Rockpool Bar & Grill Sydney — Restaurant in Sydney

Very disappointing evening. Food is average and service is poor. Asked for a breadbasket and we were given a single slice of bread each about the half the size of a regular slice. I asked for a basket and said I don’t mind paying be but we were given another pathetic slice - when we were able to get a waiters attention. Ordered 3 entrees to share - wrong one arrived to the table and they took our share plates away. Then later 2 out of 3 of the correct entrees came but we had no plates to eat from, as they had taken everything away when they got it wrong the first time round. The third entree came sometime later. The waiter came over and apologised and said that he would take it off our bill. It was unclear who our waiter was, as we had a different person come to the table each time. We ordered a beer when our mains arrived, but after waiting 20 minutes and asking three other people where it is, it then arrived as we were finishing our food and were told the keg needed changing. We asked about the beer three times in those 20 minutes and no one mentioned anything about a keg being changed - if we’d of known that we would’ve ordered something else.

Although the steaks were nice they were nothing special and it was on par with High Street chain restaurants. We then ordered a desert each, but whilst my Pavlova became, it took a good 15 minutes for the other desert to arrive. By which point I had finished the Pavlova and my husband decided to get his desert takeaway. He had mentioned when booking it was my birthday, and we told the girl on the door when she asked if we were celebrating an occasion yet nothing was done to acknowledge that it was a special occasion. No candle. No happy birthday. Nothing. we asked for the bill and a runner came over with the card machine in a hurry get us out of the restaurant. We had only had about 30 seconds to look at the bill and then we realised the entree that we were told would be taken off was still on there and we had been charged $20 for two glasses of sparkling water which is outrageous. Waiter informed us that this was the correct pricing as it is $10 per person. This was not explained to us and it’s ridiculous. Having our night ruined, we left with our takeaway desert. The bill was around $500 and it was an absolute waste of money. The service really ruined everything for us and it was supposed to be a special night. Ironically, I’ve had the best experience of my life at Rockpool Melbourne and the worst in Sydney. I was asked to review the restaurant and the next day I was contacted by the assistant manager manager who said he would give me a call in the next few days to figure out what went wrong, but here we are a week later and we have had no contact. In a city where you are spoilt for choices, go and spend your money somewhere else! Having spoken to friends and colleagues, they all agree that the restaurant has very much gone downhill. Wish I knew this before we booked as it was supposed to be the highlight of...

I came to Rockpool to celebrate my partner and my anniversary, but I actually left disappointed and a bit upset by the whole experience.

I first want to say that the food, particularly the main courses, were really lovely - the wagyu was the nicest beef I've had in my life. The sommelier also provided a good service, and the little cupcake at the end was a nice treat.

However as for everything else, there was a lack of basic professionalism in so many fronts:

upon arriving early and waiting for my partner, I waited 5-10 minutes just to sit at the bar. it wasn't just me, there were several groups just waiting to be allowed to sit down at the half full bar. Staff were scurrying about us, but nobody took the time to just guide us to a bar stool or empty table. asking me to take off my beret under their 'no hats' rule while other bar patrons were being so loud and obnoxious that as a bartender I would've intervened even in my old pub. It felt weird and unprofessional - we were dressed very nicely and it made us feel unwelcome. upon seating, we didn't get a wine menu until we asked to speak to the sommelier (who did a good job), which all happened quite a while into the service. I came to Rockpool because I really wanted to try one of its great wines - this made it hard to do. entrees served while one of us was in the bathroom, letting it go cold. They were still nice, but cold asparagus isn't great. overcharged for a carafe of wine instead of a glass (we did eventually get a refund).

And finally I was just being constantly misgendered the whole night by the wait/bar staff. Like, I'm not trying to demean people doing their job - one I've done before - but if in doubt, please ask, the booking was made under the name Audrey, there were enough context cues to not mess that up. It's pretty upsetting to be called 'sir' the whole night. As a queer couple it just made us feel like we were being 'tolerated' and not really 'guests'.

These are the kinds of mistakes that I wouldn't really expect to see at a much more ordinary establishment, let alone Sydney's most famous restaurant. It made what was supposed to be a wonderful evening for us both into quite a stressful experience. I really could not recommend Rockpool to my friends, family...

We had a Christmas celebration dinner at Rockpool tonight and it was a great experience! We ordered quite a few dishes and left more than satisfied.

We ordered:

Yellowfin Tuna Tartare, Moroccan Eggplant, Cumin Mayonnaise and Harissa

This was fantastic, perfect balance of acidity and richness from the tuna. The flavour was perfectly calculated. Highly recommend.

Woodfire Grilled Bone Marrow with Milanese Crust and Herb Salad

A popular choices ordered by many tables. The marrow was on point and it was a pleasure to eat with accompanying crusty bread.

Veal Shin Ragu with Hand Cut Pappardelle and Pecorino

The pasta was incredibly fresh and just the right texture and thickness. However the tomato based ragu sauce was a bit bland.

Free Range Chicken with Heirloom Carrots and Tarragon

This dish was a bit of a let down. The chicken meat was tasteless and the base sauce that came with the chicken failed to lift the flavour. The chicken skin however was wonderfully thin & crispy, full of flavour.

RANGER VALLEY DRY AGED 300 DAY GRAIN FED Rib Eye on the Bone 550g 39 days

Super super tender, and it was portioned when it arrived at the table which was a lovely touch. We ordered medium rare, however the meat was slightly on the blue side. But perhaps that’s how you can better appreciate the meat. It would’ve been better if the fat was more rendered as mouth of fat was not pleasant on what otherwise a great piece of steak.

Potato Purée

Hands down best potato mash in the history of mash.

Mixed Sautéed Mushroom

This was such a surprised treasure. I have read comments that it’s on the saltier side, I found it perfectly seasoned.

Cocktails: Bellini - pleasant On the Cairns - not a fan Tiki Punch - very nice

The service was very attentive and polite. We were seated at the private function area, it was nice and quiet, less chaotic than the main dining hall. A great atmosphere for conversation and catch-up. Lucky us!

The staff was very professional and we were very well...