Hard Rock Cafe - Sydney

Whilst visiting Sydney from Perth with my inlaws from Melbourne, my hubby and I thought we would introduce them to Hard Rock Cafe. My hubby and I have been to Hard Rock in the Gold Coast, Hollywood and New York City, and have NEVER had a bad experience. Unfortunately last night was a let down for us, which is a shame because the Darling Harbour is such a beautiful location! Our sever Cameron was very friendly, but forgetful. We ordered cocktails during happy hour, which were fine, nothing overly special, but who can pass up buy 1 get 1 free drinks! The 4 of us ordered the Jumbo share plate to start with, it wasnt too bad. The potato skins lacked a bit of salt, the crispy chicken tenders with honey mustard sauce was moist and delicious, the mexican spring rolls had a nice spice to them, the onion rings were crispy and the chicken wings were moist. We ordered our mains and entree together, but unfortunately our server 'forgot' to place our main order, so we were waiting quite a while for our food. The manager even came out and started apologising to us. After some time food started arriving, I got the Buffalo Chicken wings which are always tasty, the blue cheese sauce is always a hit too. My mother in law ordered a chicken salad, in which they 'forgot' to add the chicken, so we were waiting a while longer for that. The manager took off $28 from the total bill for all the inconveniences made. Which was good, and we were expecting it. Over all, definitely not my favourite Hard Rock eatery, but of you have all the time in the world to wait for food then check it out.

Whilst visiting Sydney from Perth with my inlaws from Melbourne, my hubby and I thought we would introduce them to Hard Rock Cafe. My hubby and I have been to Hard Rock in the Gold Coast, Hollywood and New York City, and have NEVER had a bad experience. Unfortunately last night was a let down for us, which is a shame because the Darling Harbour is such a beautiful location! Our sever Cameron was very friendly, but forgetful. We ordered cocktails during happy hour, which were fine, nothing overly special, but who can pass up buy 1 get 1 free drinks! The 4 of us ordered the Jumbo share plate to start with, it wasnt too bad. The potato skins lacked a bit of salt, the crispy chicken tenders with honey mustard sauce was moist and delicious, the mexican spring rolls had a nice spice to them, the onion rings were crispy and the chicken wings were moist. We ordered our mains and entree together, but unfortunately our server 'forgot' to place our main order, so we were... read more

Let's add this to the list of worst places I've eaten at this year. (Still Flying Fish Restaurant and bar still tops the worst). The waiters seem so disinterested in seating you down. We had a booking to which when they presented us to the table it wasn't even set up, so they made us walk back to the front and wait. So no point booking weekday because they're next to empty. When we were finally seated and had the menus, it took us a solid 5-10mins before we could see our waitress to order. Like no one wanted to come to our corner to check on us. The waitress said that for Tuesday they have all you can eat ribs $45 so my colleagues ordered that. I ordered a Wagu rump steak $40 and the rest prefer burgers. About 20mins later food starts rolling out and boy was I disappointed. My steak even tho medium rare, borderline rare, was lukewarm. My fries were cold and stale and the broccoli... well it's broccoli. The beef ribs were disgusting. After my colleague took off all the fat, there was no meat to it. The waitress saw how we were picking the fat off and at least said she would notify the kitchen to trim the ribs more for the next round. The next round of ribs were less fatty but by then my colleague didn't want to eat anymore due to disgust. Never have any of us ever seen a plate of fat with a side of bones and a dabble of meat. The burgers looked good but was told that they lack flavour or are overly oily. Not worth it AT ALL! Hard Rock has lost its edge and doesn't deserve its place at Darling Harbour.

Let's add this to the list of worst places I've eaten at this year. (Still Flying Fish Restaurant and bar still tops the worst). The waiters seem so disinterested in seating you down. We had a booking to which when they presented us to the table it wasn't even set up, so they made us walk back to the front and wait. So no point booking weekday because they're next to empty. When we were finally seated and had the menus, it took us a solid 5-10mins before we could see our waitress to order. Like no one wanted to come to our corner to check on us. The waitress said that for Tuesday they have all you can eat ribs $45 so my colleagues ordered that. I ordered a Wagu rump steak $40 and the rest prefer burgers. About 20mins later food starts rolling out and boy was I disappointed. My steak even tho medium rare, borderline rare, was lukewarm. My fries were cold and stale and the broccoli... well it's broccoli. The beef ribs were disgusting. After my colleague took... read more

The service staff were well trained and the decor is cute in a hokey kind of way, but the menu was incredibly overpriced for what equated to (in my opinion) Oportos-quality fast food. Operating such a large space in a high-traffic area such as Darling Harbour must generate some pretty hefty overheads, but the menu in its current guise can't justify these prices.