Perth Food Review

D isappointing, oh, so disappointing.

Don't get me wrong, the views are great, superb, etc., etc., BUT

We went as a family group of 9 on a Saturday night and, apart from the views, we might as well have gone to the local chinese.

Being a Saturday night we expected the place to be busy, which it was, but to then have that fact used as a reason for poor service is inexcusable. Of course a restaurant of this calibre is going to be busy on a Friday/Saturday. The owners and/or managers should be aware of this and ensure there are sufficient staff to provide the level of service they are charging us for - and be assured you are paying a fairly hefty premium to be there. We did tip our waiter, but it was more for having remained calm under pressure than being there when needed.

My wife and I joined the group about a quarter of an hour late, after the rest had already had been served their drinks. It took us about 15 minutes to be able to place a drink order and then another 15 or so minutes to receive them. Not an auspicious start. There was then an overly long wait from when those drinks were finished to see the waiter again to place another drinks order and then, again, an excessively long wait to receive them. And we needed the drinks; because there was no attempt made to take our food orders.

I suppose we were expected to enjoy the views (which are lovely) soberly, with rumbling tummies, and uninterrupted by the mechanics of food service and eating.

After about one revolution (of the restaurant - about 90 minutes) we were finally approached for our food order and our third round of drinks. Thereafter, the meal was served within reasonable time limits. Our waiter also became more attentive to our glasses although the wine we ordered to arrive with our mains was delivered just after entrees were served.

In general, the food was of a reasonable standard if not entirely justifying the prices paid.

It was not apparent from the menu what style of food C Restaurant prepares. Every waiter we encountered was French but that was at odds with a menu that didn't offer Escargots or Grenouilles.

Entree: the Oysters Naturale were enjoyably fresh, the Kilpatricks perhaps overly Worcestershire'd, the Sashimi the best that you could expect presumably French style chefs to prepare.

Mains: Fish of the Day was slightly overcooked and dry, as was the duck: the Fillet Steaks were all tough to the point that the steak knives had difficulty tending to them and the rest of the meals had nothing in particular to recommend them.

Generally, the C Restaurant experience was that to be expected of most restaurants in Perth - average. The only problem is you are not being charged average prices. Premium pricing is not a right, it must be earned. C Restaurant needs to direct more effort towards justifying the prices being charged.

Maybe the restaurant trade in Perth has the same attitude as its realtors who believe people will pay stupidly excessive prices for anything - provided it is in the right location.

Reactions (4)