Bam Boo - Asian Canteen — Restaurant in Rodney

I Have been a few time before & been happy with food although service was always a bit odd. so I made a phone booking for 8 work colleagues from out of town. Specifically asking not for the VR bench sets as they uncomfortable & hard to get in & out of. They confirmed twice by phone . Got there & they tried to place us in those sets so I mentioned I’d asked not for those seats. The manager was working on computer at the seats we’d asked for and still did not move & stayed at that table right next to us on her Laptop most of the time & whilst they set that table up for us, & not in circle as we had discussed on phone. Then the table was sticky, wiped it ourselves with paper napkins, so No welcome, No water glasses, No drinks orders, No service & No menu suggestions or advice on how to best order for groups, even when I asked, the waitress said “that’s the set menu” & walked away. After waiting we stood up & waited by the bar to try get attention & just ask for service to take drink orders, she then brought water classes & walked away for another 10 mins . Asked again for drink orders & ordered food at same time as hungry by then & no idea what to order for group our size most of us ended up getting stodgy pad Thai (with no flavour to it so asked for extra chilli & sauce that was tiny & added to the final bill ) also asked “Do yous want cutlery” as only had cheap flacky disposable chopsticks on table, we said yes please & only a few came half way through meals, also these meals came out as 1 then 10 mins later another , with no explanation or service. Yes we felt like us being there was an inconvenience to the staff. Half way though meal we asked “Do yous want anything else?” … we had intended to get desert but that seemed like hard work, as then told “the kitchen is closing” that wasn’t even 9pm by then. So also felt they wanted to rush us out to close up for night. All this whilst a dog barking outside & group smoking & drinking on balcony behind us (that’s fine but) was smoke coming into restaurant area where we were eating. Sad as I really wished for this to be a lovely evening out to relax & treat ourselves after hard work. But no. Was disappointed & embarrassed to have taken a group there out of the many other places to choose from. It was an expensive experience to pay for too. I hope they can take this feed back kindly and be more mindful as to why people go out for dinner together & improve their service & ways of offering a better experience to groups… even on a Sunday evening. Best...

Popped up to Warkworth for a little dinner with the family - me, my wife, our 9 year old and our 19 month old baby.

We saw the Wharf Street Bistro located innocuously near the river and thought it looked like a quiet little cafe doing dinners.

Surprise surprise this is a well serviced bistro with an excellent kitchen and friendly attentive staff situated in a location that can be relaxed, romantic, family friendly or even suitable for a business lunch.

We settled in to a bay seat with plenty of room. We were made to feel very comfortable with some lovely big cushions for Sienna to cuddle up in (no baby chair with was THE only minus but they recognised their deficit and I guess they will be rectifying it soon).

The menu was tantalising - everything we could want covering fish ( I had a pan fried special that was perfect), my wife had the Paella and our daughter had chicken from the kids menu...talking of which the mandatory colouring in gear appeared within seconds of our arrival. We also got the olives - excellent, and the potato waffle chips which are sinfully more-ish.

Drinks list covered the bases, with a selection of local beers and wines (Ransom & Sawmill) as well as a decent range of premium product and a couple of reasonable wines by the glass (our go to). They also offered some attractive cocktail specials (innovative Margarita and Daquiri options)...for next time.

We didn't do dessert but we will because the list is totally enticing and we will return to devour it.

In addition to the gorgeous menu and lovely staff, I need to mention chilli. We love fresh hot chilli...chopped, untainted, flavoursome. This is the FIRST restaurant where we have been provided, in addition to the fresh medium hot red chilli we requested (Im guessing Hungarian paprika chili), additional fresh jalapeño slices...a perfect condiment to accompany our seafood dishes...a bit of bite but nothing ruthless.

Bottom line, this place is a gem. Great location, great food, welcoming staff, perfect dining tunes...yes...Warkworth has...

I'd like to have no star ratting, unfortunately I must have one.

Arrived happy, soon turned into a bloody miserable, un pleasurable evening for our party of four due to not being able to hear a bloody thing due to the appalling acoustics and horrifically load atmosphere, solid walls, solid floor, cramped table settings, could not hear the conversation across the table, as everyone in the restaurant was yelling at each-other to hear each-other.

I Payed bloody good money to sit in an incredibly loud bistro restaurant, left without wanting desert, when I complained to who I presumed was the manager, she was absolutely not interested, had a smirk on her face and there was no reflection to the bill. Having been there a number of times in the past.

I can assure the unresponsive, smirking young manageress that we have very little if any interest in ever returning.

We left feeling that we'd been at a rock concert ?.

Plenty of restaurants in the aria. your loss.

I would seriously recommend anyone who wants to be able to hear the conversation at there own table ?, think twice before going to the "Wharf street...