Surf 'n' Turf Illawong — Restaurant in Sydney

My family and I had a disappointing experience.

My partner and 4 children went there to celebrate my son’s birthday as he is a big fan of seafood.

We ordered 2 of the Lobster specials, southern chicken burger, the “scotch fillet ($50)”, the seafood linguine as well as a side of chips with the entree being the Mezza plate.

Although my family enjoyed their meals for the most part. My “scotch fillet” was wafer thin ( about 3mm thick ), full of fat and sinew whilst being extremely chewy. It resembled a cheap cut of minute steak and tasted even worse. Needless to say I didn’t eat it.

I asked for the bill and waited at the register. The waiter on duty told me to wait and served a customer at a table which is understandable.

I waited, only for him to allow another patron to stand in front of me to pay his bill which the waiter passified at my expense.

When I eventually got served and presented with my $300+ bill, I explained to him that I was not served a premium cut of meat but rather a cheap chewy waver thin piece of meat. His response was to smile and hand me the bill anyway. There was no effort made to rectify the situation. He didn’t even bother looking at my uneaten plate of food to inspect, as though he knew full well what I was served. I paid my bill and reiterated that I was not served what I ordered.

I would say that this behaviour was unethical and possibly illegal at worst, being misleading at a minmum. I explained that if you open your fridge and see that there are no cuts of scotch fillets left, that you should give the customer the opportunity to change their order rather than giving them something that they didn’t order especially when your downgrading their meal.

When given the opportunity to rectify the situation, the attendant did absolutely nothing about it taking my money.

This interaction bothered me so much that when I arrived home, I called the restaurant to further explain my poor experience. Only then, did they offer to refund my meal but I would need to leave my son’s birthday celebrations and return the the restaurant in order to do this, what an inconvenience, of course I didn’t do that!

At the end of the day, I left hungry with the celebrity mood ruined.

I will never return to this...

From the first moment you step in, it is absolute impeccable class all the way.

Cleanliness, decor [and I don't personally fuss over those myself] are very much indeed on-point and you will not fail to notice both. And let us not rule out the quality of service: for you are welcomed and looked-after sublimely from the get-go.

Until you reach the elaborate, detailed menu outlining the classiest blend of Middle Eastern and western dining, so detailed that the management [blessed-be] even included a glossary to guide you at menu's end! Now I felt that mentioning this tidbit alone was significant, because frankly I'd not noticed it anywhere else.

Guaranteed if the extensive range of mezza entrees fail to fill you up - the main courses will sort you for that, big time. Grilled Halloumi was a scrumptious filler, I ate the most artfully-presented Hommous bowl and the Southern Calamari with Toum Mayo' was an inspired combination. The main courses of Rangers Valley Steak and Chicken Shawarma were a delicious luxury exceeding any expectations. As for dessert - I only got to enjoy the Baklava Cigar during one of two [to date] visits but I will boast about this fancy, intricate bake as a must. Portion and taste for all, were indeed paramount.

On top of that: the venue is Sydneytown's first official Sobar. An eye (as well as taste-bud) expanding 'foray' that I personally had not encountered elsewhere to date - so much so that I basked indulging in the myriad of cocktails, wines and martinis, all of which are alcohol-free and quite sublime in their own right. I look forward to going for the gin and tonic next time.

Mezzaterra is a significant credit to the Sutherland Shire and, for me, it rates as the undisputed favourite of restaurant dining [and lunch] experiences I've ever had in...

We were hunting for food around Illawong as we came here to rent our camping stuff. Found this opens on the 24th of Dec. Quite positive review as well so we decided to give it a try.

Environment 5/5 Loves this quiet neighbourhood, there’s a coles nearby and a few more restaurants. But this is located facing the main road, not many cars passing by and it’s a quiet and lovely place to chill.

Service 5/5 Staff is attentive and helpful. They are very friendly as well and make sure we are well served.

Coffee 4/5 Not too bad, this is not a cafe, but more of a bistro, so I wouldn’t expect fantastic coffee, but this is quite good already.

Garlic bread 5/5 Come on, 4 pieces are not enough! Bread is soft, the butter is thick and generous enough.

Risotto 3.5/5 This is with pumpkin and mushroom, so we added chicken, just that we didn’t expect to be skewers, we thought it will be cooked together with the risotto. That’s a miss there. Overall, taste is flavourful and the aroma is nice.

Sirloin 4.5/5 Everything is nearly perfect, just that I have ordered medium rare but it came medium. Still not too bad. The salad is nice, plating is nice, the mushroom sauce blend well with the beef as medium turns to be a bit dry, mushroom sauce is a good help.

Recommended dish sirloin garlic bread

Will I come back again? 3.5/5 Likely, if I’m around this...