The Belvedere Hotel — Restaurant in Sydney

Great food but terrible service...

The pub section is small and loud - needs soft furnishings. I liked the quality of the special beverage of the month (Sipsmith London Dry Gin and tonic, with a twist, served in a highball). After struggling through the nose to carry on conversation, we headed upstairs to The Greek at Bevedere (rest of review is for there)

I attended a mid-week party for 20, booked well in advance. After being asked to pre-order, the expectation was that food would be delivered in a very managed approach. This couldn't be further from the truth.

There was only a single wait staff assigned to the dining room for the majority of the evening, and they were deplorable. After a significant delay to take drinks orders, entrees and mains suddenly came out at the same time, causing the tables to be overfilled, and the pleasant dining experienced to feel like an inconvenience to the staff. Drinks took ages to be delivered, and one of the selections had only a single bottle available. Glasses of wine were knocked over by the wait staff, and simple requests given days in advance, like "these guests are only arriving at 7:30", were seemingly ignored as their food came out anyway, with the rest of the meals. This necessitated returning the food to the kitchen and having new meals cooked for the correct time.

The redeeming feature is the food, though. HUGE portions, with amazing flavours and quality. The lamb shoulder could feed 2 hungry souls alone, and the lemon potatoes are to die for! Dips were authentic but a bit of a let down, made up for by expertly cooked prawns saganaki. All of the different dishes were very well received around the table.

Overall, if they improve their service, the food won't have to "make up" for the inadequacies and can shine like it...

Just to start off, I wanted to say a very big thank you to Sophie who is the function manager of this restaurant. A few weeks ago, I organised a lunch for a friend who wanted to celebrate their marriage. We had booked out the whole restaurant for lunch because he wanted a lot of privacy. This was perfect. When you enter the restaurant you immediately feel a sense of intimacy and warmth! Love it. There's a private bar just for this restaurant and a private restroom which makes this place the perfect venue for a function.

This restaurant is on level 1 of the Belvedere Hotel and you wouldn't really know it was an awesome place to eat unless someone else told you that it was - it's quite hidden! The chef is a lovely person who is flexible in what they can produce as food. Awesome team! The service was just as amazing.

I had organised a whole set menu for the event and we had pre-ordered the food items the day before. My favourite dishes on the menu was the octopus, halloumi and also the snapper. Such memorable dishes! The lamb shoulder was huge and it was also the highlight of the lunch as well.

I have a lot of praise for the fairy light decoration of their level 3 terrace area that offers reservation of tables and the area for a function too. I can imagine an awesome place to have EOFY parties for groups between 30-40 people. The Belvedere is one of only places where I feel won't rip you off for the drinks that you purchase. It's an honest and authentic business.

Thank you again from the bottom of my...

I've walked past The Belvedere Hotel (near Town Hall) countless times and can't believe I didn't know about this restaurant sooner!! Located on the second floor, upstairs from the pub, Greek at The Belvedere serves some of the most delicious and authentic Greek food that I've had in a long time. Chef Stegios and the team are so incredibly warm and welcoming, it's like dining with family.

We start with the meze plate, laden with beef keftedes (meatballs), calamari, fresh tzatziki and olives alongside two beautiful dips served with warm pita bread. My favourite is the taramasalata – a dip made of white cod roe with onion, lemon juice and olive oil.

Then, there was the Saganaki Kefalograviera (cheese) – quite possibly my favourite dish of the night. Crisp and golden on the outside, warm and gooey on the inside, the salty bite of cheese was perfectly contrasted with sweet honey, a touch of lemon and crushed pistachios. A must-try!

For mains, I'd highly recommend the slow-roasted lamb shoulder, which is impossibly juicy tender, you can pull it apart with a spoon. Served with lemony potatoes and vegetables + tzatziki which is perfect to cut through the rich lamb.

I'd also highly recommend the moussaka!! Perfect for sharing and I love that creamy bechamel sauce – yum!

For dessert, the galaktoboureko (Greek custard slice wrapped in filo) with baklava ice cream and cinnamon syrup is hard to go by.

Wonderful food and service – I'll be...