Woolly Bay Hotel — Restaurant in Sydney

An unpleasant experience.

After spending a great deal of money at this venue, one of our party members was ejected by security for the crime of dancing. We were the only people in the venue and the “dancer” was a man in his fifties enjoying the efforts of the guitarist who had been employed by the venue, presumably so people could enjoy themselves by dancing. So a pretty puzzling, quite distressing end to the evening. A situation that deteriorated markedly with the intervention of a venue manager who should probably avoid any future career in dispute management.

Let me set the scene for you.....

A pleasant afternoon, plenty of drinks, some food, lots of money spent by a party of ten. And just one more note - none of our party have ever been ejected from any venue anywhere for anything.

So, one of our party heads downstairs for a cigarette and then is refused entry on RSA grounds because she “slurred her words”. We thought that was harsh - but then we gave you the benefit of the doubt, and stayed in the venue.

30 or 40 minutes later, with the evening more or less over we’re heading out the door - there’s a musician playing downstairs, so we decide to stop and have a drink for the road. The downstairs bar was empty except for two old punters having a quiet beer.

We requested a song - the enthusiastic musician who had been playing to an empty bar complied and one of our party - a man in his mid fifties has a little old man boogie. Maybe he was a little wobbly, but it’s a bar and we were enjoying ourselves - pretty much the entire raison d’etre of the establishment I had imagined - why put on a musician if you don't expect people to dance?

So - out of the blue - he is told to leave by the security, for presumably dancing? We’re not sure, it was never explained to us.

Again I want to emphasise - we couldn’t possibly have been upsetting anyone because there was no one there to upset. When this decision was questioned - which I think is entirely reasonable - the duty manager arrived and pretty much did all he could to inflame the situation. People were threatened with arrest, nothing was explained, no reasons were given.

So, not a great end to the evening and in all honesty an incredibly mystifying way to behave to customers who spent a couple of thousand dollars and would certainly have returned to that venue. Annoying as well since we can see that there are a number of other venues that are managed by this group which we patronise quite often, but alas, now are crossed off the list. I mean why would we patronise a venue who doesn’t want our patronage? Perhaps it’s our loss, but I offer this advice sincerely, whoever is handling your security arrangements is doing your business a disservice. It’s clear you put a lot of effort into creating an inviting and rewarding experience - why poison it with such heavy handed behaviour to...

Located at 2 Bourke Street, Woolloomooloo, New South Wales, Australia 🇦🇺 Edit - Sad to say I have returned a couple of times since my original visit and the service and food has declined. On my second visit. I had the chicken burger and it was tasteless. The chicken actually looked very suspicious. I couldn’t finish it. I had a couple of mouthfuls and couldn’t eat any more. I told the server and didn’t seem to care. On my last visit I had the chilli prawn spaghetti, there was very little chilli and it was luckwarm when it was delivered and got cold very quickly. The service has not been great either. For a hotel in such a prime location, it’s sad to see the service and food quality has gone downhill. You need to up your game. I have taken a couple of stars off my rating as a result. 👎👎 Original - I enjoyed my meal here very much. I had the lunch special of Chicken Schnitzel and hot chips for $20. I thought this was quite reasonable considering the location. The views over the water and Finger Wharf are stunning 😍. You can eat inside or outside and there’s Arturo’s restaurant on the 1st Floor which also has great views from the balcony. We didn’t eat at Arturo’s so I can’t really comment on that but to say it’s definitely decorated very nicely. Very welcoming. There’s also a bar on the top floor, that too is designed beautifully. The staff overall were very friendly but one of my group (which is a group of people with disabilities) has severe disabilities and can only eat food which are blended. We asked one of the staff members if she could please blend his meal in the kitchen blender which is stronger then the clients portable one. We have had this done at several restaurants/ cafes/hotels in the past with no trouble but for some reason the staff member refused. This put a dampener on our experience. The hotel is very wheelchair 🦼 accessible with it being easy to manoeuvre around the tables and there’s a lift 🛗 to the upper floors if needed. Otherwise we had a great experience. Would recommend. Parking 🅿️ is street parking only so if busy, could be hard finding a space....

Since 31st May, new menu - try the vegan cheese dip, bread - not a fan of deconstructed banoffee dessert ( it looks pretty, but I prefer the traditional banoffee).

Four out of five for best value for money in Woolloomooloo - coupled with best view of the Finger Wharf Bay ( level 2) balcony.

Service; For a regular, I find the service friendly, un- pretentious and accommodating.

Food; There are many tasting plates to try ( see video on what I have had here) try the home made bread, olives and egg plant dip - nice start to the meal. The prawns are moreish, the pork empanadas divine, and try the haloumi, honey and sardines with pistachios ( you can have it as a starter or a dessert).

Drinks; margaritas are on point, spritzer comes with olives and a citrus arrangement and are super easy to drink ( have them on the level 2 balcony on a hot day, overlooking the view - to elevate the experience).

Facilities; Clean washrooms, love the flowers in the ladies - however I do think they need to put paper hand towels and a bin in the ladies - I am personally not a fan of ' hand dryers'.

Value for money; I like how WBH des not charge for tablecloths and napery, as well as oil and vinegar to accompany the flat bread . Each table has a floral arrangement and there is a gas gireplace on level 2 (nice touch - especially in winter).

I enjoy coming here, Service. Food, prices. Drinks. Views, I will be back and please keep doing what you do and don't change anything.

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