Kirribilli Hotel — Restaurant in Sydney

MY FAV PUB ON THE LOWER NTH SHORE

We dined here on a Sun night in autumn, at the beginning of school hols, meaning that it was fairly quiet. But that was a boon for us because service was quicker than normal and the atmosphere was laid back and relaxed. It turned into a perfect family night for us. As there was only a smattering of other guests, we chose the best table, near the door at the front but close to the large bay windows, affording us a nice view onto the busy streetscape outside.

We’ve dined here before, so we knew what to expect. We ordered our meals at the ordering counter, then went over to the front bar to get our drinks. Because service here isn’t the fastest, it’s always best to order the food first, then get your drinks, sit back and enjoy them slowly, soaking up the pleasant ambience of this place, while you wait for your meals to be ready. Forewarned is forearmed as they say, so this tactic worked well for us, no stressing waiting anxiously for the little buzzer on our table to ring. We knew it would take about 30 minutes and it arrived sooner than expected.

Food as usual was of the highest quality, and this is where this place really excels. I ordered a margherita pizza, the twins choose a prawn salad and a steak, my wife the surf and turf, and our interstate daughter went for a fresh and wholesome chicken salad. Every meal was a winner. My pizza had a thin crispy base, topped with lashings of fresh mozzarella, ripe cherry tomatoes and sprinkled with thin slices of basil leaves. I don’t usually finish a whole pizza on my own, but this beauty was irresistible and with only a little help from my dining companions it was all gone pretty quickly. The steaks were tender and tasty and my wife loved her surf and turf, with fresh succulent prawns making the perfect accompaniment to the well cooked steak.

All the staff are friendly and polite although there isn’t much in the way of table service.

I love the old world charm of this place with it’s wood panelled walls, green carpets and quaint wooden furniture. For sports lovers there are a couple of TV screens scattered around with live sport playing, but not being that way inclined, we deliberately choose a table as far as possible away from them. There is outdoor seating too, but that’s only for the drinkers and unfortunately you cannot take food outside.

Parking is a bit of a pain around here, because restrictions supposedly end at 10pm, (even on weekends) although I doubt this is very much policed, especially not on a Sunday night, so I simply ignored it and found a spot nearby at the corner of Carabella and Willoughby Streets. You get two hours anyway and that was sufficient.

Overall we had a very pleasant evening here at my fav pub on the lower north shore. Food was delicious, ambience was quiet and relaxed, and service was efficient and polite. We booked through Dimmi and were also able to use our Ent Book voucher, which gives you 25% discount up to a generous max of $40, meaning that we paid a tad over $100 for five meals. Can’t complain about that!

We’ll certainly be back with next...

Unfortunately, we didn't have a good experience here and very likely I won't be back. Went there on a Saturday and ordered food, a burger and a well-done steak plus 2 drinks. We paid at 2 p.m. and sat down down in the back area.

The area has a restriction note that after 3 pm no food is allowed there so no issues as we ordered well in advance.

After 30 minutes of waiting we had to ask at the counter about our food and we were told it was coming. The food was served to us after 3 pm (1 hour later to start with) but the manager didn't let the waiter pass the food to our table even though all the time waiting for it.

I had to go and try to grab the food but they didn't want to give it to me because of the area restriction. I got mad and told them I wanted to eat after so long and it was not my fault they took 1 hour plus to serve it and to my surprise, the manager/floor leader told me “No her problem”.

She didn't even care about us as customers when it was her “problem” as she was running the place. Not even an apology for the delay, didn't try to help us accommodate at another table as we had to do it by ourselves, very rude service and on top of everything, the food was cold and not what we asked for (photo attached).

Summary, long time waiting, rude customer service, cold and raw food. Good opportunity for the manager/floor leader to improve both customer and...

Pros: good atmosphere venue itself is lovely, prime ministers portraits are great food is decent, if a bit pricey, but that’s more cost of living than anything

Cons: the older staff are good (and more thoughtful) and many of the younger staff are great too even if a little inexperienced, but there’s a handful who have really rude and off putting attitudes, it feels like what you expect from a government employee who thinks you are there to suit them, had an interaction that wasn’t positive and felt it was the staff member being way too abrasive, clearly a more sensible way to handle. I feel for the employer, it’s hard to find good folks who understand customer service. But then again, management may be why there every time I go, which is every 6 weeks or so, the staff have changed, so who knows I think they don’t try on customer service because there are no other pubs nearby, it’s disappointing. I only go because my family chooses it, I’m disappointed each time

Btw, used to be a bartender myself, so I know it’s not too hard to just be friendly and welcoming.

Overall: if you must, it’s fine, but don’t expect them to value your business or care if you don’t come back. And if you get bad vibes, just try and find a...