Nick & Nora's Parramatta — Restaurant in Sydney

Nick and Noras used to be a venue which treated their patrons with respect and friendliness when they first opened but unfortunately the same cannot be said anymore.

We visited the venue at 830pm as a group of 5 and was told by the floor manager in the blue dress that they had two functions going on and will not be accepting walk ins till after 10pm. Waited at a nearby bar and revisted the venue at 1010pm upon which the same manager said that she will not be accepting any further walk ins for the night to which we replied that we had returned because of what she had said previously. She denied this saying "Who told you that? I never said that". A typical response from a high end venue that markets and prices its service and beverages as premium would be to acknowledge what was said previously to patrons and at minimum show some signs of empathy and apology. We saw that a full seating area behind her was empty and told her of this fact. Shockingly she replied "It is not about how many tables are empty, its about whether we have a balance between the floor staff available and how many guests are available." Worst response to give to a customer - it should not be the customer's problem that you have staffing issues and with all respect to your other hardworking staff it is nothing but presumptuous to think that customers would refrain from walking into the venue because it looks like your staff are struggling to meet the patrons needs. She finally agreed to speak to the venue manager and subsequently offered us a table outside (more than 2 tables of 5 person capacity were empty when we arrived outside).

We decided to order the 3 Meat & Cheese platter which was described as (your choice of 3 meats AND/OR cheese) just to be told by the waitstaff that it was either a selection of 3 cheeses OR 3 meats. Again, typically, a venue proclaiming to be high end would eliminate such confusion in the menu. We asked for specific meats of our choice to which the waitstaff responded that the meats will be "Chefs Selection". Again, if this was to be the case it should have been clearly specified in the menu to eliminate any confusion. We asked what meats would constitute the "Chefs selection" and the waitstaff did not tell us what this would constitute as it "rotates on a daily." At that point you had been open for at least 5 hours for floor staff to KNOW what the chefs selection constitutes, or alternatively the appropriate thing to do would be to ask the chefs. With the response we were given we were without a doubt that we would be getting the most inexpensive cured meats on the menu and paying a premium for it, and probably the meats that they had a surplus of from overstock and that they were just trying to get rid of. Would have saved us the trouble had the menu just said it is house meats. Having worked in a similar high end hospitality myself I know that a little gesture such as clarifying with kitchen staff and being transparent about what customers are getting can go a long way in retaining or losing customers. Much disappointingly this venue has settled for the latter option of losing future business.

This venue needs to realise that it cannot rely on being the only upper end venue in Parammatta to sustain its business. The focus appears to be too much on style and flair and customer experience seems to be long forgotten. Please consider improving your staff training to match the high calibre venue that you are...

Nick & Nora’s is such an aesthetically pleasing venue located on the 26th floor, providing uninterrupted views of Parramatta’s skyline and beyond. A welcome addition to the areas growing hospitality scene. Staff were very accommodating by moving our groups closer as we were initially spread across 2 tables (both inside and outside) due to Covid-19 restrictions. After some shuffling, they managed to kindly seat our tables closer together. We were excited to visit, given the circumstances of the past few months. It’s great to see businesses re-opening and welcoming guests in accordance with the new “normal”. I hope this review is treated as constructive feedback as we hope to revisit in the near future.

I understand staff were under the pump that night however, waiting in excess of 45mins for a glass of wine was frustrating at the time. We were there to try the cocktails as they all sounded interesting (and delicious!) but given the long wait time, we thought we’d at least get our wine and cheeky tequila shots first as they required much less preparation over cocktails. After more waiting and awkward conversation about the service situation, we were advised that there was actually an issue with the iPad/POS machine which meant our orders were not being sent to the kitchen or bar. This normally wouldn’t have been an issue but staff kept telling us that there were delays on all orders for the night, not that our orders were forgotten. It leaves a different feeling knowing we were essentially waiting for nothing. Staff serving our table apologised a number of times and I don’t blame them at all as it was technically a system fault but it would’ve been nice to have been offered 1 or 2 drinks off the bill or at the very least some extra bread/crisps to go with our grazing boards. I don’t think that’s asking for too much. The cocktails and nibbles were great once they arrived. We also asked about payment options and whether we could pay as we go. The manager explained that by doing this, he had to allocate one staff to our table for the whole night which he was reluctant to do despite being told by staff that greeted us that this would be the case for our booking. Instead, the manager suggested to open separate tabs to split the group. We agreed, only to hear him complain about this arrangement to other staff whilst standing by our table. He seemed frustrated by us at times but I understand he had to ensure everyone was observing social distancing whilst also managing the entire venue. Not an easy task with that amount of people. It was an awkward experience overall after being isolation for the better half of 3 months. We do however, appreciate staff for allowing us to stay a little longer than our booking time due to the order delay and trust that future visits will run a lot smoother.

All...

We came to see what the fuss was all about because our friends went there and what caught my attention was, they said they dressed up (which is unheard of these days esp in Parra). We have lived in the inner west most of our lives and we've now moved in the last 10 yrs to Parra LGA. I was excited to find a place to dress up and not have to travel to the city. I found the bar area reminded me of another expensive place called the Shellhouse off York St in the city, so it was good to experience something similar so close to home! First thing first, make a booking guys! Seems people think it's OK to just walk into places like this and demand a table. I don't take that chance anymore! We made a booking online at 4.30pm & arrived to the lovely host who showed us to our table for 2 front and centre of one of the best views. We had our booking for 2 hours but we were lucky enough to be able to extend by almost an hour when there was a no show at the table next to us. My husband wanted a cigar which you can smoke at the opposite side of the bar outdoors but when he bought it there was a fire alarm siren that was blaring, which in turn we went to the front to pay as we thought we would have to vacate the building. We paid the bill but decided to stay when the alarm stopped not long after that. My husband went to smoke his cigar and I took a seat at the bar and watched the mixologists James and Matt work some magic. There is not much room at all between the bar stools and the large indoor tables, so we kept bumping elbows the waiters. It only got that way by around 8pm onwards when the place was bustling. I ordered alot of drinks from the menu, but the only thing I didn't like so much is the creativity of the original cocktails including the espresso martini. I am a simple cocktail person so I ordered it again without the vanilla cream and it tasted much better for my liking. My husband is a scotch drinker so there was plenty to choose from off the menu, he tried around 7 nips throughout the evening while I had a mixture of cocktails and champagne. I am not a rose person but James poured me an orange rose sparkling which was delightful. We ordered the degustation at $65 per head after realising it was GF and DF options which I cannot find anywhere so I was very happy. The food was more than enough for 2 people and we had so much leftover. My only dislike was the beef balls but it was just a preference thing, not the meal itself. The music was lounge chill music which is a good volume so you could certainly go here for a first date cos you can hear each other talking. Chill lounge music is our vibe so we loved it! This place is super expensive but as this was my husband's 50th birthday celebration we didn't mind spending this for a milestone celebration. I would definitely return...