PS40 — Restaurant in Sydney

I have no idea why this place has such a high rating.

I had one of the worst experiences at this place last Tuesday evening. I went there because of its popularity on Google Reviews, but "disappointing" doesn’t even begin to describe it.

The problems weren’t just with the service—it was everything.

From the moment I walked in, I was met with a cold and uninterested attitude from a female staff member wearing glasses and a white shirt with short hair. She barely acknowledged us and even tossed the drink coasters onto our table. It was clear she had no proper hospitality training, which is especially concerning for a place that focuses on beverages.

Things only got worse when it came to the food. Since this place primarily serves drinks, I won’t go into the taste or pricing of the food, but what really alarmed me was their complete disregard for food safety regulations.

The kitchen is fully open, so you can see everything happening inside. I watched as the kitchen staff ate food with their bare hands—I don’t care if it was for tasting or their own meal. What shocked me was that they didn’t wash their hands afterward. Instead, they just wiped their hands on a towel they were holding individually, and it seemed like they were using it for multiple purposes.

Even worse, they ignored one of the most basic food safety rules: the Temperature Danger Zone. Their kitchen didn’t seem properly equipped, so they relied on an air fryer. Right next to it, I saw a large pile of pre-cooked fried food sitting out in the open for who knows how long.

I would never come back here, and I definitely wouldn’t recommend...

What a shocking and honestly confounding experience PS40 turned out to be.

There were so many problems with the service and experience which mostly I took to be benign.

That none of the multiple people who checked on if we were familiar with the takeover menu bothered to appropriately explain that the menu was mostly vegetarian and that the “add ons” were actually essentially to getting any protein in the meal.

That when we asked about several items the staff couldn’t tell us what was in the food, even as we were being served it.

& add to that that the menu was actually unintelligible to most without apt explanation.

But what left me physically shaken and shocked was the abrasive treatment I received from the bar manager while trying to sort out a misunderstanding with the bill. I’ve never in my life been spoken to by a hospitality professional the way I was spoken to and I’m almost at a loss in conveying how disappointing this experience was.

As a customer you expect to be heard, you expect that when miscommunication occurs we as adults can mutually demonstrate that it’s a fault on both sides so that we can work through it. What I had never experienced before was being flatly and rudely dismissed, told It was just my fault for not listening, no interest in taking accountability from their side.

Maybe he was just having a terrible day but I find it incomprehensible that losing a customer over a twenty dollar difference was worth it.

I hope PS40 spends some time reviewing their staff protocols. I will not...

Dinner at P40 bar, being a bar it's pumping and dark... Seated at the bar, it's close to the door (yay!), further in there's normal restaurant tables, and darker/louder (swipe for pictures). The Takeover Tuesday series, this week: Toki-Yo Japanese fusion . 🍓 Mocktail - strawberry verjuice 🐟 Kingfish, burnt orange, almond 🌮 Salmon tacos, yuzu, cucumber 🐓 Chicken yakitori, smoked tare, shallot 🥩 MB6+ waygu steak, kombu butter Add Ons: 🦐 Prawn roll... 🦪 Syd rock oysters 🧁 Creme caramel . The kingfish was very good, much like the prawn roll, the chicken skewer was amazing, and the wagyu was really good too, but it needed rice... no the kitchen doesn't have rice. . Everything was amazing and I'd easily eat double what we ate. Delicious bites, no main dishes?? The wagyu could have been a main with the addition of rice. . (I) Left satisfied, this is probably the correct serving size and most of us tend to overeat. But the guys left hungry and found a kebab shop on the way back to the hotel. Service was very friendly . TLDR; Too loud and dark, excellent food but small bites. Bring friends who graze only. . 📷 Tip - it's too dark for photos, but not if you sit at the bar and use the light under the table . 🍸@ps40bar 📍King Street, Sydney 💵 $93pp (it's $65 for the set, but we ordered all the...