Lux Bistro Bar — Restaurant in Wollongong City Council

We were greeted with a welcoming expression from a lovely gentleman who looked after us during our dine-in this morning. The coffee was absolutely beautiful and the food was just as amazing. We also had a little mishap as we accidentally knocked our coffee into our entire meal. We refused a replacement as my partner needed to eat something immediately due to his medication but our server was very kind and got it replaced for us anyways and it made us feel well looked after. Everything with our experience in terms of service & food were absolutely exceptional except for one unsettling situation that we encountered at the end.

As we initially entered the venue, we were seated in a little outdoor bar seating area that was fenced up and could only be accessed once you entered the venue. They also had a second large outdoor seating area that was completely separate next to the venue.

After receiving table service to order our two coffees and a single meal, our server was asked by another staff to make us pay for our order straight away. I was confused at first but then I assumed you had to pay at the counter first before you ordered, which occurs in some restaurant.

However, at the end of our meal, I went to order two takeaway coffees and realised that everyone else were paying for their meal after they had finished. Since my partner and I weren’t dressed similar to like everyone else in the venue and after being recently profiled by a different cafe a couple weeks ago, it made me feel a bit sick in my stomach straight away.

I spoke to the female barista to clarify why we were asked to pay for our meals straight away, which she explained that for outdoor seatings, customers had to pay upfront first and indoor seatings were given table service and could pay at the end. As this wasn’t explained to us at all until I asked about it at the end, it made my partner and I feel quite unsettled and confused after our visit because we had received table service from our server while being in this very little “outdoor” section. It also didn’t help that the people sitting next to us, who were also in the same “outdoor” section, weren’t asked to pay at the beginning and this was apparently because they were friends with the workers.

I understand that the big separate outdoor area would require payment upfront as it isn’t readily supervised and people may leave without paying. However, the little “outdoor” area we were seated in (which only had like about 8 bar seats) was entirely fenced up, completely attached with the venue, readily supervised and cannot be accessed unless you’ve entered through the front door. It just made no sense of having to require payment upfront and it also made it hard not to feel like we had been profiled even if that’s not the case. This left quite a bitter taste for us despite the exceptional food and service we experienced initially. I just hope this gets communicated clearly for future customers as we were left with quite a upsetting...

Customer service was excellent. The atmosphere had a chill vibe. On a hot summer day, there is tons of air flow, and it's nice and breezy.

Now the food. My family and I went to lunch, and there were 6 people, including myself. We all ordered off the lunch special menu, except my husband, who ordered the pork ribs.

We ordered two snapper fish and chips, chicken parmesan chicken burger, rump steak, and pork ribs.

The good, the burger, schnitzel, and ribs. My family absolutely loved it. My husband raved about how fork tender the ribs were, and my brother commented on the size and flavour of the chicken parmesan.

Now for the not so great. The steak was large, but was not tender, quite rubbery, and lacked any flavour.

The fish and chips were some of the saddest looking meals on the table. The fish looked like a hashbrown. It was dense, very fishy tasting, and just gross overall. One bite and I was done. The chips were good. You can't really mess that up.

The waiter asked how the food was, and I let him know everything was good except the fish. He apologised and proceeded to take the plate away. No, I wasn't offered a refund or replacement dish, as i had eaten all the fries as I just didn't want to make a big deal out of it.

Prior to ordering, I did want to order the prime cut steak and asked if the green beans could be substituted for something else, and I was told no. So I went with the fish. This was the worst decision I could have made.

I travelled close to 90 minutes to try this restaurant, to simply eat fries.

My recommendation is to order the ribs, burgers, schnitzels, etc. Avoid the fish and chips at all costs. This tasted nothing like a snapper. In actuality, I've had frozen fish better than this.

To the owners, get a better fish for your...

WOW, WOW, WOW!! What an absolutely incredible night we had visiting lux Bistro Bar. From the minute we walked in, up until we were walking out the door, the service was second to none. All the staff were so accommodating and friendly, everyone was on the ball and were there to help with our every whim and need! The food! I take my hat off to the chef, I haven’t had a steak that melted in my mouth for such a long time, everyone’s meals were absolute perfection, the wine was absolutely incredible and the price! I was absolutely shocked when the bill came and it was so cheap for the service and quality of the night that we received. I will recommend this as the best place in Wollongong to eat. As a local, we’re always trying to find a nice place to have dinner and hands down, Lux you have given Wollongong exactly what we’ve been searching for. 10/10 Highly Recommend

Thank you for such a...