Pearl Dining — Restaurant in Sydney

Extremely Disappointing Dining Experience – Poor Service & Mismanagement

I recently dined at your restaurant with a group of six, expecting a pleasant evening with a view of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, but unfortunately, the experience was far from satisfactory due to multiple service failures.

Ignored Reservation Request & Lack of Communication When I made the online reservation the day before, I explicitly requested a table on the terrace with a view of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. However, I received no confirmation or response regarding this request. Upon arrival, I asked the staff about it, only to be dismissively told that there were "no outdoor tables for six." If my request couldn’t be accommodated, the least you could have done was inform me in advance instead of leaving me in the dark.

Delayed Seating & Poor Handling of Early Arrival My reservation was for 8:00 PM, and I arrived 30 minutes early. Despite this, I stood at the entrance for 5 minutes before being acknowledged. A staff member then told me I had arrived "too early" and instructed me to wait in the outdoor seating area, assuring me that someone would come and notify me once the table was ready. However, no one ever came. I only realized the table was ready at 8:03 PM when I checked my phone and saw a notification—had I not done so, I would have been left waiting indefinitely. This is unacceptable for a restaurant of your supposed standard.

Wrong Order & Blaming Customers for the Mistake We ordered a 6-person set menu, which included lobster. Near the end of the course, a polite server brought out another lobster dish. When we mentioned that we had already been served lobster, they explained that this was a different preparation, so we ate it. However, later, a senior staff member abruptly approached our table, claiming it was a mistake and that we had to pay for the extra dish. Instead of apologizing for their error, they blamed us, even though we had clearly informed the initial server about the duplication. Had they handled the situation professionally (e.g., politely explaining the mistake), we might have been willing to pay—but their accusatory tone made the experience frustrating.

Poor Seating & Inconsistent Service Since our requested terrace seating was unavailable, we were placed at a table near the entrance, which was far from ideal. While the food quality was decent, the service attitude (particularly from two female staff members in blazers) was unwelcoming and dismissive. Other servers were polite, but the overall experience was marred by poor management and lack of accountability.

Conclusion: For a restaurant that claims to offer a premium dining experience, the lack of attention to reservations, inefficient seating arrangements, and unprofessional handling of mistakes were major letdowns. The only saving grace was the food—but even that wasn’t enough to compensate for the terrible service. I will not be returning and cannot recommend this place unless significant...

Pearl Dining is the most beautiful venue, located in Sydney’s Quay Quarter. Quay Quarter, down in Circular Quay is an excellent location on Sydney Harbour, with a wide range of eateries. Pearl Dining specifically hosts a great Lobster Lunch whilst you take in these sweeping views of Sydney Harbour.

The Banquet operates from Tues - Fri, from 12 - 2.30pm where you can have the menu for $98 featuring a Wok fried Tasmania Red Lobster or a Pan fried Wagyu Rib eye steak (400g) black pepper sauce at $86 pp.

This lunch was great value per person as for this price, we had 6 courses of outstanding food. The meal started with a fresh palate cleanser of pickled cherry tomatoes, Chinese Plum and Mandarin Gin. It was not acidic at all and had a nice sweetness. Then, there there was a radish cake, which was of a nicer softer texture than the usual chewy version you get at a yum cha, this one topped with crispy scallop. With this, came their Sui mai, which are always a favourite, but this one had some added wow factor containing a delicious whole smoked Quail egg inside. What a stunning start, showcasing the Cantonese foods in a most sophisticated way. So luxurious!

The highlight was definitely the wok fried Tasmanian Red Lobster, this was a show stopper and impressed when it arrived, it definitely got a big wow from us. Not only did it look impressive, it was cooked perfectly and paired with ingredients that enhanced the flavour of the lobster without going over the top. This was served with some greens cooked in scallion oil, which were also cooked well and had a nice crunch.

We also really liked the Cantonese Style steamed thin egg noodles with duck fat and meat. The long strands of noodle a great vessel for the duck flavour and the meat tasty and tender.

The banquet was definately a generous serving of food and a massive portion of lobster.

We paired the food with a cocktail and crisp white wine! Can’t think of a much better way to spend a Friday lunch.

The dining space is simply beautiful. It is comfortable, modern and if it's a nice day we recommend a balcony seat to take in the stunning vista of the Harbour Bridge and cityscape.

The service provided by Maurice and the team made the experience thoroughly enjoyable. Overall, a phenomenal lunch experience, especially an ideal lunch time venue to make the most of this special menu. It is at the perfect location, there’s attentive service, great food and...

First visit in Oct 2024, close to work but haven't had the chance to try it out. Dad was leaving the country so wanted to have a small farewell family dinner.

Overall very good modern Cantonese food and good service, accommodating young kids and elderly. Will return especially for the Peking duck.

Review of dishes ordered:

Caramelised BBQ Pork with olives: A bit different to expectations, meat was very soft (and a bit too fat) and very saucy which overwhelms somewhat. Kids loved it with rice. However, I was expecting something similar to char-siu in higher end restaurants in HK, where you can taste a good bounce from the meat and really taste the BBQ and honey, so this was quite different. Decent overall, just not quite what we expected.

Peking duck: I'd say this is the best peking duck in Sydney (and it's proper Peking duck not roast duck in some restaurants). Although they only do the pancake wrap (and skin with sugar), but the duck was roasted very well, crispy yet super tender, and pancakes were super thin yet has good chewiness to it. I can't think of a better done Peking duck in Sydney.

Tasmania lobster: Steamed with ginger and shallot. Cooked perfectly and delicious. These are smaller lobsters, but more tender with great flavour.

Glacier 51 toothfish: Steamed perfectly, texture was awesome. A bit too much soy sauce to our liking, but still very good.

Overall, food was fantastic, up there with the best in Sydney in refined modern Cantonese cooking with finesse and care. Even in HK this would be considered a good one, maybe close to a Michelin one star.

Service was curtious and helpful - nothing to fault during our visit. Big thumbs up...