This review comes over a year after my visit but this is a restaurant I dream off coming back to…read moreone day (I live in NYC right now). Presentation was absolutely through the roof and taste even better. There is communal style seating which I'm not a huge fan of but I realize a few places in Sydney do this so may just be my tourist opinion. Service was attentive without being overbearing, and the wine recommended was delicious. Absolutely recommend this place for a nice date night spot!

Pretty cool restaurant with good atmosphere and so so food. Automata gives you an option of a five…read moreor seven course menu. I opted for the five course which also includes two bite sized snacks and bread and butter. The bread and butter was one of the better parts of the meal which is an issue at a place where the individual spend is 100 AUD plus. Food: 3.5 stars Service/environment: 4 stars Value: 3 stars Overall: 3.5 stars The meal started off with seaweed cracker with kombu cream and bbq pumpkin tart. Both were ok and not particularly tasty. The next dish was a pink snapper tartare topped with asparagus and caper. Presentation was nice and the dish was decent but nothing spectacular here. The stracciatelli with olive oil was my favorite dish of the meal. It paired really well with the bread provided. I enjoyed this dish quite a bit. The spinner crab with fermented chili pasta was something that sounded great on paper but The taste profile really wasn't for me. The pasta was cooked a bit under as well for my liking but for those who like a lot of bite to their pasta may like the preparation. The hanger steak was disappointing for me. The steak was cooked really well but the marinade used was overall sour and overpowered the meat. The dessert was a yogurt yuzu with a burnt lemon meringue. I enjoy lemon desserts and appreciated the contrast of the tart lemon with the yuzu ice cream.

Last weekend I found out in the worst of ways that my favourite Indian restaurant that delivers…read more has closed down, so with a ravenous appetite and phone in hand I found myself looking for a new favourite that will deliver. After a couple of misses I found Talking Tables and decided that despite the very Non authentic Indian name I would give them a try. Am I glad I did! While I will miss my old faithful, I certainly won't be wanting for great Indian, as Talking Tables food was fantastic. I was a little off put by the limited menu, but I discovered when I contacted them that if you have an unlisted favourite they will accommodate you. So, for only $40 I got three dishes and 2 rice, as they give you a 15 percent discount the first time you order from them. In addition my food arrived in only 35 minutes, was piping hot and the delivery guy was lovely. I've learnt not to judge based on a restaurant's name as Talking Tables Indian was as authentic as any other Indian I have had. I will definitely be ordering from them again and look forward to trying more of their fare.

I've been sampling all of Penrith's Indian restaurants gradually, seeking The One. I use a 2 dish…read moretest to see what an Indian restaurant can do, my dishes for this test are Malai Kofta and Palak Paneer. Along with these I also sample the naan bread. Naan bread rated highly here. Good flavour and texture. Malai Kofta: The dumplings were lacking, but the sauce was nice. Palak Paneer: Texture was bad, flavour was bland and they skimped on the cheese. When I added my own spice to the Palak Paneer, it improved dramatically. I'm afraid I was served the white version of the dish. I feel that if I ordered more stereotypical white choices, my meal would have been flawless. The service here is excellent.

A huge menu. We got seated immediately on a Friday night. The pork was great! Service relatively…read morequick. The only thing on the negative side, it was a little noisy.

Disappointing experience. Really more of a diner than a restaurant. Empty, waited 35min for kids…read morepizza 40 min for our meals 6/10 service and experience 8/10 food presentation was good 6/10 food quality and taste 7/10 value for money Overall a let down.. We all left disappointed

Drinking coffee on a wooden stool out on Victoria Street and watching the Darlo locals schlep,…read moreprance, mince and shuffle past has to count as one of the most enjoyable, and arguably quintessential, coffee drinking experiences in Sydney. It's small and homey and there are old photos and signed prints and posters on the wall, snaps of local personalities and the like that let you know these dudes are up to their neck in the local community, not above it or behind it but right up in there man, and for a cafe that's the only place to be. Has that for locals, by locals vibe and that's okay with me. And the coffee? Top notch. Really and truly bro.

I'll definitely come back until I've tried all their sandwiches. Today, I had #7, suggested by…read moretheir barista, and love it! Swapped the turkish bread for dark rye, and it made a difference. The combination of salami, olive paste, cheese, artichoke and greens was an explosion of taste in my mouth. And, it was served on a plate (not a bloody chopping board, as every other cafe seem to deem appropriate these days) - extra points! The coffee was strong and not at all bitter. I had 2 :) Table service and friendly staff completed a great experience.

Currently enjoying a Grilled Salmon fillet with Salad in this tiny little diner that looks…read more.. well... a little run down. The staff are friendly, and the food is awesome but this tiny (just over 9 table) diner will need a makeover if it wants to compete with other dining establishments in the city. The food averages at about $15.00 for anything other than a sandwich. Definitely worth a try.

Located on Eliabeth Street, opposite Hyde park, it's a strange mix of café and restaurant. I guess…read morethat's the point - you can choose what you would like it to be. Theres tables inside and out, and towards the back it has the whole restaurant feel. And the whole choosing thing goes with the price too - from $5 to $30 you can choose if you want to be at a restaurant or a café. Theres croissants in the window, and foccacias and the like, so its lunch on the go if you want. Or, if you're on your way back from the gym, theres a protein shake for sale. The little things! Nice, flexible, comfortable place that is exactly what you want to make of it. I like it.

