Fabric Cafe Bistro — Restaurant in Upper Harbour

Haven't done a review here for some time. Below is my experience from tonight after an enjoyable 5km walk around the area.

Nice being on the water, great location. Nice to be able to hop off the ferry and grab a meal or a drink. Pleasant fit-out.

Had the Saturday dinner special two dishes for $40.

The squid starter was very nice, batter was lite with nice flavor. Hummus and jalapenos bread dip was very tasty and well balanced a very nice dish. The star for me was the Vegetarian salad as a side was beautiful with ginger dressing and fresh ingredients with lovely colour. Beef cheeks were well cooked a bit lite on flavor could do with a bit more love and sauce for the dish. However the potato mash and garnish was perfect. Side dish of potatoes with skins was a solid dish and a good filler.

Dessert, sticky toffee pudding. The pudding was fantastic rich but airy and lite with very yummy pieces throughout the bake mix. The caramel sauce was great. Chantilly cream you nailed it. Unfortunately some of the toffee was over cooked leaving that bitter burnt after taste that is such a shame for such a great dish.

Unfortunately the service was poor. No longer quick which is fine if not in a rush. However, Slow and very unattractive is not fun.. No water top ups. Waited for to long attempted to get attention eventually getting up to order. Cutlery was miss matched was provided a general kitchen spoon for a dessert spoon it wasn't corretly cleaned which makes you doubt the kitchen standards. Main sides came out with starters and had to be sent back to allow room on the table. Had starters delivered with no plates or cutlery ready then waited to long to have cutlery. Not sharp for hot food service. While some of the members in the team seemed new and I accept everyone needs to learn. The lead organization was poor and let them all down. Especially when the restaurant was not super busy with a basic menu that should have been quick and easy to plate up.

General productivity was poor that translated into almost walking out to finish eating next door..!! But was to interested to see what the complete service looked like.

The upside is get the leadership and training together and you will have a very pleasant experience.

Good wheelchair access and table configuration if required for...

We (two adults and a child) visited Fabric Cafe Bistro for the first time today for a late lunch (3pm), after completing the cycle way. I felt compelled to write a review about this restaurant. The other eateries in the area were pumping at the time, so we looked for somewhere a little quieter, and found Fabric. i walked up some stairs, that appeared to be the entrance way to the deck, and had to move a high chair which was placed directly in the way of any incoming foot traffic. We sat down at an empty table, that needed cleaning, and waited. Staff did not appear busy, two were sitting down at a table talking, we couldn't get their attention, so we were about to get up to find a menu, when a staff member approached. We were informed immediately, that no-one will be served any alcohol unless they buy a main. We questioned this, and were told, "it's something about celebrating ANZAC day". Never mind, it is what it is, and it also explained why it was not that busy. The menu looked great so we ordered an entree, main, and kids meal, a couple a of drinks and a desert. I tried to grab the attention of a staffer at one point, locking eyes with one who was sitting down at a table, I waved out, and he turned away, ignoring me. We had to ask for our table to be wiped down prior to eating, and there was one more time when I tried to grab the attention of a staffer and was ignored again. The food was good, and venue has the most beautiful views. We certainly were not demanding customers, and I thought we were quite polite considering. We talked about our experience afterwards, and both agreed, the staff seemed quite uninterested. Looking at previous reviews, this does not seem to be an issue. Perhaps they went to the six60 concert last night, or perhaps were up early for the dawn parade, no idea, but the service today...

The food here is great but unfortunately if you are over 40 and have a child this is probably not the place for you. My last visit was a complete disaster. We arrived and were seated with our 4 year old and just left with no drink order taken. After 10 minutes I went to the counter and asked the bearded man if I could order directly with him, as we had a young child in tow. Anyone with young children knows you have a window of opportunity before you end up with feral monsters. The bearded man told me, very abruptly, that "We don't do that here, you will need to order from your table". I sheepishly returned back to our table and continued to wait. Personally I think the bearded man could have asked where we were sitting and sent someone to take our order. After another 10 minutes of just waiting, without so much as a coffee order taken, I started to notice other tables, who had arrived well after us were now getting their orders taken. At this point I walked out and vowed never to go back. If you are young and beautiful or have a fur baby I think this place is for you. As a middle aged woman with a small child I felt like I was not a priority for the staff here. It is such a shame because the food really is great. But when you are refused service and ignored by the staff then it makes impossible to eat here. I do wonder had I been a man if I might have been treated a little better. Anyway I won't be putting myself through this torture again but choosing to dine...