The Fox Hole — Restaurant in Sydney

Update 03/02/25

I've been dealing with James (Head of Customer Experience at The Fox Hole) via email. While he did offer a solution, he completely missed the point of my concerns. My issues about the experience, the inconvenience and the poor handling of the situation were missed. A genuine acknowledgment of that would have gone a long way. Instead, his passive-aggressive and condescending approach made it clear that customer satisfaction is not the priority here. Just excuses to ensure that they’re solely to blame.

Important to note for other patrons: If you book an experience through Red Balloon less than 48 hours in advance, The Fox Hole considers it a "last-minute" booking - even though their experience is available under Red Balloon’s “Instant Book”feature, which is specifically designed for spontaneous gifts and plans.

A lesson for The Fox Hole: If you don’t want customers booking within 48 hours, that’s something you need to address with Red Balloon - not penalise customers for using the system as intended. Either update your availability settings or remove yourself from the “Instant Book” feature. Automatically sending confirmation emails when a booking isn’t actually secured is misleading and sets customers up for disappointment. Be one of the places on Red Balloon that in order to require confirmation, you need to wait for the venue to respond.

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I had booked a 90-Minute Gin Masterclass for Two via Red Balloon for 6:30 PM on 27/02/2025 as part of my partner’s birthday celebration. I received a confirmation email for this booking and since the class was only 90 minutes long, I planned the evening accordingly by making a dinner reservation for 8:30 PM at a nearby restaurant.

When we arrived at The Fox Hole, we were immediately confused as the venue appeared closed and there was a sign stating that it was shut for a private function. Given that we had a confirmed booking, we assumed this private function was the masterclass itself, so we disregarded the sign and entered.

After waiting for a few minutes, we were greeted by a staff member (I believe his name was Thomas), who asked how he could help. When I mentioned that we were there for the 6:30 PM gin masterclass, he informed us that the class was not running because the venue was closed for a private function. His response was not entirely dismissive but more of a shrug-of-the-shoulders apology, essentially saying, "Sorry, there's nothing I can do. I know it's our fault, but you'll just have to reschedule."

I explained that rescheduling wasn’t a simple option, as this was for my partner’s birthday and had been planned around our 8:30 PM dinner reservation. Thomas had no real response other than repeating that the venue was closed and that we’d have to come back another time. When I pointed out that it was only 6:30 PM and we had two hours before dinner, he suggested we go to a cocktail bar a few doors down. He took my contact number and said he would call the next day (today) and that was the extent of the resolution offered.

At that point, I stepped outside and attempted to contact the restaurant to see if they could accommodate us earlier, but unfortunately, they were fully booked and unable to move our reservation. This left us with no choice but to find somewhere to pass the time, leading to an unexpected $200 spend at the cocktail bar, followed by our $300 dinner, all while having already paid $190 for an experience that never took place.

I tried calling three times today to follow up, nobody has answered the phone. I sent an email with no response. And yesterday I left my name and number so somebody could contact me, nobody has.

Frankly, this situation is completely unacceptable. At the very least, I should have received prior notification that the class was not going ahead. Had I been contacted in advance, I could have adjusted my plans accordingly rather than showing up only to be turned away with no real...

My friend and I attended for the Scottish night and we had an absolutely amazing time. Firstly, they've done some serious work on the place since the last Burns night I attended (although that night itself was also fantastic) and it looks incredible! The service was impeccable, the servers really know their courses and would even suggest what would go well with what and even if they didn't they were still engaging and friendly and willing to go above and beyond. The food was unbelievably good, the haggis was undeniably the star, but the shot of potato soup which was rich and buttery as well as the dessert which was not only the perfect size but refreshing and light were very close contenders. The entertainment was brilliant, he was one of those people that you could tell didn't just perform because it's his job, but performed because he genuinely loved it and was enjoying himself as well. Seriously amazing work! If you're looking for a nice, classy but yet comfortable and relaxing dinner I can certainly assure you the Fox Hole will be the perfect place.

Also, this may be an unusual 'P.S' but for anyone about to place a negative review I would like to make a side note to think about before hand. As someone who has worked in hospitality for years (and no, I have never worked here, I've never even worked near here, and I do not know anyone who works here however much I would've liked to have known the cute English waiter...) please consider this, if you're going to complain about prices take a second to think about the amount of prep work that goes into your dish, the quality of ingredients and the detailed service that goes behind making the dishes you are being served because whilst it's easy to judge something on your plate in the moment it's also easy to forget the man power and quality behind it. Secondly, and this one's important, if you have a problem with your service/food PLEASE bring it to the attention of the business and discuss it with them first, if you had a bad experience and decide to say nothing, just go home and post a bad review, you are overlooking the many factors that may be behind what went wrong and the fact that this may be a one time occurrence that could easily be rectified. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but reviews, especially in such a customer based industry can have a direct and dire affect on a business. Anyway, there is my little rant done, I hope you give this place a try and enjoy it as...

As a self-proclaimed whisky amateur, I was a gifted Japanese whisky-tasting class here to expand my palate of knowledge. The Fox Hole is a tidy, intimate bar, where my partner and I sat for a cocktail from the extensive list before the tasting experience, where the staff said they would grab us when they were ready. My partner, although a non-participant, was invited to sit with us to at least enjoy the atmosphere of the tasting, a there were only two other guests. The space at a squeeze could hold maybe eight comfortably, which I feel is big enough to emphasise the personable experience that it was. The host was knowledgeable, engaging, and thorough with his information. He was interactive and educational without prompting people to what they should experience with their tasting. We covered six whiskies in total, ranging in flavour, intensity, history, age, and price (though price never spoken of), and some whiskies came with snacks to compliment the flavours.

Would certainly do this again.

The only feedback I have, which was based purely on aesthetics, was that most of the bottles used during the experience were well-used. I understand that as a working bar, they're going to get used; however, to then display them at the front as the session progressed just didn't please the eye. I have also looked at maybe a card at the end with information, etc, on the whiskies for us to research in our own time.

Staff overall at the venue were lovely, polite, interactive, and would visit again. After the experience, my partner and I stayed for dinner. We got the wild mushroom arancini balls, posh sausage rolls, butter chicken, and flaky pasty been burgundy pie.

Admittedly, the entrees set a standard the mains couldn't meet, as the mash and gravy resembled more of a soup, leaving my not-so-flaky pastry chillin like a jellyfish in the middle. The butter chicken ( the most popular dish according to staff ) had a good flavour and portion size but also failed to meet the standards and presentation set by the entrees.

Cocktails were extensive, enjoyable and well presented. Nice...