The Gallery Cafe — Restaurant in Sydney

I don’t think I’ve ever bothered with a review before but today felt just absolutely tragic.

This was probably some of the most uncaring and worst service I’ve had for a long time though the one saving grace was the cakes were nice and the coffee was good albeit a little pricey.

Anyhow go in and find you order off the QR code so easy as but then see a few options on the menu aren’t listed online so I go to order at the counter and it’s oh we don’t have that. Sure bit annoying but I’ll get something else. Anyways order a few bits and end up with three plates dumped on the counter for me to carry to my table while old mate behind the counter disappears. Not sure if he expected me to have a third arm to carry all the plates or something but I just had to balance them and struggle instead - simply a tray would have been nice.

Later drinks are brought to the table with one being a ginger beer. I ask for a glass and it’s “oh they’re over there” as the waitress points inside on the far wall then just disappears. Wonderful guess I’ll just go for a wander to do her job and grab a glass then. Even worse was the glasses were those tiny little ones that are super thick and were moist from hopefully the dishwasher. I know it seems like I’m making a mountain out of a mole hill but it just felt so unhelpful and something you’d reasonably expect with your drink as a paying customer - I hardly asked for the impossible.

Returning to the table I had my small cake and drink but found I’m full and want a little box to take home remaining cake. Pop back inside and ask if I can have one of the small boxes behind the counter to be met with a oh no we don’t do take away and it can’t be done. Not sure why it can’t be done as it’s as simple as passing a box over? Anyways just had to grab some napkins and wrap the cake to carry around instead… so it clearly can be done but it must be policy to be as unhelpful as possible.

Just felt like a frustrating experience where it was just unhelpful and unfriendly staff at every stage. Might as well make it a do it yourself experience and save on the staffing cost. It wasn’t busy at all and there seemed to be plenty of staff so not sure why service had to be non existent when asking for the basics. Overall It wasn’t any one big issue it just felt like every stage in the ordeal had some...

The service was as you'd expect, professional and efficient. I love the sunny terrace and the clever adaptable, Ibis.

I'd give the food 2.5 stars - I started with a disappointingly industrial soup.

The very consistently diced, slightly tasteless vegetable - dominated by carrot- wasn't a great look in an Asian soup, usually chosen by diners for their fresh zingy ingredients, herbs, and complex flavours. Mixing coconut milk with an off the shelf curry paste into a thin "soup" did not offer enough body to make up for the "frozen veg" vibe.

My walnut and beetroot salad looked great but two rancid walnuts in, I returned it and swapped it for another fairly industrial salad option. I appreciated the manner in which this was handled, so well done there. A beautiful looking salad was ruined by a relatively cheap ingredient that every kitchen should know how to store properly.

Not being able to visually identify oxidised or rancid nuts over fresh ones should be a baseline of food knowledge for chefs, food hands, or prep staff. It is disappointing to be sold on the sunny terrace, the slick ordering app, the shiny looking menu, then getting a salad whose main ingredients ruined the rest, and should have been the delicious stars not wizened and acrid. I then had to reorder, and wait all over again.

What a wasted opportunity to reflect to our national and international visitors the vibrant and passionate Sydney food scene. I found the food sent a message of transactional disinterest. I got the sense that in this kitchen, feeding the public is a chore, not a joy.

The good news is there is loads of room for improvement. Menus are easily changed and staff are easily trained to do things differently and better. I'm sure the staff would appreciate the opportunity to receive rave 5 star reviews instead of a the grumpy 2.8 or worse ones . I keep seeing responses from the Cafe about feedback being passed on for review. Is it being acted upon or is 2.8 all that the cafe aspires to be, and are the management team letting the staff bear the brunt of cranky customers?

It's still an amazing location in a national treasure and...

This was my first visit to the Gallery Cafe, and I am deeply disappointed by the experience. The menu was very limited, with no options for people with food intolerance or allergies. Basic adjustments, such as removing BBQ sauce, were not possible because the food isn’t freshly prepared, despite claims on their website. The website also mentioned a variety of dining options and sandwiches, but none of these were available either on the menu or in the cabinet. Due to my food intolerance, I couldn’t eat anything and ended up having only a Coke Zero before needing to find food elsewhere.

The service was just as poor. The staff seemed unfriendly and lacking in basic manners. One staff member cleared our table and assumed my aunt was done with her tea, even though she had just received it and hadn’t poured a cup yet. When bringing my drink, the server simply set it down without asking who it was for, leaving it on the opposite side of the table.

The worst part of my visit was the incident with my water bottle. After leaving it on our table, I returned shortly after and asked the staff if they had seen it. The girl next to the counter brushed me off, saying it might be behind the counter but that, if not, it is "gone." Another staff member checked but claimed no one hadn’t seen it and suggested I might have left it in the bathroom, which I know was not the case, as I had left it on the table. It felt as if the staff knew it was there but either misplaced it or took no responsibility, which left a very negative impression.

Typically, I don’t leave reviews over food issues, but theft and dishonesty are something I cannot tolerate. I won’t be returning to this cafe, and I’ll be advising others to avoid it as well. It’s disappointing to see this level of service, especially in a place frequented by tourists at one of Sydney’s...