THEECA — Restaurant in Sydney

I feel compelled to leave a review after my 23rd birthday celebration at Theeca, which turned into a stressful and disappointing experience. Throughout the evening, numerous issues arose that we repeatedly had to address with staff: missing chairs, wet chairs (which I was given a cloth to wipe down myself), unlit candles despite paying $300 for table styling, and the cake being brought out before all guests had returned to the table. These were minor compared to what followed.

We were given the option of a bar tab or bar service. I chose bar service to avoid splitting the bill with my group of 16. However, despite confirming this in advance, the manager insisted on a bar tab. When the bill arrived, I was shocked to find it $480 higher than expected. The manager explained the extra charge was due to a “premium option” for ordering at the bar, adding $30 per person. This fee was never mentioned in my email confirmations, and when I asked to refer to them, I was told it wouldn’t change anything. Additionally, not all our guests were drinking, so why were we charged for everyone?

When I raised the issue, the manager was dismissive and rude, speaking over me and refusing to listen. I was brought to tears over how I was spoken to. We were made to feel as though we couldn’t afford to dine there, as if we were trying to avoid paying a bill we knew we owed. $500 is a lot of money, essentially in a cost of living crisis!

We asked to speak with a supervisor, but were told it would be disrespectful since they weren’t working. After 15-20 minutes, the manager finally called his supervisor, who admitted they had confused the $30 cake fee with a per-person charge. I later discovered the manager had fabricated the bar service fee to justify the overcharge.

Even after paying, I was treated dismissively, and I ended up walking away mid-conversation, still upset as the manager continued to talk over me. After emailing the restaurant about the issues, I requested a call. The owner did reach out, apologising and explaining the manager would be retrained. I raised several concerns, including compensation for the $300 table styling fee, which didn’t match the advertised standard. The styling was minimal compared to what was shown online, but my request was denied since the full $300 had already been spent. I suggest the team review their budget allocation, as the website shows fruit and bows on glasses that could have fit within that budget.

I also requested compensation for the $170 service fee, given the poor service, but was told it went to the booking system, not the restaurant, which contradicted the restaurant’s terms and conditions, which describe it as a “gratitude towards the staff.” Was I misinformed to avoid a refund? I also asked for a refund of the $30 cake fee since I had to cut and serve my own cake, so I suppose the $30 is to cover storage?

I was refunded the $30 cake fee as a "goodwill" gesture and offered a $100 voucher, which I refused. The experience had been so distressing that I couldn’t imagine returning. I expressed this to the owner, but the voucher was the only option offered.

We spent $1360 on food, drinks on top, a $300 table styling fee, a $30 cake fee, a $170 service fee, and an additional $20 just to pay by card. To be disrespected by the manager after spending that much money was incredibly disappointing. We traveled over an hour to dine at this restaurant, and although we had planned to continue our evening afterward, I was so distressed I ended the night after dinner.

It’s hard to understand how spending over $1880 on such a poor experience results in only a refund of the cake fee. I hope management understands that customers value compensation when service falls short, especially when the experience leaves them distressed. I’m confident that Theeca is profitable enough to offer a refund after such a traumatic experience. Instead of making things right, they lost not only me as a customer but my entire group of 15. Lying about the 10% service fee is also very low. Image attached...

Thank you for ruining my Mother’s Day lunch today.

First of all, we waited for 45 minutes to get a table since it was Mother’s Day. That was understandable—no problem there.

Secondly, once we were seated, we were told to place our order at the counter. When we went up and ordered foods and paid, the guy at the counter said, “Wait a sec,” so we waited—but he never came back. When he finally returned, we asked, “Can we go back to the table now?” He looked at us, puzzled, as if he had no idea why we had been waiting. My friend and I looked at each other, confused, wondering why he had told us to wait in the first place—for no reason at all.

Then the food arrived. My daughter had ordered pancakes. Everything—jam, cream, sauce—was piled on top. We’d never been to this place before, and based on the menu, we assumed the toppings would come on the side. It didn’t say otherwise. My daughter didn’t want to eat it all mixed together.

