 1921, although the new renovations have been completed just a year ago in 2020. Whilst the building retains its old school charm, and inside the structures are the same but with updated and refreshed interiors. A stunning pastel colour palette for its wooden tones, the pub certainly has a lovely aesthetic. It is dimly lit inside making it feel intimate. We have tried to go a few times before but it’s pretty busy on weekends, so we visited late one Thursday night, securing a table easily. Head Chef of Forrester’s is Jon Barrios has developed a quality pub menu with American influence and food designed to share. We ordered the Free-Range Half Chicken, which was incredibly tasty, the chicken moist inside, roasted in lemon, chilli & oregano, w/yoghurt. We also enjoyed a Char-Grilled Wagyu Rump Steak with Forry’s butter 300g and a side of of the amazing crinkle cut fries. Honestly would return for fries alone! Take your fancy of the menu, whether it be barramundi, salad, a burger or even just some wings or empanadas, you’ll find something to suit your fancy. Our only criticism is that despite the meals being amazing, they are quite expensive for pub food. As it is a pub, it’s hardly surprising they’ve got a great range of drinks. With an extensive selection of beers on tap, wines and cocktails, the pub is great for a catch up over drinks with friends. The service was extremely welcoming and friendly and the food also came efficiently. We also liked the bistro did table service for both...

It's a cute location found in the suburbs of Surry Hills and not too far from the light rail. But that's where the positives end. My partner and I visited last night for dinner and drinks and when we went to order we were told to wait an hour for the kitchen to catch up with 'no promises' on being able to order by that hour. We figured we'd have some drinks (expensive, mind you) in the meantime and waited the full hour before ordering again. We'd ordered the Yorkie and sirloin steak which arrived fairly quickly after our order but disappointingly, my sirloin was cold. The salad consisted of just spinach leaves and there was a large helping of chips which were cold on the inside. The taste wasn't bad but given we'd waited an hour before ordering, we'd have hoped to receive hot food at the very least. The Yorkie was fairly average and a bit of a gimmick rather than a good interpretation of a Yorkshire pudding and with the dishes being $30 a pop - we expected more.

Shockingly the unisex bathroom does not lock properly. There is the turn to indicate vacancy but absolutely nothing to prevent the door from being pushed open by anyone attempting to enter which is a problem. I certainly understand alternative entry being needed for disabled or elderly patrons that may need to be checked on but surely that should not come at the compromise of every other patron's privacy?

The staff were fine but for the price and experience, we won't be returning. You're better off spending $30 on a...