Hillside Hotel — Restaurant in Sydney

I would give them zero stars if I could. I went to the Harry Potter trivia with two friends. We arrived before 7pm (when it was supposed to start) and could immediately see that the staff were run off their feet. We checked in and we were told to 'wait there' so someone could take us to our table. The area we were told to wait was the smokers area and all three of us have asthma. No one tried to take us to our table and because we couldn't stand the cigarette smoke, we decided to take ourselves to the table. We had booked in the Laneway area and could not find our table. We then decided to look in the bistro area where we found our table. The trivia was delayed by almost 20 minutes because of technical issues which happens, but there was clearly no communication between the Trivia Master and the person running the event and we could even see that the Trivia Master was getting frustrated himself. We ended up ordering our food around 7:30pm when the trivia finally started. The staff gave us a number stand instead of a buzzer as they had run our and were told that they would bring the food to us. This was fine until we had realised that we'd gone through almost the entire trivia (over an hour) and still had not received our food. I went over with the number and spoke to the staff member who was running the event and assisting with taking orders and she noted down my order to see if she could find it and tell me how much longer it would be. She told me that the kitchen staff would make it now and that she would personally bring it out and asked me where I was sitting. I indicated that I was sitting at the table closest to the side of the kitchen which was in full view. Another 20-30 minutes passed and we still had not received our food so I went back up. I asked someone else and told them our order AGAIN (effectively ordering for the third time) and she located it all except for my sweet potato fries. One of the chefs said that they would cook them now and bring them over so I decided to take the rest of my food to the table and come back to wait for my fries so I wouldn't be forgotten for a fourth time. Meanwhile, I collected cutlery that was wet. I could see that my sweet potato fries had been cooked and were sitting on one of the benches waiting for a staff member to notice. The chef then remembered that I was standing there and grabbed them and gave them to me. As I got back to my table, my friends alerted me to the fact that the chef had laughed at me once I had turned my back.

I understand that things can get overwhelming when busy and there are things beyond our control but the attitude of the staff is inexcusable. Not once were we offered any sort of compensation for the inconvenience, only light apologies and deplorable inaction. This was my first visit to Hillside Hotel and it will...

To start, on Saturday night, I was a victim of abuse of power. My friend was kicked out for having tears in her eyes and was accused of being ‘too intoxicated’ when she was not. My partner and I simply asked the security guards why she was kicked out and told them she was not at all drunk.

We then proceeded to walk away when one of the security guards pulled my partner back by his shirt and yelled at him, ‘You getting eff-ing upset buddy, do you want to go home too’ when my partner replied, ‘no, I am not getting upset and I don’t want to go home’ and started to walk away.

Three security guards then grabbed my partner and put him in a chokehold where he could barely breathe. They were yelling at him, and he was punched and had his knee kicked into the wall.

Things then escalated horribly, and the guards took us outside and said, ‘now there are no cameras’ and shut their body cams off. My partner was pinned down and repeatedly punched for about a minute. When I tried to get the security guards off him as I thought he would die, an older and much larger man started to attack me.

For reference, I am a 5ft, non-threatening, 19-year-old woman. I have woken up with a black eye, bruised arms, bruised ribs and those grown security guards have walked away freely, allowing them to hurt more people.

This night was a scene from a horror movie in real life. Hillside - you should not protect staff members who abuse their power by “guarding your establishment”, they were trying to pick fights.

Unfortunately, multiple young people (including three small women) have woken up in physical and emotional pain. We will never be able to go to a security guard for help as we are all now intimated by them and know they will hurt us, not protect us. This would have ended much worse if my partner tried to retaliate, these men need to be stopped before they...

Great location to have a few drinks & enjoy a top meal . The venue is huge & has two levels that include bars , tab area , the infamous VIP gaming lounge and a bistro that caters for a very diverse range as per the menu. There is plenty of seating & the central ground floor open area is my particular favourite, very spacious with lofty ceilings and plenty of fresh air . Definitely worth a visit .I can’t fault the Hillside Hotel and being a local I can declare this venue stole the crown from the Tav at least 13 years ago for all the above mentioned reasons . Excellent 🏆

January 20th 2024 update : wow a bit dissatisfied with my visit . I paid $50 for two Jack Daniels & coke and a chicken schnitzel takeaway meal last Saturday afternoon. Food was average & over priced , same with the drinks . Atmosphere throughout the venue was low & numbers of patrons are way down on the better days . The guy at the bistro bar was like talking to a robot - emotionless & just doing his job . Female staff were far more hospitable & I doubt I’ll be coming back in a hurry considering I live 400 metres away . I gave this venue a huge rap on my previous review & no doubt the rent must be quite excessive for this establishment but I felt ripped off . And I didn’t dare touch the pokies as a rule although they should offset prices of food & drinks from the probable high turnover of the VIP room . Very disappointed ☹️ therefore my decreased rating to 3 realistic stars Take heed & always be aware that all that glitters is not gold , especially when there are 2 couples eating or waiting for a meal at the prime time of late afternoon/evening . Most folks were probably at the RSL . Sad but true &...