ELA MESA GREEK TAVERNA — Restaurant in Woy Woy

Ela Mesa review We visited Ela Mesa with family recently, under the new ownership and had a terribly disappointing experience.

We had my brother and his wife in from overseas and thought we’d treat them by taking them along to Ela Mesa, previously our favourite Greek place.

Our first clue of disappointment was that after quite some time waiting we had to go find someone to take our food order as there only appeared to be 2 staff on.

We ordered the Greek Feast , moussaka and a fish dish. The Moussaka arrived tepid and therefore inedible. We’ve seen the same comments on other forums about this dish too. If you’re going to microwave your food, at least ensure it’s thoroughly heated as this poses a serious health risk. The Greek Feast arrived some 15 minutes later. It wasn’t very warm and was overcooked and dry -maybe it should have been served 15m earlier when fresh. See photo. The presentation was more reminiscent of a Friday night kebab shop and not a restaurant- A few onions, some limp chips with the skewers thrown on top. In addition, the calamari didn’t arrive at all! Terrible quality.

When we remonstrated and asked for the meals that weren’t acceptable to be removed from the bill, there was complete refusal to accept and responsibility at all. We questioned whether the wait staff thought the service was acceptable and then we were accused of trying to obtain a free meal. Yet, we had missing dishes, the Moussaka wasn’t edible and the same of our souvlaki, so we didn’t eat them! No sign of some of our meal, free or not and what arrived wasn’t warm or of acceptable quality.

The explanation given for such delay was that the restaurant was rushed off their feet. Interesting because it was not yet peak time (6:45pm) and there was a total of 8 other people in the whole restaurant. Hardly packed out I’d say and perhaps others are also voting with their feet and wallets.

Our waiter then became quite aggressive and so we left our food and paid for what we did have by way of drinks and food we had consumed -again, not sure of how that constitutes a free meal.

We’ve been patrons of Ela Mesa for a number of years, but since changing hands, it appears to have gone badly downhill.

We aren’t up from Sydney – we live here, so to be treated like this certainly ensures we won’t be back as this ruined our special occasion.

We’ll vote with our feet and wallets and choose elsewhere and can only wish the next owners after this the...

I had booked in advance for a 30th Birthday dinner on a Saturday Night at Ela Mesa for 14 PAX which was 8 Adults and 6 Children aged from 2 - 12 years.

On arrival they had lost the booking, We were able to provide proof of the booking. They were able to make up a table in about 15 minutes which is great. When booked a Banquet menu was mentioned, assuming this was only in affect for the adults. I did ask for the options of the Banquet Menu as we did have some dietary requirements but no one got back to me. I never thought that the parents of the young ones would have to cough out $60 each for their 2 and 4 year olds.

We were seated, about 15 minutes later we were brought menus but advised we had to order the Banquet Menu @ $60 PP including the kids! We couldn't even order from the kids menu for the 2 year old. Our group had a range of Dietaries including those who couldn't eat either of the main options included in the Banquet Menu but weren't offered an alternative. We found the staff quite rude and uninterested in resolving the issues or offering an alternative. We had mentioned the Adults were happy to order Banquet if we could accommodate the 1 dietary and order from the kids menu for the children. Without a solution from the restaurant we left.

I had personally been to this Restaurant countless times in the past and never had a bad experience (previous owners). Seems as though the new owners have some work to do. We will not be returning. Some of the comments from the new owners on negative reviews shows their unprofessionalism and unwillingness to improve.

Edit: Response to Owner: This was our experience on Saturday 26/04/25. This is the information we were given by the server. We asked if we could order from the Children's menu and she blatantly said NO! Over 9 people need to order from the Banquet! We had only 8 adults so if the kids were allowed to order from the children's menu the Banquet shouldn't have been forced either. Your establishment was chosen for a Milestone birthday to celebrate, we wouldn't have moved our whole group to another venue for no valid reason. We advised the server we would be leaving and she...

A mediocre night out, sorry to say !

We were so much looking forward to a catch up on Saturday 27/11/21 with our 2 friends after months of lock down and trying a new restaurant on the Peninsula. We are locals and like to dine out.

We had not been before and liked the decor & vibe of light music playing when we arrived. Our attendant was attentive at first but we received someone else's entree. Ours came shortly after. The mains were not authentic Greek. More of Greek meets pub with chips & salad...

That's where the service ended and the music ramped up to a 'rave party', which the larger tables enjoyed but we hated. We could not talk across the table. No one offered us desserts or drinks which we would have ordered. You may have got another $150 out of us.

We left with ears ringing but before we did, the owner (i assumed - a grumpy guy with hat on and white beard), processed our bill of just over $200. We asked if we can pay half each. He said a rude "NO" and pointed to a business card sign that said "No split bills". That was our last and lasting impression of Ela Mesa.

We have friends coming shortly from Cairns and this was a trial to see whether we should take them there. We will definitely spend our money elsewhere. Sad, as we like to support local businesses and employees. They need nurturing and training. The little...