So I asked the same male waiter if I could have some jam on the side, since I had scraped off the toppings. He replied, “Ah, jam on the side?” and I said yes.

I went back to my seat—but then I overheard a loud conversation coming from the kitchen:

“We charge for everything! We need to charge for the jam too! Tell the customer to pay!”

Then I heard the waiter say, “I told the customer.”

I wanted to believe it wasn’t about me, but it clearly was.

So I approached a female Asian staff member who was cleaning tables and asked her about it. She told me I needed to pay extra for the jam. I explained that the male waiter should have communicated that clearly. He hadn’t said anything.

I returned to my seat, but I was quite upset. So I told the same female staff member again and told her I could hear the loud, rude conversation from the kitchen, and that the staff needed to communicate better with customers.

She looked at me and didn’t even offer an apology. Instead, she said something and walked off. I was speechless.

They also never cleared our table. Our dirty plates, cups, and everything else were left there until we left.

I don’t care how popular the restaurant is—service can ruin everything. If you can’t communicate, quit being a waiter. Customers shouldn’t have to pay for things that aren’t clearly explained or mentioned at the time of ordering. It was just a small portion of jam. I would have been happy to pay for it if the communication had been smooth. But instead, I got attitude and disrespect.

At least I had a good chat with my friend, but the experience overall was awful. There was no customer service at all.

We paid for:

Omelette – $25.50

Pancakes – $24.50

Salmon plate – $27

Coffee and baby chino

Bowl of chips

Plus a 10% Sunday surcharge

The food portions were small but acceptable. However, the service was terrible. Even the chair my daughter was sitting on was broken.

Overpriced for such stupidly poor service.

As you told us by attitude, yes we will never go back and thanks again for ruining my...

Take note of this cafe / restaurant everyone! It’s a winner. Theeca can be found in a lovely sandstone building in Darlinghurst. Much of their seating is in an outdoor sitting area overlooking a quiet street at the back of Oxford St. Being predominantly outdoors means it’s also dog friendly. You can also find Indoor seating available if you prefer.

The cafe offers both brunch and a dinner menu, and we enjoyed our brunch visit so much that we returned for dinner.

The food is so delicious and so many options we would have been happy to order. On our brunch visit, we opted for the Theeca plate, which is a beautiful plate full of a variety of tastes such as saucy meatballs, eggplant, scrambled eggs, potatoes. This doesn’t come with bread (but we think it should) so we ordered some to finish all the delicious sauce with. There’s also a vegetarian option of this plate.

We also ordered their truffle, mushroom, rocket and potato omelette, served with brickfields bakery bread. This was super tasty, and had a good amount of truffle to it. It’s quite small, so you may want to order extra side.

They have great coffee and also the cutest babycino for Lennox.

We do want to visit again for brunch because the soy boy pancake looks delicious and we hear the eggplant sandwich is also excellent.

We returned to Theeca to try out their dinner menu and really enjoyed this too! It has a modern touch to some Mediterranean classics. We start with their assorted bread and a plate of creamy hummus. You can also order cheeses and meats if you’re after a charcuterie style dining experience.

We were in preference for the meals, and they are good for a large group, easy to share. We opted for the duck egg, which was fried and served with truffle and Parmesan mushrooms. Following this we had a tasty Dijon flavoured steak tartare, served with potato crisps.

The 4 grilled prawns had a good amount of oil and spice to flavour them and they were nicely cooked; with a tasty and soft interior.

For the pasta, we opted for their fusilli with kale, lemon and macadamia nuts and even our baby son loved this.

Dishes are smaller and tasting style, so order one more than you ordinarily might. We had room for dessert, which was lucky, because the tiramisu was high quality. Creamy, and layers of biscuit visible as you spoon into it. A great way to end a delicious dining experience.

At night, it’s a fun environment outdoors with live music to entertain you, and also heaters to keep you warm. So, whether it’s day or night, Theeca has a calm and pleasant ambience.

The staff here, in particular Oscar, are so friendly and kind. Food is prepared and served with efficiency, making for all round very...