The Waterfront, The Rocks, Sydney

The Big Dinner of the Big Anniversary Weekend was at The Waterfront, Circular Quay. (Again this decision was made by me firing off the names of fancy city restaurants and then Mr. A picking one.) Mr. A booked early in the week leading up to this weekend. Only after this did we do some internet research - Waterfront has generally mediocre ratings, including mediocre service and mediocre food for value. After much discussion we decided to stick to it and go anyway, because it was a nice romantic spot overlooking the harbour, and surely it would not be that bad? Plus we managed to get access to The Entertainment Card - buy one main get one free. 

We arrived right on time at 7pm. The waitress at the reservation desk greeted us with standard cheer. After a few minutes it became clear that they had trouble finding our reservation. Mr. A pulled out the email confirmation to help. They managed to finally find it - in October. No matter; they had us quickly seated next to a heater. And in waiter thoroughfare. And without the Spring Menu Specials card which the next table received. I wonder if the Spring Menu card is for groups as that was a larger table. (They incidentally also had booking troubles when we eavesdropped.) 

The cobblestone flooring, the big mast-like beams and sail-like roofing, gave the whole area a very "On a Ship" feel. Not sure if the slanted floor was intentional or a structural, "Leaning Tower of Pisa" thing happening. This has been mentioned to be bothersome in some reviews but to be honest neither of us were very affected by the slanted floor. Given that we sat approximately 4 rows in from the edge we were well in the covered area and there is actually limited view of the beautiful harbour from there, the best views would be on the first or second row to appreciate the view.

Service was quick and we received our orders in approximately 15 minutes after ordering. Contrary to other reviews we found the service very good, very fast and efficient. A waiter stopped mid-way through our meal to see how we were getting on and topped up water as necessary. There are two groups - the white shirt and vest group are the waiters who take orders and top up drinks; the black shirt group served food. So you just had to flag down the right people. Also, despite sitting near wear the waiters walked, I never got bumped. I would say the service exceeded the expectations we gained from other reviews.

On to our meals: 

Roast corn-fed chicken breast truffled polenta, crisp pancetta, pea & mushroom ragout (gf) $36

Skinless Atlantic Salmon Fillet, $44

The meals were a bit like Monet. 

Let me explain: at first glance, very colourful, richly flavoured, fragrant, juicy. We dug in with enthusiasm. The pea and mushroom ragout was buttery and flavoursome complimented the chicken very well, which had a crispy skin on top, and juicy on the inside. As you dug in further from the exterior, the center became drier and difficult to cut, the mash seemed to collapse from a gravy-like consistency to a runny one, which was a little disappointing. Perhaps if they cut the chicken into two pieces with half the thickness the outcome might be more promising. 

Mr. A's salmon was a similar story - on my first taste it was quite sweet and juicy complimented by the tomato on top; by the second, the salmon was more bland, less flavoursome. He was also a bit bothered that the skinless salmon fillet had some skin on it. Mr. A noted that Garfish in Crows Nest was superior, although they specialise in fish so maybe the expectations are different. 

In both cases I wish there was more sauce to compliment the main, like I wished I was listening to Britney at her concert rather than a lip-synced version of herself. (Is this too harsh? D:) 

I am assuming they do not have a dessert menu because they did not offer one, so we left after our mains. On the website there is one though...

A quick word that the toilets were a bit disappointing - the bag hook was broken/missing, the floor was wet with dirty water, the flush was barely working. The Waverton Station toilet is superior to that one (no bag hook, but definitely cleaner). Mr. A's toilet in the men's also had a broken flush. 

All up it was $80 for the mains plus a $5 per person surcharge on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays, which is ridiculous in my opinion, so the total was $90. Our main waiter did seem quite busy, he was running around a bit like a mad chicken, poor chap, so I hope that surcharge helps him, or that the money gets re-invested in toilet maintenance or a better online booking system, or something. With the Entertainment card we saved $36. 

$54 for two mains was not bad overall, given the good service and location. I would say go the Waterfront on The Entertainment Card or a Groupon voucher or the like; at full price there are probably better, more inspiring options around. Mr. A's words to sum up: "probably won't be going back there in a hurry." 

The Waterfront

27 Circular Quay, The Rocks

1300 115 116

Monday-Sunday 12pm-Close