Green Moustache — Restaurant in Sydney

Regrettably, we had a very poor experience at Green Moustache. After reading the incredible reviews, we had decided to venture out to North Sydney during our 1 week stay for the chance to do something a little outside of the norm for my Wife's 40th Birthday. On arrival, we were encouraged by the engaging decor, wonderful music, and what seemed to be a delighted crowd. After ordering our food and drinks, we were eager to dive in! We started with the handmade Burrata, which is a go to of ours. The portion size was incredibly meager, and overall the dish lacked seasoning, which unfortunately undermined the flavor and richness of the cheese. Nonetheless, we were eager to continue our meal with the Housemade Gnocchi and Lamb Rump - both of which sounded incredible. Unfortunately, both dishes suffered from similar issues - while the Gnocchi was presented well, we found the beetroot to lack flavor of any kind - tasting virtually like an untreated boiled beet, presented without seasoning of any kind. The Gnocchi had good texture, but again was undermined by a poorly seasoned sauce, which left all the flavors in the dish sorely lacking any pep or brightness. The Lamb Rump was unbalanced, with massive segments of unseasoned, mushy Pumpkin, and an overcooked, tough cut of Lamb Rump. The garlic sauce was again woefully under seasoned, which further flattened an already disappointing dish. Sadly, this was not the worst experience of the night. After sending away our dishes - with a substantial portion uneaten on the plate - our server made no effort to inquire about our experience, whether we liked the food, or even whether we would like to takeaway the leftover portion. Given the significant portion of food left on the plate, this seemed to reinforce that this experience was altogether too common, and she seemed more than happy to simply whisk the food away to the bin. After our food was take, we waited ~15mins for our server to return, at which time she asked if we would like desert. We politely declined her offer and indicated we were ready for the check. After hearing this, she proceeded to walk around the dining room, tending to tables, refilling waters, topping off drinks, etc., for another 15mins. After a period of time watching this, we observed as the front of house manager pulled two dessert menus from a drawer and began to approach our table. We again politely declined and indicated were we ready for the bill. Although it had been more than 30mins since our meal had finished, we watched as the manager then made rounds throughout the restaurant, making no effort to bring our bill. Meanwhile, our server continued to circle the room, and although most of the crowd had by now cleared out of the restaurant, our bill was nowhere to be seen. Some 10mins later, 40mins after our meal was finished, a THIRD employee approached our table and inquired about our interest in dessert. By now, our patience was entirely exhausted, and we asked to receive the bill as soon as possible. Graciously, this server took it upon herself to fetch the bill, and this brought our long, ragged experience to a close. I'm so disappointed to have spent one of our precious few nights in Sydney at Green Moustache, and would recommend individuals looking for a quirky dinner and drinks to steer clear. Outside of the ambience, the restaurant disappointed on virtually...

On Sunday the 4th I organised for a bottomless brunch for my birthday with 20 friends, I advised there will be 2 celiacs (including myself) and spoke to the events team about this on a few occasions. On at least 2 occasions, the events team did advise that they could make everything that is deep fried gluten free/celiac safe for us. For the sake of having this in writing, I wrote what was discussed over call in an email the morning of the event. Despite all my efforts with the events team, this message was never communicated to the kitchen or staff on that day. They were aware that 2 of us were celiac but that’s as far as the message went. When the fried salt and pepper squid came out, they did not mention that it was fried in the same oil as gluten and there for not safe for celiacs (on the set menu it actually says it is GF) The manager came up to us after my celiac friend already ate some, and advised it was not safe for celiacs and fried in the same oil. By this point it was too late, and my friend did get a reaction from it and felt quite sick after the event. She ended up going home early instead of staying out with the rest of us.

This wasn’t even the worst part, when my friend explained that this should have been communicated to us before the fried squid was on the table, the waiter Santi, who I believe was also the manager on sight that day, argued with us, and even raised his voice. I then asked him ‘’if it was fried in the same oil as nuts, would you still say it’s nut free on the menu?’’ And he shockingly said yes. Even the bare minimum traces of nuts could set someone off in an anaphylactic shock and potentially kill them, how could you be a manager of a restaurant and not understand that? something with traces of gluten should NOT be listed as gluten free on a menu and should instead be listed as low gluten.

Santi eventually apologised and offered my friend a free drink, but considering he was arguing with us and yelled, I really don’t think that is enough. Santi also yelled at two of my friends for having their first drink too quickly, saying ‘’our one rule is to not skull your drinks’’, maybe say that at the beginning then, rather than yell at my friends? I’ll also add, one of my friends found hair inside the beef in the set platter.

This whole experience was so unprofessional, especially with Santi as the other waiter was polite. I see in another recent review that someone wrote, that you were very generous to their friend who had their birthday that same day. What was this generosity and why did I have a completely different experience on my birthday? To be clear, I did not want to argue this further on the day as it wasn’t getting us anywhere and I felt I was not being taken seriously, and I didn’t want to further ruin my birthday. So, with that all being said, thanks for making my birthday feel special! I will be contacting the team shortly to discuss...

Upon entering the restaurant, I patiently awaited the attention of the staff at the entrance, but it seemed to take an eternity for the person engrossed in their monitor to acknowledge my presence, let alone offer a greeting. The service left much to be desired. Initially assuming we were only interested in drinks, the staff neglected to take our orders, despite my prior communication with the restaurant to modify our reservation from 9 pm to 8:30, ensuring we wouldn't miss the kitchen's closing time. Strangely, we were not provided with a food menu, and our attempts to make eye contact with a waiter went unanswered for a frustrating 20 minutes. When someone finally approached our table, we were informed that we had to place our food order at the bar. However, we clarified our intention to order both food and drinks.

To compound matters, the initial order brought to our table was incorrect. Upon pointing out the mistake, the server left the vegetables from the wrong order on our table while rectifying the main dish. Astonishingly, these vegetables were later moved to the correct table after lingering on ours for at least 5 minutes, raising concerns about hygiene. When I requested salt and pepper, my attempts to get the attention of the staff proved futile.

We also ordered a mystery wine, but no one bothered to inquire about our preferences. Even as I was still enjoying my meal, the waitress prematurely removed the salt and pepper from our table, giving the impression that we were about to leave. To add to the disappointment, as we exited the restaurant, no one extended a farewell or thanked us for choosing their establishment. The overall experience was marred by a series of service lapses, making it a regrettable dining encounter.

In addition to the service mishaps, I ordered the lamb ramp, a dish that failed to meet basic expectations. Surprisingly, the staff neglected to inquire about my preferred level of doneness for the lamb, leaving me puzzled about the preparation. Furthermore, the dish lacked any discernible salt, robbing it of the essential flavor element. This oversight in both preparation and seasoning added to the overall disappointment of the...