Polar Bear Of Leura — Restaurant in Sydney

Where to start with this place? We were recommended this play by our stay location this weekend, so naturally we were excited for great food, great atmosphere and fair pricing... We were met by a well dressed young gentleman who showed us to our table, brought us our menus and offered us water, that was a nice start. After we ordered our food and drinks, not one of the staff members gave a shit that we were in their restaurant. The starters came out withing 30 minutes which wasn't to bad, accept for the food was plain, flavourless, we got a bowl of cut up bits of lamb just sitting in bland tasting water, the mean had zero flavour, was not enjoyable to eat it. I asked the man who came to our table to take our basically full still plates, I asked how the lamb was cooked. He replied with "slow cooked." I cant even think of how that was slow cooked meat.

Our mains came out 10 minutes after we received our starters, thank God something else to try. We ordered ribs, chips and "secret sauce" as well as Iskender. The lamb, dry, burnt, and very cooked, couldn't stomach eating, Ribs had some flavour, but this was quickly ruined by the undercooked meat and the amount of grissly fat that I have never experienced while eating ribs before, perhaps some preparation for their meat would of helped. The speciel sauce, imagine if somebody mixed 1000 islands with mayonnaise and put that in a bottle The chips were actually nice, by the look of them, I'd say they were made fresh in the kitchen, but after viewing the kitchen area I dont think so.

For the last 25 minutes of our experienced there, the "head chef" was standing at the service end, with a baseball cap on, arms crossed, just watching everyone eat. I couldn't tell if he was impressed of concerned. I would love to show him how to actually cook some food though because this seems like it could be a nice place, it's just not.

Our bill came to $219 we were charged for the bottle of water, we were charged a weekend surcharge, we were charged a weekend surcharge on the eftpos machine as well. Don't waste your money, or your time here. Go to a pub and get a meal, you'll save money, and you can't be disappointed by a pub meal, and they won't charge...

We booked a table for 10 (6 adults and 4 children) and were informed that it required a $250 deposit and confirmation we would have to sit outside. No problem for either condition, requested heaters which were provided, however on arrival, we were informed that the table would have to be separate. The only options were sit half in the alley or cancel the booking. None of this was conveyed ahead of time during our reservation, so it was a case of accept it or leave which is simply terrible customer service.

I’m guessing this was from the owner who didn’t apologise once for the miscommunication or for making our party feel both uncomfortable and treated poorly. Service gets a zero, seriously get the basics right.

This however was in stark contrast to the meal and the dining experience which was both speedy and quite tasty. Our waitress was attentive even though we were outside with both food and drink arriving quickly upon ordering.

The outdoor settings consisted of one regular table for 6 people and the other a pub style high table and chairs for 4 which is not suitable for dining due to lack of space once 3 pizzas and starters came out, we had to place our wine bottle on the floor next to the table in order to have enough room.

Atmosphere was on the chilly side of cozy, but we knew what we were in for when we booked a table outside in the height of winter in the blue mountains. Disappointing given that the upfront service place a black mark on the other elements of the night which were quite good overall.

Would I recommend going? For a group

So I am sure this place is great, although we didn't eat there. We stopped in for some lunch but nothing on the menu excited us as we just wanted something simple and not a pizza, so we decide to leave. As we were leaving the staff shouted at us all the way from the end of the ally way accusing of us of just using the bathroom. Not a place I would want to eat at anymore. Hopefully other peoples experience is better.

Cont after the reply below from dodgy staff member...

I was trying to be as nice as I could above, but the below reply was completely incorrect. We sat outside after deciding that it was nicer than inside. My partner went to the bathroom and whilst I waited alone outside, the staff member said "oh sorry we didn't see you there" then gave me a menu whilst my partner was gone. Upon my partners return we looked at the menus and decided there was nothing on there we wanted. So left. Now this staff member yells out at us leaving (not running) and you think that isn't rude? They cannot take the criticism online and for some reason think that once you sit down you cannot leave (better name would be hotel California) Yelling down the ally way and making people look is bad, you defence of it here is worse. But sure keep...