The Bob Hawke Beer and Leisure Centre — Restaurant in Sydney

We came here for our Christmas party and we were very annoyed at the whole process. As soon as we arrived, the first thing we were told was that we had to leave at 7:30pm due to another booking - which is fine, however this was mentioned to us constantly throughout our booking and it really dampened the mood. Weeks in advance, I emailed to ask if I could book a 5:30pm slot rather than 5pm slot as that was the only time we could get there. I was told to just book the 5pm slot because arriving at 5:30pm would be totally fine. Even though this was confirmed, I still got multiple calls saying that I was late, and even getting a passive aggressive "oh it's my third day on the job, how am I supposed to know" response when I showed them the email proof that we were able to arrive at 5:30.

Every time food came out, we were asked to stack all the empty plates and glasses so that they could put down new food and they never even took the dishes away. There was literally no room for us to eat. We had to constantly ask them to take the plates away. Dessert also came out 5 minutes before we had to leave the table and we had a waiter stand over us the whole time, waiting for us to scoff the dessert down so he could kick us off. We ordered drinks about 25 minutes before we had to leave, but they didn't show up until AFTER we got kicked off the table, meaning we were standing in the middle of the brewery drinking our drinks. The waiter didn't believe that we bought the drinks and had to show him the receipt. The worst was when we were standing around for 20 minutes waiting for the bill. No one came up to give it to us even though we asked, and when we were standing around waiting, we were told by a waiter that we were "in the way and that we need to leave."

REALLY bad experience with the wait staff. It's a shame because the food was really good, but unfortunately due to our experience, all 12 of us will not be...

(3.5 stars) Born under Whitlam, it was actually Prime Minister Bob Hawke I most remember from being a kid. Hawke re-set the standard for Aussie masculinity: he loved his beer, thought strict bosses were bums; and cried on the telly when his family got in strife. So indulge my misplaced nostalgia as I tell you about a vestige of this bygone era. The Bob Hawke Beer and Leisure Centre is very much in the style of a 1980s pub, taking me straight back to my Mum sending me into the Panania Hotel to “get your father out of the front bar”. Pale institutional bricks, white exterior signage, wood panelling, gold lettering: this place is like a time capsule stuffed into a Marrickville warehouse.

Lucky Prawn is a replica bistro that could have been plucked from the golf club in the town we took our annual holidays (Greenwell Point). It dishes up the same Chinese–Australian classics: oily prawn toast ($15) and honey king prawns ($36). While these dishes probably haven’t changed, I certainly have: nostalgia in the form of grease and sugar doesn’t eat quite like it used to.

Against a Margy ($22) in a non-standard glass—a bartender rocking a vintage t-shirt told me “someone dropped an entire rack last night”—I found the steamed prawn dumplings ($15/4) more my speed. Ditto a crab omelette ($32) freshened up with greens. More chilli and less sweetness would have improved the chilli eggplant ($24) but again that’s applying my 2024 self to something that isn’t trying to please it. Really what I liked about this spot was it was full of families who look like they’d normally go up the local club for a bang-up Friday night dinner. In upwardly mobile Marrickville, that’s kind of a delight. The retro cricket commentator speaking in the mixed gender loo may take some getting used to: I looked around to check I’d actually...

We booked & dined here yesterday and have mixed feelings about the experience. Upon arrival, we were greeted by the maître D, whose demeanor was less than welcoming. Unfortunately, the first impression wasn’t great, as they came across quite dismissive and arrogant.

On a positive note, the table service from the female staff was absolutely outstanding—professional, friendly, and attentive. Example being happily replacing my daughter’s soft drink after my fat fingers chose the wrong type through the app…. The beer & food itself was sensational, and I can’t fault the quality or presentation of the dishes (small issue; Had to go to the bar a couple of time as the IPA wasn’t available in anything other than a pony size thru Me&U)…. It was truly a five-star dining experience from that perspective.

However, I did encounter an issue when trying to redeem a prize from the token gaming machine. I won a T-shirt, but the printer was broken. When I asked about it, the response from one of the staff members was disappointing, suggesting that it “hardly ever works and you should have taken a photo, bad luck” and offering no help or alternative. It left a bit of a sour taste, especially when he turned his back on me…

Overall, the female staff shone throughout the evening with their excellent service, but some of the male (yes I’m male too) staff members could benefit from more customer-focused training. It felt like a throwback to outdated 1980s attitudes, which detracted from what could have been a perfect evening. I hope they improve in this area, as the food and service from the waitresses were...