Royal Hotel — Restaurant in Sydney

Disappointing Experience at Bistro 56 Visited Bistro 56 today for lunch with my mother, and unfortunately, the experience left much to be desired, especially in terms of customer service. The lady taking our order was dismissive and unhelpful, which immediately put a damper on the meal.

I ordered a schnitzel with chips and mushroom sauce for $24 and a schnitzel parmigiana for $29 ($24 for the schnitzel and an extra $5 for the parmigiana topping). However, I was surprised when I was told that adding a sauce would cost an extra $4. Apparently, if you order a schnitzel on its own, the sauce is included, but if you add a topping, like the parmigiana, you lose the sauce inclusion and have to pay extra for it. This policy seems nonsensical—why should adding a topping void what’s otherwise included in the meal?

So essentially, Bistro 56 would rather you order a plain schnitzel to get the free sauce. If you decide to pay extra for a topping, you’re penalized by being charged another $4 for the sauce. Even more frustrating, if you order a steak or a schnitzel without any topping, the sauce is free. But if you order a parmigiana, it’ll cost you an extra $9 in total.

Customer service should be about providing a fair and enjoyable dining experience, but this left me feeling frustrated and undervalued. Certainly not the service you’d expect for such a...

Rating for the very friendly female bar tender who served me on Tuesday evening (I'm sorry did not catch her name). She knows the balance between friendly small chat, good service and still giving customers their space! She made me feel comfortable despite arriving as a single female to a pub that I might otherwise have left. A quiet pub on a weeknight, it appears to have much greater potential for community involvement and tourist visitors, than what I've seen the couple of times I've visited. Would be good to have some seating areas with a more cosy, comfortable relaxed vibe. The large rooms, bright lights, cafeteria style tables and huge open bistro space make it feel too much like an employee lunch room or hospital bistro, than it should. The big spaces also make the lack of patrons very noticeable and that may turn customers off staying for a drink or meal (my first instinct was to leave due to the atmosphere, but I decided to give it a chance on two occasions). All this being said, I will be back for a casual quick bite or drink with expectations not to stay for too long. The location is very convenient, right across the road from the train station, buses and taxi's so really good when waiting for a connection or as a meeting spot for heading out...

This is not a hotel with a pub, but a pub that has some rooms above it.

No air conditioning in the rooms, resulting in uncomfortably hot nights.

The door of our room would make a noise loud enough to wake us up, when other doors outside were opened/closed. I had to lodge some toilet paper to the door to silence it.

The second night we stayed there, there was music booming into our room from the pub below. When I went there at midnight to ask when this would stop, so that, we can get some sleep, I was told "it'll be over in a few minutes". After I got back up to the room, the loud music from the pub continued for a long time!

As a result, we checked out earlier than we had originally planned and paid for, and went to a real hotel. Instead of giving us a full refund for the days we didn't stay, they charged us an early cancelation fee!

Way to treat hotel guests: instead of providing them with peace and quiet for a good night's sleep, blast them with heat and loud music, then charge them for the inconvenience and discomfort.

Do not stay here, if you are looking for...