Outback Lodge, Zürich Stadelhofen — Restaurant in Zurich

This is a message for restaurant management. We were there last Saturday 12 of Oct 24. My fifth time. First 4 were amazing. We had a very bad experience last time because of one man waiter, you will identify him easily. 2 familles with 2 toddlers dinner. The waiter repeated us several times to keep space for him to pass behind, even if he had space and he had actually 2 paths to go to the tables behind us. He orchestrated a scenario by constantly pushing instafistaction messages to other 2 guests behind us and pushing one of her colleagues to come to our table to say to us twice that she will have TO REMOVE us if we do not respect restaurant rules. Basically the rule was to keep 2 toddlers 1.2 and 1.8 years stick to the table not letting them walk around :-))). Without proposing any other solution even if in the moment when she was saying us these words other bigger more behind tables were totally free. He and she could have made tables reservations rocades if they would have think intelligently for few seconds. And I asked for us to be moved behind at a free 6pax table (no action from them). For the man waiter, the SOURCE of the problem, he is the orchestrator type, insatisfaction and hate towards specific type of clients; when confrunting him with an opinion, he runs away and he pushes the others in the front line for him, colleagues and guests. End of the story: complaining pretty hard on that very evening receiving back the dinner money back from last Saturday manager (she was doing great, defending her colleagues of course and not saying directly that she didn't agree with what the other girl waiter was saying to us twice). She gave us the dinner money back in cash, 250 CHF. The minimum that you can do having to experience familles dinner by hearing twice " I will need to REMOVE you if you do not respect rest rules", the waiter man hate and entire orchestration to make us feel bad. The message for management: you have a man orchestrator waiter type in the team, pretty obvious racism for expats in general (and last time when I looked you are an international pub) and mainly for expats familles. Pushing other guests and other colleagues to the front line for him. Instigating hate. You will have a lot of complaints in the future with this waiter in your team. And the sooner you read this message, the better will be. Why I am writing this message one week after? because I had my money dinner back. I have time today to write this long message and because MUCH MORE than money it's the experince we had and I want to make sure other familles and expats will not feel the same in the future. It's not worth it, it's not the restaurant culture, I know it because I can compare with the first 4 times we have been there, with our toddler also. Thanks...

No complaints about the food - it was very tasty, from the starter to the dessert and including the cocktails. They're were only grown-ups which was great. Fun music from the PA. It was pretty full, as is expected on a Saturday night - a reservation is absolutely necessary. The staff was friendly and always there when needed, so there's definitely no shortage of servers and no complaints about that either.

But I do have a beef about the overall experience. After many years we returned to the Outback last night, only to find that it had basically turned into yet another Swiss place where you're served by Germans - at least that's how it was where we were sitting. That bit was a little disappointing, as a big part of the positive experience at the Outback for me used to be feeling a good vibe from a native speaker staff and enjoying an Aussie atmosphere, while speaking English. It was a big part of the authenticity for me. But now, the signs inside the restaurant are all in German, the online menu is not consistently in English and the only "Aussie" meat they serve is kangaroo. Even the countries and places on the place mats that feature the map of Australia are written in German. So sadly, the authenticity has suffered over the years, but we still had a good dinner and good time. p.s. We are Swiss and Australian, we do live here and speak Swiss German, I have nothing against German staff, but I'd prefer English speaking staff here. I simply expected a different experience at the Outback Lodge, based on...

Shockingly Poor Service at Outback Restaurant, Zurich Stadelhofen

I rarely write reviews, but my experience at Outback Restaurant at Zurich Stadelhofen was so egregiously bad that I feel compelled to warn others. Having heard of the Outback's cozy ambiance and expecting a friendly Australian hospitality, my visit was instead marred by an encounter with the boss, whose attitude was nothing short of hostile. On a day when the weather invited outdoor dining, we were grudgingly told we could sit outside. Yet, that was the end of the hospitality, as we were left unattended for an excruciating half-hour, without so much as an acknowledgment or a menu. It seemed our patronage was an inconvenience rather than a valued business. The clear disdain for customer service was palpable and confounding. One goes to a restaurant to enjoy not just the food but the service and experience, all of which were absent during our visit. We left feeling disrespected and undervalued, with a tainted view of what should have been a pleasant outing. To the management: your guests' satisfaction should be a priority, not an afterthought. It is a disservice to the Outback name and the hospitality industry at large. Future patrons be advised: you may expect the Australian Outback's rugged beauty but prepare for a service desert at this...