Surfhouse Restaurant – Merewether, NSW, Australia

Posted on Jun 11, 2018 in Restaurants

Such potential but the service was appalling.

I’m not a fan of restaurants with a view because I usually find the experience doesn’t measure up but with Lesley Taylor’s arrival at Surfhouse, I decided it was time to give this one a try. Unfortunately it wasn’t an overly pleasant experience.

First up, service is appalling. From the moment we were seated to the moment we left. The gentleman who seemed to be the manager appeared extremely flustered and unhelpful. He constantly gave the impression that he was way too busy but given there were a number of large bookings set up when we arrived, I can only guess they were expecting a full room. I could give him the benefit of the doubt if he had a few people call in sick but I haven’t often seen hospitality professionals looking so rattled. There were a couple of friendly young people working the room but they were very hard to catch. We were invited to order drinks as soon as we were seated so we asked for a minute to browse the menu. It was at least 10 minutes (that’s being generous) before we managed to catch someone’s attention again. This happened more than once throughout the afternoon and even at the end of the meal, we eventually had to get up to settle the bill as it obviously wasn’t coming to us.

The menu is delightful – creative and well planned. Serving sizes are not overly large but I’m pleased to say, some dishes were delicious – well executed, delicately balanced flavours and beautiful presentation. But others were extremely disappointing. The surf & turf turned out to be a slab of overcooked, dry fish on a tiny bit of red meat. On the other hand, the baby vegetable garden, lamb duo and lemon meringue with jalapeno pineapple were all scrumptious. I wonder if one individual was responsible for the surf and turf and he/she was just having a bad day.

To accompany dessert, we ordered the cheese ‘platter’ which turned out to be surprisingly petite and simple. If I only had such uninteresting elements left at home, I would not be serving it up for guests. I expected something a little better executed in a setting such as this.

One other thing that’s a bit of a measuring stick for me with regard to generosity – bread. In this case, it’s listed as an extra on the menu. I expected there would be an initial offering and the menu item was for those who require extras but that was not the case. No bread unless you pay.

I realise that my negatives (and positives) may not apply to other guests but, in my opinion, a first class dining experience requires all departments to be on their game and in this case, there were too many disappointments. Of course, the view is stunning but when you’re paying top dollar, the best view in Newcastle is not enough to make up for the inconsistencies. Luckily we had wonderful dining companions!