The Cove Bar & Dinning - South bank

This weekend my Man and I finally made a  visit to the GOMA  to have a look at some of the Contemporary Art displays. Gazing at the works of art made us somewhat hungry and we made our way to relatively new refurbished precinct at South bank and decided to have lunch at probably the only place we still haven't visited in that area - The Cove Bar & Dinning.

The place boasts prime riverside views and an exquisite bar design. The menu is relatively limited, however we easily made a choice, certainly including the Cove's signature oysters in bubbles, using Moet et Chandon champagne gel, salmon pearls and San Pellegrino emulsion.  

The food arrived promptly, was beautifully presented and was delicious. The oysters were very fresh and had a very special flavour to it.

Even though the food was good as well as  the views and the atmosphere, the place definitely is not going to be on our Favourites list. And the reason for it is bad service. 

The moment we arrived we were promptly seated at our table and then left there totally forgotten, until we had to indicate that we need some help. The staff did not offer us any water, and there was no salt or pepper on our table - we had to ask for those things. The employees were friendly but we were under the impression that they were quite disorganised and not  attentive to their customers. We constantly would get different staff members serving us and in the end when we got to the counter to pay we got very arrogant attitude from the guy who was sorting out our bill.

The service shortcomings left a very 'bad taste in our mouth' and I doubt we will go back any time soon, which is a shame as overall  the Cove is a nice place and I realise the chances are we were just unlucky and should we have come on any other day the service may have been impeccable, but at the end of the day we pay more so for the experience than for food and wouldn't want to risk it again.

Where: Sidon Street, River Quay South Bank 

http://www.covebardining.com.au/ 

Design: 8/10

Food: 7/10

Service: 3/10

The highlight: Oysters - a must try!

Disappointment: Service

Splurge: $$$

By the way, on a side note - you can now temporary enjoy a glass of wine or beer while having a picnic at the newest South bank green area, as alcohol consumption is permitted until 8 pm, so pack your picnic basket and head to South bank to enjoy the Sunday afternoon in beautiful surrounding!

xoxo