Waterfront Grill, Darling Harbour
Sunday, January 22, 2017
IT'S A BIRTHDAY POST! Wishing our girl, Cathy the happiest of 22nd birthdays and we all really hope this is an amazing year for you. A few weeks ago we celebrated the occasion at Waterfront Grill in Darling Harbour. We used to come here not only because of the beautiful views but because of the all-you-can-eat pork ribs which were actually really delicious!! Unfortunately due to the increased costs for them to offer this deal, they recently decided to not offer it anymore. Nonetheless the one other thing I've ordered at Waterfront besides the pork ribs that made me keen to revisit is the Wagyu steak. Absolute perfection and cooked to the most perfect medium rare I have ever had.
Firstly I'd love for you guys to check out the little vlog I made as we discussed some of the food and it will give you all a good moving-visual look for the restaurant! Of course theres some of our fun moments in there too but hope you will enjoy it hehe :)
Service is generally quite friendly and efficient even though they have so many tables to serve on this really busy night. I've never had a problem with the service here before :) The menu is simple offering a range of choices that you would expect from a bar & grill. The most typical menu offering is the different cuts of steak!
We are seated in the outdoor area which is nice and shaded, perfect for enjoying the harbourside breeze and simultaneously staying away from the slight sprinkle of rain. It seems common to come here with a group of people and the vibe of the restaurant is very casual and relaxed.
The BEAUTIFUL view out onto Darling Harbour after the sun sets!
While waiting for our friend Fiona, we decide to start things off with drinks and an entree.
Beer Bazooka - 1L of Tooheys Extra Dry $18
WOW! We ordered this for Cathy but we kind of forgot that she's a one shot wonder + ordered her own cocktails. As impressive as this looks, the beer coming out of the tower is not as cold as we anticipate. In fact, it is almost lukewarm. Nonetheless, it was fun, novelty and yet cost-effective for the amount we drank.
Left: Peach Iced Tea $4
Right: Waterfront Delight $15
Iced tea is iced tea, I'm told it was perfectly fine, tastes like Lipton. The Waterfront Delight on the other hand (I think this is what it was), Fran and Cathy said it was strong and bitter. It has vodka, gin, Bacardi, Malibu, cointreau, and cranberry juice.
Buffalo Wings & side of Ranch sauce, 10pc for $18.50
We reviewed this in the Vlog so check it out! But basically we all have very mixed feelings about these wings. I think that they are alright, the chicken is very juicy but the sauce tastes more like tomato sauce than anything remotely hot and spicy. Also we all didn't know that sauce on the side was blue cheese sauce until I wrote this review because it didn't taste too much like ranch. The pairing of the sauce and the wings do in the end go really nicely together! If you order these with some of Watefront's amazing steakhouse chips it would also make a great meal.
Ordering dinner happened quite late as we were waiting for a friend but my tip for you is to order your mains as soon as you can if you don't have to wait. The food is all freshly prepared in the kitchen and takes quite a while to come out. The bonus is they all arrive one by one, yet when you are hungry - best not waste any time! :)
I apologise for some really overblown photos as my ISO was acting very strange on the night and I did the old snap and go. Hungry girls are not ones to be messed with!
Panko Chicken $29
This comes served with steakhouse chips, slaw and aioli.
This was Anne-mary's dish and she told us that it tasted really standard.
Grilled Chorizo Sausage $15.50
Actually from the entrees menu but surprisingly is a decent portion to act as a main, good thinking Jas! Her review on this dish that it's great for the price yet incredibly spicy!
Rump Steak w/ Steakhouse Chips and Mushroom sauce $29
Described on the menu as "350 grams. Minimum 100 day grain fed from the Riverina NSW". The cut of steak looks quite generous and tasty (see below for the medium rareness) but Cathy told us that the grill marks on the meat actually ruined the whole steak because the taste was SO smokey and burnt. I didn't believe her so I tried some myself and she was spot on. Not sure if anyone likes their steak to taste this smokey but it honestly tasted so burnt that we couldn't get past that.
On the bright side, chips and sauce were delicious.
Chef's Special - Pasta $24
This is only found the Chef's Special menu in-store and not online. This dish has penne pasta with marinated chicken, roast pumpkin, baby spinach and pine nuts all in a creamy gorgonzola sauce. Fiona loved it as did we all!
Full Rack Pork Ribs w/ Steakhouse Chips $41
Of course someone had to order this for old times sake and its such a dish to be envied! In hindsight we should've just gone with the half rack because a full rack with the generous pile of chips underneath it is such a huge portion of food. This was Francis' dish and I had to help the boy finish it hahahaha. The ribs still had that same special Waterfront rib sauce basted all over it yet today they were on the dry side. We find whenever we order ribs at Waterfront it is a hit-or-miss whether you get juicy or dry ribs.
Twice-cooked Pork Belly $29
"Slow cooked then pan fried crispy, served with potato, apple and celery salad".
Final dish and this was the order that I went with! I absolutely can't resist when I see the words pork belly on the menu because it is one of my favourite cuts of meat. I also love the combination of pork and apple was so was really excited. Sad to say I was so disappointed by this dish and felt it was such a huge waste of money. While it is beautifully presented, I can't say the same for the taste. I started with the salad on the left which was overall okay but there was so much more celery than apple or potato in it. Moving next onto the pork, the crispy skin was too solid to cut or even bite so I had to go without it. The pork itself was lukewarm as if it had been sitting on the counter for a while. It also had a massive layer of fat through the middle which made up 1/3 of the pork. You might be able to see it clearer in the first photo. It was so unpleasant and inedible. My friends were asking why there was so much fat on my plate. And I didn't feel satisfied or full from my dish at all. Definitely don't order this, not worth it!
Despite most of us thinking our dishes were in between average and disappointing, the service remained friendly bringing out the cake, lighting the candles, taking photos of us and then there's the views + bonus Darling Harbour fireworks show was enough to keep us all happy!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY CATHY! 💖
My final verdict is Waterfront Grill is a fun and casual venue for lunch/dinner and special occasions. While not all their menu items are great, their strengths lie in the steak and ribs department as well as their customer service. Let me know if you've ever been to Waterfront Grill and what your experience was like, I would love to hear from you guys! xx
TL;DR:
Price: Expensive
Quality: Fresh but best for steaks and ribs
Service: Friendly
Ambience: Casual, chill, family-friendly
Waterfront Grill
289 Harbourside Promenade
2-10 Darling Drive,
Darling Harbour NSW 2000
Open 7 days a week
Monday - Thursday: 8AM - 10:30PM
Friday, Saturday: 8AM - 11PM
Sunday: 8AM - 10PM
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