The food is traditional Vietnamese cuisine and is super fresh. We are Australian and our Vietnamese…read morefriends have bought us here in the past. You know it's good when Vietnamese families eat here! The tables have plastic table cloths and utensils in containers on them - but please don't be put off. It isn't meant to be a fine dining experience. It is functional, fresh, fast and fabulous!! The staff are super friendly and welcoming, they learn your name and remember you even if it's been a while since your last visit. They will help you order if you are new to Vietnamese - just ask!

There is no lack of choice for Vietnamese eateries in Bankstown! Having tried one that was close by…read moreto this one, we decided to give this one a try. Service was quick and we were seated immediately and orders taken in no time and food was delivered shortly after. We ordered the Rare Beef Noodle Soup (we ended up with Beef Noodle Soup With Fatty Beef), Rice Vermicelli With Spring Rolls & BBQ Pork (we ended up with Special Combination Rice Vermicelli). The only thing they got right was the Young Coconut Juice. The food tasted nice and had lots of flavour but it would've been lovely if they actually got any of meals right. We were charged the higher priced dishes of course. The guy who took our order could see what I had pointed out on the menu so unsure if they do a switcheroo on unsuspecting customers. It is cheap and cheerful for what they offer though.

Nothing hits the spot on a cold, wet Sunday morning like a hot cooked breakfast. The Succotash and…read moreEggs from the Cooks Garden was the perfect warmer on a rainy morning. I had never heard of succotash. It was described to me as a hearty baked beans. It was really good. Made with sweet corn, peppers, tomato and cannellini beans it was served in a large ramekin with two fried eggs on top and a side of crusty bread. The menu is filled with more traditional breakfast options but has a few surprises thrown in like the summery coconut quinoa with fresh mango, pineapple and toasted coconut. The coffee is from the Byron Bay Coffee Club Company and was good. Not great but good. I personally prefer a stronger coffee. We were one of the many people standing outside, waiting for the doors to open at 9am. I recommend making a table reservation if you are planning on coming with a group. The restaurant is much larger than it looks from the street and offers seating in the main dining room or outside in a covered courtyard. We opted not to go alfresco and sat in the dining room. The wait staff were attentive and very happy to answer any questions about the menu candidly and honestly. With a mix of smooth tunes playing on the stereo and families, couples and old friends filling the Cooks Garden restaurant, it caters for all.

Bring a feather for the knocking down of me - Keeno ordered the scallops…read more They were very well done - I mean beautifully cooked. So was my ravioli with wild mushrooms. Not sure how the chef rounded them up and tamed them but they were certainly subdued by the time they had been raviolized. It's very good food, duck was beautiful and Brussels sprouts with mandarin sauce worked really well - a highlight actually, best Brussels sprouts I've had (and I like them!). The food is excellent, service is very good and parking is easy. ...but it's not Ad Lib. Bugger. Post Script. A few days later and after quiet reflection and a few sharp points made by Keeno. Unfair to review a very good restaurant by comparison to a great though unviable one. I did not mean to be critical of Cooks Garden and it deserves 4 stars. Well worth supporting. PPS I wish more people had supported Ad Lib

Decent but nothing to write home about...oh, right. Had the vermicelli bowl. Not bad, but had…read morebetter. Portion was a bit small as well. Good place for lunch I suppose. Definitely caters to the big lunch crowd that comes to this area.

Went here twice to try their fresh rolls and mock pork banh mi but I doubt I'll be back. You'd…read moreexpect a perfect banh mi for $7.90 but they're not very big and the second one I had was missing the sauceand chilli, making it a regulation salad roll. Decent concept but at these prices they have to be getting the basics right.

Wow, why did it take this long for me to notice this place when I've lived in the area so long?! We…read morewere walking along Bondi Rd last night looking for a place to get dinner when we saw a Turkish place so we thought we would give it a try. The decor is beautiful and the service was great. This isn't your typical Turkish place where you just get kebabs, humus, olives, lamb, etc. Everything here seems like it came from a recipe back in a town at home. Truly special, tasty, and all the flavours blended together so well. We ordered the YOGHURT KEBAB ($28) which is deconstructed. It is It consists of a large bowl of marinated lamb pieces accompanied with cubes of pide bread and home made garlic tomato sauce. SOOO good. 5/5 for sure. We also got the IMAM BAYILDI ($26) which is baby eggplant stuffed with sauteed vegetables and organic haloumi cheese enhanced with fried garlic and red spices. Delicious. 4/5 The portion sizes were large and we were stuffed without ordering any starters or dessert. A+ for these guys, we will definitely be back to try the other menu items!

Nice and clean restaurant, friendly service, food was absolutely spectacular. Had the banquet -…read moreloved the variety, all servings were generous and tasted great. Definitely going back for more, my kind off food for sure.

