Hydeaway Cafe — Restaurant in Sydney

The location of this cafe is spectacular, and has so much potential. However it seems to be held down by mediocre customer service. I'm not one to provide 1 star reviews lightly, so this is really speaking volumes here.

My review is based on multiple visits, as I was visiting from Melbourne and came here almost every day of my 5-day trip. Majority of the days, I rarely saw any of the staff smile and engage in friendly service. However, the below was what made me write this review.

I had an awkward and uncomfortable experience with a staff member, which I was later shocked to find out was a MANAGER named Baw.

I came here with my dog, and after buying and drinking a bottle of juice, I decided to get my dog a glass of water from their self serve station as it was a 40 degree day. As my dog was drinking from the glass, this staff member comes out and says I can get your dog a bowl of water. I said it's fine, as I didn't want to cause a big fuss. However, he then started saying the cup is dirty now and can't be used anymore. I reply with something along the lines of "can't you just wash it?" In a very neutral tone. He then replies by stating that even if they wash it, HE won't want to drink from it. The entire time he seemed very passive aggressive. He then took the cup and threw it in the bin in front of everyone. Basically just witnessed a grown man throw a tantrum based on his logically flawed views of hygiene.

It really begs the question of whether the cups are properly washed with hot soapy water. Is this guy going to keep throwing cups away if people have the flu? What if someone has a cold sore? What a waste of resources, and a completely unnecessary tantrum.

Understandably some people aren't a fan of the idea of a dog using the same glasses, but if everything is washed and sanitised correctly, it will be safe for use again. Science.

I can see that management reads the reviews. Judging by the reviews, customers have frequent issues with the service here. Perhaps it's time to look at whether you have the right managers running...

Despite the nice natural scenery nearby the overall experience wasn’t good. Food and drink portions were very small especially for their price. Customer service seemed a bit distant and slow as well.

One of many examples includes: a friend paid $9 for a milkshake that came out in one of those standard silver milkshake cups and was 1/3 full. When he mentioned this to the staff they took his cup and poured straight cows milk into it to top it up 🤔

Most people at our table thought the food was pretty average too. If you’re going to charge so much, either make the portions bigger or make the food actually taste good.

(This is just my honest feedback, I would appreciate not being attacked like others have for low reviews).

as I said this is my opinion not anyone else’s. Thanks for attacking me, as anyone can see as plain as day. I don’t need a reply, I’m not running a business, you are. Either way, the feedback was for other restaurant seekers/customers, not you.

I also did not say the table service was slow, I said ur staff were. I too thought the food came very quick so well done on that. What I was saying is your staff were not overly quick to react to any issues we had and regularly walked off before allowing anyone to finish explaining our problems. I also didn’t want to embarrass you by including any further examples.

I have gone to many restaurants before so I am well aware what’s worth price. It’s okay to have a little negative criticism…take it on board and learn...

The pancakes that I got were so diabolically bad I thought I was going to throw up. It’s been literally a month since I ate at this place. I feel awful leaving this review, I wish it could have been under better circumstances, but every day I think about these pancakes and am filled with rage and sadness. I didn’t know pancakes could be that bad. It’s not a personal taste thing either, as after I swallowed my one bite (almost gagged it back up) my friend tried it because she didn’t believe they would be as bad as I made it out to be. But no. I was correct. Then her partner tried some. It touched his tongue and he spat it out. Not only was this awful, but the prices at this place are crazy. I know you don’t HAVE to pay that much and we could have gone somewhere else, but we thought maybe the price was compensating for quality. The drinks were nice but insanely overpriced for such a small amount. Everyone else seemed somewhat satisfied with their food (they all agreed that for the price it was not worth it)- but not my pancakes. Even the smell was so awful that just a waft of it made me want to gag. Absolutely horrible. I didn’t want to write this review, but as I said, it’s been a month and I haven’t stopped thinking about it. Here’s a pic of the infamous pancakes, don’t be deceived - they look incredible...