Van Expresso Bar — Restaurant in Sydney

Booked for 7 pm Saturday night and provided credit card details for $100 security in case of no show etc. Confirmation of booking indicated reservation was for 1.30 hours - 7 pm to 8.30 pm which suited us as we wanted to be out by 8.30 pm anyway. We arrived at 7.05 pm and after a quick look at menu ordered red wine and food- one entree and two main courses. Asked if the primitivo red we ordered was chilled or cool - it was not - and we asked for it to be put on ice . It was a hot day and who wants to drink warm red wine? I am still amazed that bars/restaurants/clubs/ pubs in Australia still serve red wine off the shelf and warm. Ice bucket was provided and wine cooled down to a drinkable temp in about 20 minutes. Invest in a rapid chiller and you will sell more red wine! No entree by 7.45pm and asked our waitress the ETA and we were advised that they are "very busy' - which they were and obviously the small kitchen could not keep up with the orders in a timely fashion. . We advised we would like to be finished by 8.30 pm as we had another commitment and if both of the main couses could not be delivered in time then we would cancel one of the mains. Entree arrives about 7.55 pm and two mains about 8.10 and 8.15 pm. The fish sang choy bow entree was well presented and not bad. The vietnamese pancake was not as crisp as it should be but the filling was fine. The barramundi with mushroooms was intially OK but we both suffered reflux later on which could have been atributable to the fact we ate the food pretty fast or something in the source - MSG ,cheap fish source? We have been to Van's mid - week when they are less 'busy' and had an enjoyable meal and experience. The waitresses were attentative enough providing water refills and extra paper serviettes and dealing with our request to have the meal served so we could be out by 8.30 pm - which we were. Overall a bit underwhelming for a Saturday date night and no tip left. 3% credit card surcharge...

I went to dinner here with a friend and a few others as it looked nice . Unfortunately the place is a disappointment. They charge $42 for the refillable bottles of cold tap water we needed while waiting for our meal as it was a hot night , and as it took three hours to get fed , we went through a lot of water . We were told we had to have a fixed menu as there were a few of us . The fixed menu was $90 a head and just three entrees and two mains. If we ordered all our own entree and main though, so say 5 entrees and 5 mains ,it would have been less for more , the charging made no sense . When trying to understand how this could be so , the owner was dismissive and rude and wouldn’t explain and said he was too busy to talk about it. We waited 3 hours to get fed while others arrived after us , were fed and then left . I tried to raise this with the owner after we paid the bill as we were leaving, Again he was indifferent, dismissive and didn’t acknowledge any of what I was upset about, at no time seemed at all interested . The place is a rip off , inconsistent in its food service and ill mannered owner . So a quick casual dinner out locally , with 1 bottle of wine and a few beers and expensive tap water , was over $600 . I guess it’s just that he has a peasant mentality. Won’t be...

Very disappointed with this overpriced place. From the service to the chef not impressed. The service was lackluster, for what I payed the waiter should not be forgetting wines and leaving out water empty. The heater kept going out and we would ask they would turn it on and watch it die again. The biggest thing about the service was forgetting drinks then charging me for them after they were brought out 20 minutes later upon my reminding them, I got the feeling they did not care about the customers at all. I chose the chefs five course meal but only really received three courses. I brought it up with the waiter and I was informed that a bowl of rice counts as a course ( which was brought out with a meat dish) and that the Edamame beans (brought out under the context of a little bite while you wait) were two full courses. When I brought it up to the waiter and he asked the kitchen I could hear arguing on what to do and then coming to the conclusion count the rice and beans as a course. Really was looking forward to liking this place, but they...