The best thing about this place is that it was open when the good places were closed. Ordered two…read moreVietnamese dishes. Got stiffed $80 for second rate takeaway. There are no really authentic dishes - each is a knock off and the value index was zero. There is a small Yoda statue but 'food pretty ordinary it was'.

In all honestly, I only walked into this place because of the name - yes, I am a Star Wars fan. And…read moreto continue my confession I stayed because I saw a Yoda statute (not big, but still there). But after that I was pleasantly surprised. The menu is quite small. But each dish we ordered was really good. The green curry stir fry was by far the winner here! Did I order the green curry as Yoda is green? Yes. But it was good enough to try to lick the plate clean. Also, if you are looking for a good starter, the fried tofu was awesome. And this is said by someone who generally doesn't like tofu. I wouldn't drive all the way to the beaches just to eat here. However, if I am in the area then I would stop off here again. As all we satisfied with what was brought out.

I have tried two dishes here. The flavor and fragrance of…read morethe dishes were wonderful. Ayam Masak Lemak - Vims Butter Chicken was very tasty. It was right and creamy. There were 8 bite sized chunks of chicken swimming in a very yum sauce. Daging Kicap Mani - Beef cooked in sweet Malay soy spices. This was very aromatic, the beef was super tender and very tasty. The sauce was watery though and did not make a great topping for my rice. Roti Chanai - Malaysian non yeast bread. The Roti were good. This type of roti are small and fluffy. It was super oily but very tasty. (The do have the other type of Plain Dosa which are larger & thinner.) The prices were pretty high especially considering the good quality and choice of food around Randwick. Or for a short drive to Kingsford, the huge selection of really good places. I did not have a chance to try the dessert as I had take away. I may decide to go back and try the dessert but I think the experience would be more enjoyable sitting down at the restaurant. (It may also make the price more palatable.)

This restaurant is small, dark and cosy so I would suggest booking beforehand (boyfie and I waltzed…read morein at 8.00pm on a Saturday and scored the last table inside though so...) Firstly let me say that the seafood Char Keow Teow was incredible. I highly recommend ordering this dish as it was authentic and cooked to perfection although sadly this was the only dish we truly loved. Don't get me wrong, the garlic roti was crispy and delish but wasn't a full on garlic hit like I expected. When there is lamb on the menu particularly in a curry I'm all over it so we chose the Korma Kambing but unfortunately the lamb was not tender, had not been cooked for long enough and the curry itself was fairly boring. The curry laksa was also lacking; the dish is prepared with egg noodles which do nothing for me compared to a laksa with vermicelli. Both dishes were quite disappointing. Sadly our steamed rice never made it to the table but we didn't bother chasing it. I love trying new places but this is one we won't bother returning to unless it was purely for the Char Keow Teow.

My first time having Indonesian food and I wasn't too impressed. Aside from the treacherous stairs…read moreleading up the restaurant, the decor is pretty cool. Some tables are sectioned off by two walls to make it appear that you're eating in your own dining room at home. I came here with a small group of 5 friends on Valentine's Day. We didn't have a reservation, but were seated immediately since the place was half empty... Hmmm I wonder why? SERVICE: SLOOOOOOOOOW. BEYOND SLOOOOOOOWWWWW. Slower than molasses! It took them forever to get our food order, then it took even longer for our food to be made! We sat and waited for over 40mins before our first dish arrived! They even forgot to bring us rice! So it took even longer to wave someone down to get rice before we could start eating. I looked around and noticed couples looking around for someone to acknowledge them because they were ready to order - one guy even stood up and raised his hands! TERRIBLE!!! QUALITY: We went with a banquet style set meal which included meats, fish, veggie and cold dishes - nothing to rave about... VALUE: $$$$ what a waste! I could've had better food for the same price at Old Town Will I have Indonesia food again? Most likely. Will I come here again? Definitely not!

Although, the entrance of the restaurant is small and hidden, once you go up the stairs you're…read moregreeted by a large expansive restaurant. It was my birthday dinner last night and I had a table for 10 booked. Some of my guests arrived early and were seated in the Balinese lounge until the table was ready. This area is a nice touch in the whole layout of the restaurant. When the table was ready, we were led to a semi-private dining room (at no extra cost) with gorgeous Indonesian metalworks and wooden decor. I'd give it a 10/10 for ambiance and decor!!!! The food was authentic and delicious. The Gado Gado is probably the best I've had outside of a homecooked version made by a friend's mother. A great place to go for birthday parties and other special occasions where youd like a private/semi private dining area, great decor, great food and great location. The food is also halal so caters for all my friends :)

It was a nice Malaysian restaurant. The food was huge and great. It was too many, two people could…read moreshare on a serving!