This is Otto's sister restaurant (right next door) and essentially the food is all "whatever's left…read morefrom the larder" from next door. The menu changes pretty regularly as a result, which means even more excuses to come back and sample everything the restaurant has to offer. I went with three friends and EVERYTHING sounded amazing on the menu. In hindsight we probably ended up with a few too many dishes (even after running our choices by our waitress, who assured us we would be fine)- however, the price point is a lot lower than Otto so I wasn't as upset as I would have been had it been been Otto pricing. The menu is designed for sharing so share we did- a goat cheese salad, truffle butter and bread, friend cauliflower, perfectly roasted baby potatoes, a burrata with honey and currants, the most amazing tuna ceviche with avocado and zoodles and finally a great sirloin with blue cheese butter. We were STUFFED by the end, but the bill only came to $50/head. Larder is also BYO which is a huge plus but they do charge $8 corkage per person, so if you're only having a glass then best to just order wine there. All in all a great gem !

Pop-up restaurants are the latest craze to be sweeping Sydney. Even Masterchef has been getting in…read moreon the action. Now, it seems, so are fine dining restaurants. Otto Ristorante, an original Sydney staple in fine dining, has now opened pop-up restaurant The Larder. For the next three months during winter, one third of Otto's Woolloomooloo restaurant will be transformed into European style eatery, The Larder. Whilst still enjoying the glorious view at The Finger Wharf, you can dine at the Larder for a fraction of the price of Otto, and best of all, it's BYO with $5 corkage. Though there may be no white tablecloths and the menus may be printed on paper, it still feels rather luxurious to dine at The Larder. The menu is designed to be shared and plates are priced from $10 - $25. That's a bargain price for food coming from the Otto kitchen! Dishes change regularly, depending what is in 'the larder'. Ms C and I dined on a still Friday evening and we enjoyed: *Salmon Tartare *Potato rosti with roasted capsicum, smoked eggplant, feta and rocket *Braised Beef cheeks on polenta - a special that night *Quinou salad with haloumi & green salad The food, as you would expect, is fine dining quality, with the offerings a little less fancy, and a little more rustic. Perfect for the winter weather. Oh, and don't worry if the weather's a little chilly - those heaters work a treat. So, why not get down to The Larder while it's still open and make the most of fine dining quality at pub prices.

I hadn't known about this place until someone recommended it. He praised the staff effusively and…read moresince I have been there twice, I understand why. This is a very friendly family-run cafe with seating outside and in. I had scrambled eggs with sourdough toast and grilled tomatoes. I've had the same dish at other places, but this is my favorite because the toast wasn't over toasted to a crispy critter. The eggs were fluffy and a grilled tomato for breakfast really hits the spot. Another time when I came here, I had a perfectly poached egg and a delicious scone with jam and cream. I love the way scones in Australia are more like a tender biscuit rather than the hard triangle that passes for a scone in the States. With the jam, the whipped cream is just a bonus. Also, poached eggs are common, a healthier way to eat an egg. It's a bit out of the way towards the end of the outdoor mall, but we'll worth seeking out.

When I need to suggest a cafe to anyone coming to Hornsby, this is easily my default. While most of…read morethe other cafes seem to be reliant on the mass produced, generic coffee, these guys have always been one step ahead. Back in the days before Toby's Estate became more mainstream, these guys had it as their go-to bean. Now that Toby's is more focused on mass production, Thyme Square has switched to Jack and the Bean coffee (another great option). As you know, having a good supply of coffee beans is only the first step in the production of an awesome cup of coffee, but I am happy to say that this cafe does a very decent job banging out cup after cup of great coffee. It must be mentioned that this cafe is also focused on having a wide range of food options [breakfast/lunch/dinner] (which are a tad pricey but compared to other options in Hornsby, might be worth it). As it has been a while since I have eaten here I will leave it to others to tell you what they think. When I was eating here though the standard was quite high. Cafe Summary ------------------------ Passion for Coffee - 7/10 Coffee beans - Jack and the Bean Crema (1=burnt, 10=velvet) - 7/10 Special coffees avail? - N/A

Our meeting place is closed, whoever organised this production meeting has forgotten to check the…read moreopening times of our meeting venue. "What an idiot!" Could have been me, I'm not sure, it's not important. We venture down the road from our original destination and pop into a small cafe called Citrus, for one of a number of reasons; it's proximity towards our original location, it's enclosed and privacy providing booths and the fact that it is a purveyor of eggs benedict, "An important attribute!" I am told. We order some coffees and then, when everyone arrives, some breakfast. I get the fruit platter with yoghurt and a drizzle of honey. It is just what the doctor ordered. (To catch you up, there was a doctor who ordered a fruit platter, yoghurt and a drizzle of honey once.) I ate those seasonal fruits with gusto, refreshed to my core as I drank that soy cappuccino and woke up for the day. Meeting underway, we discussed our various points on the agenda and tried to move forward as a company. The private booth, the perfect backdrop to our production meeting, and the fruit platter an amazing and delicious breakfast indeed.

Stopped in here for an afternoon meal after the beach. We both ordered the same thing - the octopus…read moreand calamari salad and a juice. I got the "stressbuster" - I think it was celery, ginger, apple... DELICIOUS! Our salads were just OK. We both agreed the seafood tasted weird and unappetizing. Mind you, NOT unfresh or off.. just weird. We asked for lemon, it didn't help. The service was very smiley and nice, they have a HUGE menu with breakfast all day, pasta, burgers, salads, dessert. I've always been taught when a place does EVERYTHING, they usually don't do ANYTHING exceptionally well. My feeling is this fits here, but if you just want a generic meal in a pinch, you could do worse. It's not bad.