No 92 GPR — Restaurant in Sydney

My friend and i were looking forward to trying out this space. The menu looked creative / trying to do more with Aussie ingredients. Unhappily, our experience was not stellar. You share all dishes and they advise 3-4 is about right for 2 people. The balance of flavours/combinations overall in the 4 dishes tried was a bit off. I hope they can work on getting improving, as we felt they fell into that trap of" trying to hard" with too many combinations, the portions / ingredients were out of balance, a little too" precious" and over priced for the food and serve size.

"Chicharron with coffee molasses souffle" @ $12 The chicharrons (crispy pork "scratchings") were very salty and large, compared to the "souffle" amount (which was more a of a mousse in consistency) The "Scallops, rosella, rose inspired by cy twombly" @$28 4 scallops in the shell so $7 ea. The scallops themselves were not over cooked- but sadly, simply overpowered completely by the sauce/ toppings . Our main "Feather and bone 24 hr cooked brisket, cauliflower, poor mans orange, almond beef gravy" @ $35 was a very small serve. Sadly, the brisket was also very dry and we had to chase down the wait staff to get some more 'jus'. The accompaniment was an odd mix, had a few tiny bits of cauliflower and was unremarkable.. we were glad we also added the "Garlic mash" @ $12 to this dish, as by now we were hungry!

Just 2 dessert choices on the menu. We picked the "White chocolate, porcini & davidson plum" @ $16. This would have been more of a success IF there actually had been more davidson plum under what the quenelle shaped 'porcini ganache' (as described by the wait staff) dusted by white chocolate powder. We found the tiny amount of tart plum at the very end of eating this dish and it was nice, but made us realise how much better the proceeding mouthfuls would have been if there had been more plum overall!

The male wait staff were fine, but the young lady we had didn't strike the best note, particularly after we complained the brisket was dry and asked for more "gravy". We got a bit of "attitude" and her serving style was a then bit intrusive and then gone. Perhaps this was simply her inexperience and/or loyalty to the menu/ kitchen etc- but it did not sit well.

We were served 2 lukewarm espressos which we sent back. As both my friend & I have a fairly decent background in food and wine, we were disappointed by this meal.

To their credit, the restaurant did not charge us for the brisket ( we did not request this, so this was a welcome offer from them) nor the first 2 espressos. This is a small menu and with the current ratio of staff to diners they should have been able to do better IMHO. Ambience. As there are NO soft furnishings in this old corner Glebe Terrace, and wooden floors, the noise level was very loud and as we were also sitting at one end under a music speaker, we had to lean forward and speak up to be heard by each other. As well, in these Covid19 times, there were a few too many diners in the front room for my liking, all of us having to talk up to be heard and no ventilation. They do check you in with QR Scans on your phone,for both your details and the menu. Scrolling on your phone is the price you pay to keep re reading Menu and Wines list , but I was fine with that on my iPhone. My friend kept losing her Menus on her Android! ;)

We had a glass of white each. The wine list is small but has some good offerings.

I chose 2018 Cake Wines pinot gris @$12 My friend the "skin contact" choice of 2016 Latta Vino Reflections chardonnay, sauv blanc , gewurz @$19 We both chose the 2018 Poggio Anima Montepulciano @ $13 a glass (many others only by bottle)

$132.50 Total

We DID leave a tip, largely because they took over the $35 Brisket from the bill , which was appreciated- and the male staff were obliging.

I/we really WANTED to like this restaurant and support them - but on this night's experience, we have decided it is VERY unlikely we will...

I wish I could give this restaurant a positive review because the food was good, but the overall experience was disappointing and I will not be returning, nor would I recommend anyone else visit.

No 92 doesn’t give customers printed menus, so you need to access the menu using a QR code with your phone. This is a shame because one of the great things about going out for a nice meal is that it’s a chance to put your phone down for a night. I’ve seen this QR code system used at pubs before, but never a restaurant in this price range. Overall, No 92 seemed a bit confused about whether it wants to be a relaxed/mid range restaurant, or a fine dining restaurant.

I had a brief look at the drinks list on my phone and saw a pinot noir for $16 a glass. When the waitress came over, I said “I’ll have the Pinot noir please”. She brought it to me and over the evening, my table ordered 4 more glasses of it.

