Loulou Bistro - Martin Place — Restaurant in Sydney

This is my very first time dining at Lou Lou Bistro Martin Place! I must say that it was truly a divine place to meet for a lunch or dinner venue. I had a solo visitation for lunch and dined with their Prix Fix three course menu ( a limited selection but well worth a try).

I had the entree of green beans with sliced pear and topped with almonds - a cold starter. Then came the snapper fillet in butter with capers and parsley with a bowl of fries seasoned with salt. To end the meal I had the scoop of vanilla ice cream drizzled with a sweet syrup glaze.

The service was phenomenal with the host who served me as I walked in the bistro. I was then seated down with the menu and was allowed to view and make a selection after a short while. Ned was the hospitality maestro and the bistro's team in the kitchen were exceptional. Ned not only served and asked of my needs but was happy to serve and treated everyone as a guest rather than just a customer. His service and personal attention to detail went above and beyond...

As I had booked online for a solo birthday lunch, I also received a small happy birthday cake and was greeted birthday wishes by the host and all the servers. As a birthday booking you also receive a 10% discount on the bill. Due to their great hospitality and relentless service, I managed to tip them as well.

Two points of improvement for the service -

1. My cocktail the Brandy Crusta did not come with a sugar crusted rim nor a cherry as a garnish on top - as I was hoping because the sugar rimmed glass tones down the bitter & sour qualities of the drink as you would be served in other fine dining areas. I would have also preferred it to be served in a whisky glass as the wine glasses are a bit clunky as you try to drink it with the paper straw.

2. As it is a fine dining venue, expect to give yourself at least 90 minutes for an Express lunch menu service. Do order a drink and some snacks whilst you are waiting or better still ask the waiter for any recommendations!

Thank you Lou Lou Bistro team, hope to see you again for another magnificent...

Some work to be done here. I arrived early at 11:10am hoping to beat the lunch crowd however they were not yet open. The times on the web page need to be corrected. I asked where I could get a pre drink so the staff took me upstairs to the restaurant bar. I ordered a drink and had plenty of time before lunch opening. One of the staff said he would organise some bread or nuts to have with my drink whilste I waited yet failed to deliver. I wanted to order a second drink but the staff all disappeared and there was not one staff member left in the bar. Don't take me to a bar where there's no service. Finally after sitting waiting anotther 20 minutes a staff member arrived however had no idea where to find the bottled beer and lime i ordered. Two other staff came into the bar and neither could assist. They all seemed very scattered and disorganised. Another 15 minutes later I finally received the drink and by then it was time to go to my table. It was a rushed lunch. I ordered an entree, main, sides and wine to go with my food. I hadn't finished the beer which I literally just received from the bar and the wine was poured before any food came out. The entree took quite a long time to arrive so therefore the main course came very quickly after but without the sides. I waited and mentioned it to the waitress but they didn't come. My main was getting cold so I had to start it without the sides. I was almost finished when I was asked do I still want the sides which clearly was way too late. I was offered dessert however only had 15 minutes to order, wait for it, eat it and vacate the table. On another note. I initially asked if I could order from the prixe fixe menu and was told no, it was only for larger groups yet a couple next to me (table of 2) were given the option to order from the prixe fixe. I aso noticed other small bookings ordering the same. Felt a little discriminatory. Overall there needs to be some work done here. I used to frequent the Milsons Point Restaurant and thought Martin Place would be a nice change and more accessible but sadly not a...

We came here specifically for their Thursday happy hour (4–7 pm) for my birthday and left incredibly disappointed. My partner and I arrived at 5:45pm as walk-ins, found a seat near the bar within a few minutes, and promptly ordered two drinks along with the advertised $2 oysters and $2 escargots. About 20 to 30 minutes later, the same waitress who took our order returned to tell us that they could no longer honour the happy hour pricing and that if we wanted to proceed, we’d have to pay full price. This is unacceptable. If a venue promotes happy hour until 7pm, and we placed our order at 5:45pm, we fully expect those prices to be honoured.

To make matters worse, when it came time to pay, the waitress hadn’t even removed our original order of oysters and escargots from the bill. Had we not noticed the total, we would have been overcharged for items we never received. That’s sloppy at best, dishonest at worst.

What’s more, the situation could have easily been avoided had the staff been proactive. Clear communication on arrival that stock was running low would have been the professional thing to do. Instead, we were left waiting, only to be told after the fact that we couldn’t have the happy hour pricing, despite the oysters and escargots still being available on the à la carte menu at full price.

The staff overall were neither attentive nor approachable. The only pleasant interaction we had all night was a polite smile from the floor manager in a suit. Otherwise, service was poor and unwelcoming.

We left feeling let down and frustrated. What should have been an enjoyable night out turned into a disappointing experience. Definitely not a place we’d recommend...