Char Barossa — Restaurant in Tanunda

A GORDON RAMSEY NIL OUT OF 10 ! AS I EXPECT WHAT I PAY FOR THIS IS NOT WHAT I EXPECTED AFTER THE WAITRESS DESCRIBED THE LARGE STEAK AND HOW IT WOULD BE, TOTAL WASTE OF MY MONEY ~! Prices sky high for walking out 'hungry' ! JUST 'MEAT ON OUR DISH' WHAT A TERRIBLE EXPERIENCE ! Expectations exceeded what the young waitress promised : "that my t bone would be large and would fill me up" I ordered it medium. Turned out the t bone was very small, dry inside, hard to chew, no vegetables, just a layer of a topping and the juice in which the t bone was cooked in. Upon asking the waitress "why aren't there any vegetables included"? she replied: "Because they are sold as separate" another $20 or so Dollars I thought what a waste of money. So I had to keep asking for more bread to dip into the juice that the meat was cooked in just to try fill myself up more as I was very hungry. My girlfriends scotch fillet also wasn't worth nearly $50 either, it also came with no vegetables, just the juice it was cooked in, I saw my girlfriend found it hard to chew the meat, it did not appear 'fresh' OR JUICY AT ALL. SO WE WERE CHARGED FOR 2 OR 3 ROUNDS OF BREAD WHICH CAME WITH BALSAMIC VINEGAR DIP WITH OLIVE OIL, WE HAD TO ASK FOR BUTTER, THEY CHARGED US ABOUT $30 ON TOP EXTRA FOR BREAD WHICH ALWAYS SHOULD BE INCLUDED WITH A MEAT DISH WITH VEGIES, WHAT A HUGE WASTE OF MY $130 !!! FEEL LIKE I JUST THREW ALL MY POOR MONEY INTO A RUBBISH BIN.............. SO WE WALKED OUT AFTER I TOLD THE WAITRESS THAT I WAS DISAPPOINTED ABOUT JUST HAVING 'MEAT ON MY PLACE WITH JUICE' ! SHE DIDN'T MIND MY FEEDBACK JUST REPLIED IT WAS AN EXTRA CHARGE. SO NO WINE IN A GLASS, JUST SOLD BY A BOTTLE ABOUT $150 WOW ! WHICH WAS ABSOLUTELY OUT OF THE QUESTION, AND WE WALKED OUT HUNGRY, 2 BITES OF MEAT, 2 SERVES OF BREAD THAT WAS OUR LUNCH FOR $130 WHAT A TOTAL WASTE OF MY MONEY ! NEVER GOING AGAIN, VERY OVERPRICED, IT APPEARS THIS PLACE IS ONLY FOR THE RICH AND WEALTHY WHO WISH TO THROW AWAY THEIR EASY EARNED MONEY. FOR $130 I COULD HAVE BROUGHT NICE FRESH GROCERIES AT MY LOCAL SUPERMARKET INSTEAD OF LEAVING IT AT THIS OVERPRICED PLACE WHERE WE BOTH EXPECTED A NICE JUICY STEAK, VEGETABLES, AND EVEN MASH LIKE THE HAHNDORF RESTAURANTS AND PUBS ALL OVER, THEY ARE NEVER DISAPPOINTING, I WOULD RATHER GO BACK TO HAHNDORF THAN THIS PLACE AGAIN. SORRY FOLKS BUT IF YOU WANT TO WASTE YOUR HARD EARNED MONEY GO SOMEWHERE WHERE THEY INCLUDE VEGETABLES, MASH, WITH YOUR...

1 star for the food only. Food presentation, taste and flavour are really good.

Can't say the same about the (mis)service with fake smiles and hypocritical good manners.

We have been seated in front of the restroom and asked to have a different table multiple times (on the spot, after 5', 10' and 30') in 1hr (8 tables for 2 available).

The request had been declined because it was "all booked" as I asked: "ah, it's all booked right now at 6.30PM specifically not near the toilets, quite a remarkable coincidence..." and the waitress could only apologize in redness.

We have booked, also. Our booking was probably less important than others or something.

The 8 tables remained empty for over an hour with the restaurant becoming to fill up only when we left at around 8PM.

Visited Barossa from Sydney and not felt welcome at Char. Will have a story to tell around Barossa, Adelaide, Sydney, Google, Tripadvisor, family and friends - shocking!

Guess what you get when empty tables are more valuable than customers...

EDIT reply to the owner: I asked to the same and only waitress. After a Google search I realised the other lady is your wife, that's it. Then you were there taking your time and the waitress was running around like crazy. Good leadership. The only reason why she was uncomfortable is because she realised how ridiculous was the situation and she had to cope with it, the owner was not being flexible for no reason. The fake smiles sentence was a reference to the owner and the level of incompetence on understanding customer needs, managing priorities and stepping in when necessary. My review is not the first one I write and your restaurant is not the first one I go to. Even if we didn't book a week prior, it wouldn't have costed anything to give us 1 of the 8 tables available. Worst case scenario you had other 7 excluding the worst located. By the time we left you still had 3 empty tables. I never experienced something so ridiculous across 3 continents. And the best part is that the owner still tries to put this on the customer. Wow, this is my best and most accurate 1 star I...

DISAPPOINTED... it was good, but didn't live up to the multiple 5 Star platitudes it received... at the risk of sounding rude, I suspect much of their clientele eat regularly at pub food outlets & then gush when they experience a meal at Char... a very narrow choice of wine if one purchased by the glass, but, nevertheless, excellent wine. The home made bread with extra virgin olive oil & aged balsamic was a pleasant start... the arancini balls excellent & tasty, though, perhaps undersized... the king prawns were slightly undercooked, but palatable. Next came our more pressing issues, the main meal... my partner chose CHICKEN BALLOTINE, it was dry & she couldn't discern any chorizo stuffing... we suggest a sauce option would enhance & moisten this dish. I chose the 12 HOUR SLOW COOKED LAMB SHOULDER, I expected roast, not BRAISED, but suspect STEWING as it was served in water... it does not say braised on the menu nor was it brought to my attention, unprofessional... the garnish choices were poor, in particular the lentils, an overwhelmingly provincial dish & bland... if I want boiled lamb I'll go to my mum's for a meal. The waitress removed our side plates & only replaced them when we asked, cutlery was replaced, but not the napkins & both fork & knife placed directly onto the table, unacceptable & poor... the mushroom "sides" were good, but fries a poor option for an establishment of this calibre... a sweet & affogato completed our dining adventure. We would come again, but the steak for me next time, I suggest it's worth a visit, after all, it has a plethora of 5 Star...