Indiana Cottesloe Beach — Restaurant in Western Australia

After reading previous reviews, I nearly didn't book a table of 12 for a girls lunch. But I thought I'd see for myself, as they do have a magic view! Well, I'm glad we did! From booking to paying, I couldn't fault anything. I booked a Tuesday lunch via email, and received confirmation of my booking the same day. (No deposit required!). They were very prompt in replying to my emails regarding changing numbers if needed etc. We were welcomed and seated, and the waitress was most friendly and attentive. We weren't made to feel harassed that the last person didn't arrive until 1 hr after the booking was made for (sorry!). The waitress smilingly exchanged a chair for one of our party (she felt short!) without batting an eye; Our orders were taken, and despite the large order, all our meals arrived out at the same time. All the dishes looked delicious - pesto gnocchi (with chicken), pumpkin and fetta pizza, 1/2 roast chicken and veg, salmon and broccolini, salt and pepper squid - and the empty plates returning to the kitchen proved that they were indeed, delicious! (The chips as a side would have to be the best chips I've had for a long while - they stayed crunchy to the last one...yum!). The wine selection was adequate and not outrageously priced as some restaurants with such a beautiful location. Coffees and desert were a nice way to finish the lovely meals (if you could fit them in!). The prices weren't any more expensive than other cafes along the beach (in fact, cheaper than some), thus I recommend Indianas for any occasion - especially with those superb views! The only issues that I could comment on is that it may get noisy if really busy - being a Tuesday it wasn't full, but still not the quietest (there was another large table next to us - perhaps they thought we were noisy too!). Also, the fear of getting a parking ticket from the apparently ruthless Cottesloe Council for overstaying the (free) 3 hr parking limit meant we left earlier than we wanted to. We were able to split the bill at the till, which was great, but I think the novelty of taking 12 separate payments was wearing thin by payment number 11.... So, I (we) didn't experience any of the issues other reviewers have had - for us, the food and service was great, the wait staff polite and friendly, the food delicious and price more than reasonable, plenty of free (3hr) parking, and, those magnificent views! I urge you to go there to judge...

This was the absolute worst food I have ever ate in my entire life! The service is a disgrace, always flying around your head trying to get a tip and annoyingly asking for you to order a desert or drink etc. First off I ordered a oyster which tasted like a hobo's foot drenched in sweat and was salty to the extent I spat it out on the tissue and threw it out the bin, 3.50 of overpriced crap in the garbage! Second the scallops which cost 25 DOLLARS! It was overcooked, overprice and over garbage food level! You know whats not over though? The portions, they give you under portions and you get barely anything, 2 or 3 bites and it's done, tasted like crap and felt like it had to be forced down my throat. And lastly, the chips! As this is overheating the beach I obviously would want chips to eat and it watching the ocean, ordered for 10 DOLLARS which was oversalty, trust me; i'm not a picky eater, the salt literally filled the bucket and when I took out a chip the plate under it literally filled with salt, this too tasted horrible, had to return it and got bland chips with NO salt this time. Only reason to come here is for the view which you can just sit on the beach while eating 2 dollar chips which tastes much better than their crap! SIGH worst lunch experience ever! Shouldn't even call this crap lunch, after this 42 dollar waste of money I went to a fast food place around which cost less than a fraction of the price and tastes much better. WASTE OF TIME AND MONEY, left hungry and disappointed. Also my "food" took a half hour to arrive, shouldn't even call this food.. The view is the only MEH thing about this place which you can get if you take a few steps outside! Do not visit, go to a better restaurant or hell the fish and chips place across the road which tastes better and cheaper. So annoyed. Will never come again and will not recommend to...

Shocking service and average, overpriced food. We booked a table for 7 for 6.30pm and when we arrived we were taken to a table for 6. No dramas there. The wait staff continuously reached in front of my aunt's face to get to the place setting beside her, instead of reaching behind her, which was possible. And after the food was brought to the table we didn't see the wait staff again, not even for 30 minutes after finishing our meals. The food was very average and overpriced. Pizza bases undercooked. Entree sized chilli mussels sold as a main for $34. After eating, all 7 of us tried in vain to (reasonably subtly) get the attention of one of the 3 waiters servicing the table of 4 next to us. But we just couldn't get one of them to look over, until my husband said 'excuse me'. A waiter came over and looked at all the dishes that clearly looked ready to be cleared and then looked at my husband and said 'yes?' as if we had put him out. We actually had to ask for the mains to be cleared. The waiter's response was a churlush, unfazed shrug of a yes. We then had to flag someone else down to ask for dessert menus. The view is the best thing about this place. But overall the experience was disappointing. We laughed it off but we...