The Fenwick — Restaurant in Sydney

IN SHORT: Save your money and your time, there are a lot of other restaurants around Sydney with much better atmosphere, service, food quality and prices. Honestly, one of the most overpriced meals I’ve ever had.

Really disappointed with the overall experience. I had a booking for 3pm on a Sunday for a birthday lunch. It was our first time attending. Firstly, there is absolutely no parking, you’ll need to allow 15-20 minutes for parking alone, as it is street parking in a residential area. (Which is fine, not their problem)

Given this parking situation, we arrived 15 minutes late to our booking (all restaurants allow a 15 minute or so grace period for bookings). When we arrived one of the waitresses made eye contact, when she saw us walking up I smiled to say we had a booking but she abruptly turned around with a straight face and walked off. So we continued to wait to speak to the next available person, when we were approached by a second waitress that gave us a questioning look, we said we had a booking for 3pm, she quickly said “guys our kitchen is closed”… why have you allowed a booking for 3pm when your kitchen closes at 3:15pm? How does this make sense? After travelling 50 minutes and spending 20 minutes to find parking.. to celebrate a birthday.. that was the worst way to be greeted by the hostess. She then said she’ll need to check again?

Came back to tell us we’ll have time to eat, but we’d need to order very quickly. We asked why they’d allow a booking for 3pm if the kitchen closes so quickly, to which she replied that she knows parking is terrible and can take a while but that’s why they encourage us to come early (I don’t know where this encouragement was, because it was nowhere on the booking confirmation or the SMS reminder - photo attached for reference).

When we were seated and had our orders taken, I noticed that there were 3 other tables of guests who hadn’t even received their orders yet (so the kitchen wasn’t really closed.. they were receiving their mains the same time we had our entrees served?).

The waiter we had was polite but tried to upsell so much. Kept asking us to add different dishes to the order, even added an extra entree that we hadn’t asked for or agreed to.

With the upselling tactics again - my partner had ordered his 2nd Johnny black and coke when the waiter told him that was their last one and if he wants another it’ll have to be the blue label (LOL! What?).

Overall food was mediocre at best and definitely overpriced. There are definitely better restaurants around Sydney that will offer views and food for much cheaper and better quality and experience.

Also noting, we had asked for outdoor seating, and even with plenty of empty seats, we were seated inside. And witnessed a number of walk in customers seated...

I had booked this restaurant well in advance for my mum's 60th birthday lunch, knowing December is a busy time. Unfortunately, my experience didn’t live up to expectations. Upon arrival, the staff seemed too rushed, and the greeting was less than warm. When I mentioned our reservation, the response was a curt "Downstairs" without any welcome. I understand it's a busy time, but this lack of courtesy set the tone for the rest of our visit. I had also called ahead to confirm we could bring a birthday cake, and the manager who handled that request didn’t greet us warmly either. While I was aware of the cakeage fee and was prepared to pay it, the manager’s cold demeanor didn’t make me feel very valued. Although there were several empty tables, we were directed to a cramped corner, and when I politely requested a different seat, I was told everything was fully booked, which felt unaccommodating. We went ahead and sat down, only to have water leak from the ceiling onto our table and plates. After notifying the staff, we were moved to a different table (the one that had been previously "booked out"), but no one checked in on us until we had finished our meal. I was disappointed, especially since I had specifically mentioned this was a birthday celebration when making the reservation two months ago. The lack of apology from the manager and his impersonal attitude made things worse. He simply stated that the air conditioner had been turned off, but that didn’t excuse the lack of warmth or care for customers.However, there were positives that helped redeem the experience. Rebecca, a lovely waitress, made a difference in the second half of our meal. Additionally, the kitchen staff who helped cut and decorate mum’s birthday cake went above and beyond to make us feel special. Their efforts really made us feel valued. The food itself was good, and we did enjoy our meal, but the poor service at the start and end of our visit, along with the incident with the leaking air conditioning, left a sour note. It’s clear that the restaurant needs to improve customer service, especially during busy times. If it wasn’t for Rebecca and the wonderful kitchen staff, I would have rated this restaurant 2 stars. While I understand the holiday season can be stressful, the way we were treated was disappointing. I hope the restaurant takes customer feedback seriously and makes improvements...

I made a booking way back in March for a special occasion for 10 people on a Monday for lunch in August. You’d think that planning months ahead would mean things run smoothly — wrong. At the time of booking, they were promoting a winter menu with BYO (plus a $15 per bottle service fee). Based on that, I invited my guests with the promise that I would be supplying wines. Then, out of the blue, I get an email saying “Oops, our bad — no BYO, we made a mistake.” I get it — mistakes happen. But what followed was ridiculous. I had to chase them up three separate times just to get a clear answer. Could they accommodate BYO given it was their error? Nope. And fine, they can’t — but the lack of accountability and communication was a joke. I also requested upstairs seating (clearly stated in my original booking months in advance and reiterated via email). Again, no guarantees. In the middle of winter, on Monday, they couldn’t even confirm if we’d be seated together. You may be spread across multiple tables…”may be” umm, so how am I suppose to decorate? which I requested to do and granted, when I don’t even know the table arrangement. I requested to update the booking from 10 to 11 people and was informed there would be a 8% group surcharge — for what? For not getting the space requested months ago? I was then informed it’s a different menu for groups over 10 — but said they’d honour the original winter menu (thankfully). I’ve clearly cancelled this booking, and won’t ever be eating there again, or recommending it to anyone. This place is an absolute circus. Reviews I’ve seen point to racism and horrendous customer service, and after this experience, I believe it. The food is average at best, and the attitude and professionalism are non-existent. Do yourself a favour and don’t waste your time or money. There are so many better places out there that know how to treat their customers — this isn’t...