Sinclair’s — Restaurant in Sydney

In short extremely overpriced, undertrained staff and very disappointing food. $360 for 2 people and left hungry. Elaboration below:

Staff: Although our server was extremely friendly and great natured there was little to no understanding of the menu, dishes or drinks. Multiple incorrect drink orders taken to incorrect tables, Negroni served as Mojito, Old Fashioned served as Long Island. Inability to lay food at table unassisted, clearing plates over us whilst eating etc. No typical fine dining other than seating, lapping and checking coats.

Food: Our first course comprised of 2 lovely oysters, 2 butterflied king prawns along with 2 slices of rye bread, all of which we enjoyed very much. The following course of Pork Jowl and Veal Tartare was a sign of things to come. Uncooked vegetables, no flavor to the pork and a cut that resembled fat trimmings. The mains were to be a Marble Score 4 Steak accompanied by duck fat potatoes, Truffles and salad. The steak had a single vein of fat with no visible marbling, I regularly buy better from Woolworths, ungraded, for $25 a serve. We were not offered a choice as to how we wanted our steak and so it was served rare, chefs preference. Duck fat potatoes were dry and granular with a texture of sawdust, having nearly no Jus as an accompaniment they were quite inedible. Truffle was simply not presented. Salad was nice however more fitting of a pub or club than a degustation meal. Lastly for dessert was a cheese platter consisting of 3 small slices of cheese along with honeycomb and dried grapes. Nothing wrong here but nothing that says fine dining degustation either. All meals were served as single portion centered in the table leaving us to plate for ourselves, not something I have ever experienced on a degustation let alone fine dining a la carte. Also not something easily (or cleanly) done with small and complicated dishes.

Service: Slow, very slow. Long wait for food and drinks. Paired wines were served upon completion of each course with the following courses taking on average 30mins to arrive at the table leaving little to no wine to enjoy. Additional drink orders took on average 20mins and usually detoured to a different table first. Pairings not explained in any way neither the dishes or wines themselves. When questioned about items on the menu and methods of cooking staff were not able to advise. Maître De only approached the table at one point in the night and was very sharp to both my wife and I along with the table next to us. On leaving we were left to rifle through 3 separate coat racks ourselves (along with 2 other customers doing the same) to try to find my wifes' coat that had been checked at the onset of the evening.

I love degustation feasts, I expect to be served small portions of amazingly prepared food and am happy to pay accordingly. I also expect that by the last course I will be full. By the last course at Sinclairs I was left hungry, disappointed and well and truly poorer for it. They did comp our potatoes as well as the Truffle Main that was never served, how kind.

Compared to degustation's from world class locations such as Hayman Island, Qualia Resort, Rockpool etc, where a 10 course paired experience comes in at a similar price with world class service, this was by far the most expensive, smallest portioned, worst prepared and worst example of a fine dining experience. Would not...

The food was tasty enough, the building and setting is lovely but the service staff were not at the standard of a fine dining restaurant. It was my mother-in-law's birthday and our party of 8 were made to feel as though we were an inconvenience for the whole night.

When we arrived we were not served drinks or table water, we had to ask for it and it took a long time to come. I don't mind waiting for a cocktail (which was a good cocktail) but put some water on the table at least. This wouldn't have been so much of an issue if we weren't then pressured for our food order. We were told that there was a party of 30 coming (I don't know how that's our problem?). Once we made our order my mother wanted to take a photo of the menu but they were rudely snatched out from underneath us by a woman in a pink shirt. We were told it was because they didn't have enough menus and they needed to go other customers.

Because we'd ordered a few different steaks that were cooked in different ways, when they all came out at once, we had to check who ordered what. The woman in the pink shirt came to the table with one of the steaks (my mother in law likes her steak rare - given it was her birthday, I wanted to make sure that she got the right steak) and when I asked how it was cooked she said "it's the eye fillet". Like I said, we ordered a few steaks and so I asked her again "how is it cooked"? And she snapped back 'however you ordered it' and then said "I can check for you" but again, it was like a huge effort for her to know what she was bringing to the table. It was just really unnecessary treatment.

My 98 year old grandfather ordered the "Morton bay bugs" which is a very misleading menu item. It should be called "Seafood Pasta". The "bugs" are chopped up inside the pasta.

All evening we were made to feel as though we were an inconvenience and you know, I can pay much less than $1200 to be made to...

Mixed Bag at Sinclair in Penrith's Log Cabin

Rating: 3/5 stars

I recently had the opportunity to dine at Sinclair in Penrith, located at the log cabin. The picturesque location provided a stunning view of the mountains and river from the balcony, creating a serene ambiance for our dining experience.

The meal kicked off to a promising start with a delightful selection of starters. We ordered the crumpets and zucchini flowers were both cooked to perfection, showcasing the kitchen's skill and attention to detail. However, our enjoyment was dampened by the awkward blend of music from the venue below, which interfered with the overall atmosphere, making it challenging to relax.

Moving on to the main course, the lamb shoulder was, well-cooked, and but was not balanced and was overly salty in flavor. The second main was my scotch fillet, though perfectly cooked steak, suffered from an overly salted red wine jus, leaving a lingering tingling sensation on my tongue. Fortunately, the side salad which is purchased separately provided some relief, allowing me to cut through the excessive saltiness. We also added the hand cut fries which can with a tasty sweet sauce to the fries also helped balance the flavors.

Dessert featured a trio of sorbets that delighted with their vibrant flavors. Unfortunately, the wagon wheel dessert missed the mark due to an overwhelming assault of salt. The presence of butter on the plate masquerading as a blob of cream added to the disappointment.

In conclusion, Sinclair has the potential to shine with its focus on fresh local produce and skilled preparation. However, my recommendation would be to embrace simplicity and ensure that each dish is executed with precision. Despite the mixed experience, the beautiful setting and the promising start with the starters offer hope for improvement in the overall dining experience at Sinclair...