Pepe's On The Beach — Restaurant in Wollongong City Council

I've made a formal complaint against the manager that was on last night for racial profiling. I do not recommend this place to anyone. So the female security guard told me I have to leave and I asked why she said “weaving in and out” and because the manager said . It's a nightclub am I supposed to walk straight to the bar?? I didn't bump anyone I wasn't falling all over the place and I was very calm when I responded. But then when my partner (who's white) came out and said shes just an energetic person I was given a “second chance”. Excuse me. I need to have done something wrong in the first place. Long story short completely unjustified. Because if you ask someone to leave for disorderly conduct then why would you give them a second chance? You've already asked them to leave and even gave your reason? I wasn't hurting anyone, I wasn't being disrespectful or being any different than my usual energetic self. There were guys arguing in front of security, jumping on chairs, people pushing and shoving their way around, spilling drinks and none of them got asked to leave. And according to the security guard the manager is watching everything. If that was the case how could they miss all those other things or were they too focussed on me???? So obviously they ruined my night. I was left to feel very uncomfortable and mistreated for no reason whatsoever. Definitely wouldn't recommend this place. And based off the reviews Im not surprised now at how they treated me. Just very inexperienced and unprofessional staff who run their own show. They need to seriously reconsider management because its just getting worse and now patrons such as myself and I'm not the only one are feeling the staff are racially profiling people. Not something you want Li led...

W'gong Local and Pepe's regular since the place opened up. The atmosphere is generally amazing and it's usually quite busy - there is a decent amount of seating available however, more stools would make the place a lot more comfortable for a lot more people. The seat cushions and tables are filthy, almost always sticky (from alcohol or the salt) and just disgusting. The bathroom is rarely clean.The management NEEDS to hire cleaning professionals to be there during the entire day, especially when it's ridiculously busy, and the farbic on the furniture needs to be replaced or chemically cleaned. I have doubts that is been touched since 2014. If there's a cloud in the sky, don't even plan on coming to Pepe's because the venue cannot handle a little rain - no outdoor covered areas - sun umbrellas are inadequate. The 'background' music is too loud to be background music and too dull to contribute to the lovely vibe of the place, however the DJs that play there occasionally are really great. Some of the staff are lovely and some of the staff shouldn't be working in hospitality. - friendly faces go a long way!!! The security staff are more friendly than bar staff... The food is usually delicious; the sweet potato chips are amazing, but give us a little more aioli; love the sliders, love the taco platter, and I used to love the halumi sliders but last time we ordered them the halumi barely covered half of the already tiny bun and it was so salty. Just disappointing. - Overall Pepes is great place with lots of potential but it's slowly deteriorating due to poor / lazy management. Hope they improve - there's plenty of other new bars in Wollongong to take its place as the...

I’m currently planning a multi-city event that’s fresh, innovative, and out of the box. I have finalized the venues for other cities . For Wollongong, I had prioritised Pepe’s on the Beach as a potential venue. While most of the staff I interacted with were courteous and respectful, my experience with the venue manager, Erykah, was unfortunately disappointing to say the least.

Despite having driven four hours specifically for this meeting and having been in contact with the team via email over the past few days—including a respectful face-to-face with the Events Coordinator yesterday who advised me to return today to speak directly with the manager—I was not given the opportunity to properly present my event. Erykah appeared busy, which is understandable, but a professional approach would have been to politely excuse herself and suggest a more suitable time to connect. Instead, I was met with dismissiveness and a lack of basic courtesy.

I want to emphasise that I wasn’t a walk-in visitor—I came as a serious client, ready to discuss hiring the venue for a specific date and investing in the event. If this is how potential clients are treated, it raises concerns about the venue’s approach to customer service.

Regrettably, this experience felt disrespectful and dismissive, and it’s not something I take lightly. I don’t usually write reviews, but I felt compelled to share this, as it reflects poorly on what could otherwise be a great venue. Perhaps this kind of interaction contributes to the noticeable decline in Pepe’s popularity...