On Dalmeny — Restaurant in Sydney

It’s not too often that I go out of my way to write a review unless I feel it is pertinent to share important information with others. This Cafe deserves the absolutely glowing review they are about to receive. I was fortunate enough to stumble across this place as I was picking up a parcel from the newsagent next door. It is a quiet place that is very easy to get to due the ease of street parking. From the moment I arrived at the door I was greeted by the most lovely lady in the most friendly manner I have ever experienced in a Sydney cafe. Further to this wonderful greeting, I was delighted by all of the cakes, desserts and treats, in addition to the copious options of food and drink available for a small local cafe. After conversing with Marina (i hope that is spelt correctly) I looked more closely at the traditional Lebanese and other treats available that were so beautifully presented and incredibly fresh. I was so pleased by Marina’s willingness to help by answering all my questions and confirming that my coffee order was to my satisfaction. I was blown away by the positive attitude of Marina despite how hard-hitting COVID has been to many small business owners. I have to say the coffee was expertly made - it was truly one of the nicest I have had in Sydney, comparable to the expert baristas of the Vaucluse Grumpy Baker! Once restrictions are lifted I will be making it a priority to return to this store to keep a wonderful local cafe like this in business. The cherry on the top for this experience was also receiving a free coffee card from Marina, as I think she genuinely appreciated the polite conversation and my interest in the beautiful treats this cafe stocked. I hope this review brings in more business to the very deserving owners...

On what was meant to be a lovely mother’s day brunch, we received terrible service. There was no one in there so maybe that should of been an alarm.

We arrived and ordered requesting that our coffees come with our meals. It was only after we ordered that we realised instead of reading and squinting our eyes to see the blackboard that there was a large stack of freshly printed menus sitting under a pile of newspapers.

The meals started to arrive 1/2hr later one by one; the first meal arrived with no cutlery to eat it with. Then the next two meals arrived still no coffees.

Then the final meal arrived, my brother took one bite and then found a short black hair, when we spoke to the owner who also cooked she said ‘well that’s weird, I don’t know how that got there?’

So much for the customer is always right... we have light coloured hair and the one who has dark coloured hair has hair down to the lower back.

Instead of just saying oh I’m sorry can I make you something else, she went on to be defensive and when I went to pay, I said surely you are not charging me for the meal that my brother didn’t eat? She huffed and puffed and took his meal off yet still had the audacity to charge us for the coffees that never arrived and accuse my brother who has blonde hair of putting the short BLACK hair in the food.

To the owner of On Dalmeny, thank you for wrecking our...

I don’t know what’s more disappointing the $9 price tag or the fact that this iced latte tastes like nothing but milk. For almost $10, I expected something with a little more depth, a coffee flavor that actually shines through. Instead, all I got was a sugary, milk-heavy drink with just a faint hint of coffee that might as well be an afterthought.

I get it coffee shops charge a premium for convenience, but when you’re paying this much, you expect something special, not a bland, overpriced milkshake. Honestly, I could’ve made a better version at home for a fraction of the cost. This was not worth it, and I won’t be coming back for a repeat.

Save your money, or try...