The waitress also recommended that in addition to the set menu, we try the duck tacos. So we ordered four of those.

When the bill came, it turned out that we had been charged $32 for each glass of wine. It turned out their were two pinot noirs on the menu that were sold by the glass - one for $16, and one for $32. Apparently the waitress decided I would prefer the $32 one because customers really like it. I would never knowingly order such an expensive glass of wine, let alone 5, so this was really irritating.

The four duck tacos were charged at $52, making them the most expensive tacos I’ve ever eaten and unfortunately nowhere near the best. Obviously a restaurant can charge whatever they like for their tacos but if I’d seen them on a menu at that price, I never would have ordered them.

(I should note that the rest of the food was really nice though, particularly the brussel sprouts which were perfection).

To top it off, a $9 card surcharge was also added to the bill. Evidently this fee is charged regardless of whether you pay by debit or credit card (begging the question, why not just build it into the product cost? Nobody is paying for a dinner this expensive in cash so the fee is a foregone conclusion). This additional fee added insult to injury in the context of a dinner for four which had already somehow racked up a cost of $660. I walked away feeling like I’d been thoroughly shaken down.

I did contact the restaurant’s management to give them some feedback on my experience. The restaurant’s response was, on the whole, quite defensive. They did agree that I should not have been charged for $32 glasses of wine all night without the waiter asking what wine I wanted, and invited us back for one free glass of wine each by way of apology. They were careful to note that the free glass would be the $16 pinot noir, haha. Personally I found this a pretty weak response in the circumstances. A more genuine good faith gesture might have been an offer to reimburse me for the wine, or at least for the difference between what I’d tried to order and what I was charged for (a difference of $80).

The restaurant management also made a petty comment about the fact that our table had stayed past closing time, as if that was somehow relevant to my feedback? I found this grating because the dishes were brought out one by one and as a result, the whole dining experience took just over 3 hours. We left after finishing our desserts, which didn’t come out til some time after 11pm. Customers can’t be expected to eat food faster than it’s...

There are many good things about no.92; It’s a beautiful terrace venue, great location and a much needed type of modern Australian upper market restaurant in the area. Drinks were great as we had beer and wine. For the food, we really enjoyed the brussel sprouts - crispy and the perfect balance of salt, acidity in the dressing - the oysters were flavourful but the supplier needs a check as there was grit and all three weren’t completely detached. It just makes them hard to eat.

There are also a number of things that need some attention at No.92; the front room is simply a disappointing atmospheric dining experience. It urgently needs soft furnishings going up the walls, sound boards on the ceiling. It feels cold (the lighting and paint choices) loud (literally could not talk to/hear each other) and has inconsistent styling.

The tap in the bathroom needs replacing. Too long for the sink and literally sprayed water all over me by simply turning it on. Hand dryer needs moving, can’t easily get to it between the wall and the sink.

Now the food.

Tostada kingfish needs a flavour balance check on spice, strong flavours, and ease of eating (crumbled everywhere on my lap on first bite). The delicate kingfish was just simply lost. Textures here were good though, crunch etc.

The prawn sliders as well needs an overall sense check. The inside is small (because the ingredients are by their nature) but then they just get lost in the giant bun, no real standout flavour comes through and any prawn meat sweetness - lost in the nduja’s spicy, saltiness. Again, oil just exploded out all over the plate, and my white shirt on first bite. Zero texture.

The Ragu was watery, lacking flavour. Not bad, but again like the above, not good. Ragu should have complex, thick, rich flavours.

For prices - napkins should be cloth not disposable paper. Seems petty but after having half my starters fall in my lap due to their design, it would have been good.

Service; get in a trainer as soon as possible. The waiters were nice/sweet but again for the prices; Menu not explained, no dietaries asked, no excitement of what they love, sat without a glass of wine or any drink offered for 15mins, and then just general poor attention to detail (credit card sitting waiting to pay despite staff entering and leaving three times) and then we were charged the wrong table’s bill (was quickly and professionally rectified).

Finally - better signage to note which if three possible doors is the right front door.

Will try again in a few mths to hopefully see some changes as for the amounts being charged there are two new restos nearby running rings around no.92. And the experience of ours, is the same as many other diners here on google reviews for the last year... why not make the changes needed and hit brilliant notes? As the feedback as been the same for nearly 12mths. I want to love...