Governors Pub & Eatery — Restaurant in Sydney

I was in Sydney for a baseball tournament. This establishment was suggested to us, so on a Thursday night, we decided to try it out. I ordered the Chorizo tacos, alongside a Dave Matthews cocktail. The tacos were huge, they were delicious, they were simply phenomenal. The atmosphere on the patio was fantastic too. I thought “damn… what a place. Great food. No wonder there’s a line to get a table.” But as someone who came from away, I thought that would be that.

And then came Saturday.

We decided to return as a crew to Governor’s, and I decided to turn my attention to the lobster mac and cheese.

Now, I am not a particularly religious man, but if we are indeed graced with the presence of a supreme being, the lobster mac and cheese at Governor’s is evidence that this being exists. It was, without a hint of a doubt or exaggeration, the most perfect meal human beings have yet created. Thousands, millions of dishes have been created but none has reached the unbridled perfection of the lobster mac and cheese at Governor’s.

The lobster meat is perfect. The cheese consistency is perfect. The friggin BREADCRUMBS are PERFECT. The audacity of this dish is beyond measure. They charge $37 but they could charge $370 and it would be worth every God-loving penny.

This dish could end wars. Global diplomacy could be forever changed if world leaders chose to bridge their differences over two portions of lobster mac and cheese from Governor’s.

And as though the life-altering magnificence of the lobster mac and cheese at Governor’s wasn’t enough, the pairing of this dish with a Dave Matthews raised the enjoyment of this dining experience to a level of absurdity that words cannot adequately convey, despite this feeble attempt. The Dave Matthews cocktails at Governor’s is basically the closest thing possible to drinking pure love — except that too MUCH love would decimate you completely. So, exercise some caution there.

Go to this restaurant and order this dish if they have it on the menu. ...

We were genuinely disappointed by our recent visit, especially given that all four of us had previously dined here—at different times—and enjoyed our experiences enough to recommend the restaurant to others. Unfortunately, this visit fell well short of expectations.

While we understand the restaurant was busy, that alone doesn’t excuse the inattentive service we received. We waited an extended period for drinks, and even longer for our meals. Our server appeared overwhelmed, and it showed.

As for the food: • The pan-seared, crusted fish and vegetables were extremely poor—reminiscent of reheated cafeteria or airline meals. The presentation and flavour were both disappointing and, frankly, embarrassing. • The “crispy” calamari was anything but—undercooked, doughy, and lukewarm. The accompanying vegetables were wilted and unappetizing. • The spinach and goat cheese salad was drowned in dressing and seemingly missing its key ingredient. It felt hastily assembled, with little regard for quality or balance. • The wrap was oversauced, and while the sandwich was passable, it wasn’t enough to redeem the meal.

When asked how everything was, I replied politely that it was “just okay, not great.” Our server acknowledged this and said she would inform the kitchen—but there was no follow-up. No apology, no offer to correct or compensate, and no sense that our feedback mattered.

After spending several hundred dollars, we left feeling disappointed and dissatisfied—with the uncomfortable impression that the issue was somehow ours, not the restaurant’s.

We sincerely hope standards improve, but based on this experience, it will be some time before we...

We went to dinner here while we overnighting in Sydney based on the recommendation of a local from Cape Breton that said it was the best food in Sydney. While I have not eaten anywhere else to make that type of claim, I was very pleased with our dinner. We visited on a Monday night about 7:45 and the restaurant was still very busy, we had to put our name on the list and had a short wait to be able to get a table.

Once we were seated the wait staff was great and really kept things rolling. We were able to make our drink order and had our dinner ordered shortly thereafter. We started with the lobster poutine which was the first time we have tried poutine, let alone with lobster in it. This is a dish that the chef beat Bobby Flay with a Throwdown, so of course, I had to try it. The lobster in the poutine was generous and the white gravy was perfect. We ate every bite of our appetizer.

For dinner, I ordered a seafood pasta with a maple curry sauce. It was everything that I could have hoped for. The sauce was delicious and the maple and curry flavors were very well balanced. The seafood was bountiful and perfectly cooked. This dish will inspire me to find a similar type of recipe at home since I really can not come back to Sydney every time I want this combo.

Our waitress was very friendly and handled multiple big tables at a time while making sure we had everything we needed to have a very nice dinner. If you are in the area we would recommend...