aquitaine brasserie

perfect restaurant. the ambiance was relaxing and we sat at a table that gave us privacy without losing the views. the hospitality of thestaffwas impeccable, very welcoming and professional. the food was phenomenal. oysters were fresh, the mains pan fried king salmon and steak frites were both spectacular. finished off on a perfect note with the chocolate marquis.

had a lovely lunch, and really enjoyed the wine,stafffriendly & setting great. shared the duck, which is one of the tastiest duck dishes i've had to date. was busy, good atmosphere and will definitely return.

my wife and i had the prix fixe menu which had a great selection for the price both meat & vegetarian choices. the duck & chicken were very tasty. although busy we were well attended bystaffand meals came promptly and beautifully presented. had a dozen pacific oysters before which were fantastically fresh and came with the most delicious champagne/dill foam. a most enjoyable wedding anniversary outing!

my thoughts on this restaurant are somewhat negative. we arrived and were given the normal menu however we mentioned there would be 9 of us so that menu (which included a range of interesting appetisers and share plates) was whisked away and a new, less choice menu took its place. two of our party were "plain food" eaters so found it hard to find anything on the new menu. the waitress then suggested they might like the kids meal of steak and chips but as one of them was not a child she would be charged an adult rate. 50+ minutes later the meals came out...
no apologies or forewarning regarding food service delay and venue not full.
the two 'children's ' steak and chips were identical cuts of meat on top of a bed of chips... same amount of chips.....1 cost $15 and the other $39 when the bill came and then add the 15% surcharge. "
another member of our group had the fillet steak from the menu advertised at $39 ... guess what ... different cut of meat, thick and delicious looking with interesting additions to complement the meat. when bill was challenged it was basically " tough luck" and we don't care.
so very long story short ... great company (our family :) ), ok but certainly overpriced food with exceptionally poor customer service from inflexiblestaffand owner. needless to say we won't be back ever.

very disappointing experience overall. waitstaffwere friendly but inconceivably slow. my partner and i shared the jamon flatbread as a starter which was delicious. 
my main, snapper fillets with clams (and other stuff) had bones in it. no apology or any attempt to reconcile this was made. had to ask 3 times for the wine we ordered, and side dishes came out 15 minutes after our mains.
asked the waitress 3 times to get the bill and when it never came, i walked to the counter to pay. the manager told me to go and sit back down, and when i told him that we'd asked for the bill, he rolled his eyes and slammed the eftpos machine on the bench.
considering acquitaine wasn't even half full, the service was atrocious and we certainly won't be returning.

good food, great service. went for lunch with my elderly parents. a massive downpour meant we had to be moved twice to stay dry. despite this, thestaffwere great, the food and service were excellent and we thoroughly enjoyed our meals. beautifully presented and tasting food withstaffwho can know what the menu items are

severely disappointed. dined here for valentines day, the offering was a set menu which is understandable on one of the busiest nights of the year. also allows the kitchen to have enough of each meal, as well as enables a fast preparation and service of the meals. with the intention that the customer does not have to wait long for their meals and therefore a higher turn over of tables.

except which was not the case for valentines dinner!

the issues:

waitstaffwere not organised and seemed in complete kaos. waitstaffdidn't have designated sections to look after. resulting in customers being forgotten. i saw a number of hands being raised to catch waitstaffattention.

the meals were pre-prepared a number of days in advance which is normal, except for some particular items. for example goat cheese in vine tomato and charred lavosh. the tomato was at the point of turning bad with loss of flavour & watery taste. the lavosh was far from charred as its texture & taste resembled a stale water cracker lacking the crisp factor.

the portion sizes were not consitent across the board of the meals.

on an important date for couples looking for a special experience to enjoy with a loved one, a restaurant should have well rehearsedstaffand faultless food!

the chefs at aquitaine should ask themselves would i feel confident to serve up that slop to someone that i am trying to impress?

the apprentice chefs and waitstaffsouth bank college easily put you lot to shame! perhaps you should go back to college?

on a positive note the barstaffwere outstanding, mixing the cocktails to perfection! pity that experience, presentation and taste perfection did not carry across the whole night!

if intend dinning at aquitaine lower your expectations to the level of that of broncos leagues club!

ten thumbs down!

picnic basket!. i organised a picnic basket for a night out with my fiancé. when we arrived, we were asked if we would rather sit inside at a table as it had been raining. thestaffmember set up our table beautifully, just like a picnic and explained what everything was. the cheeses and meats were delicious and the warm bread, a perfect touch!
we had a great experience and will definitely be back!

new years eve. absolutely fabulous, amazing food, great service, awesome drinks and brilliant atmosphere.
we booked a group of 11 into aquitaine for the new year's eve late dinner sitting, and were very impressed with the evening. brilliant value for money and a fabulous evening, the perfect spot to watch the midnight fireworks as well. thestaffwere very helpful and accommodating with numerous changes to the booking; there was not a bad word that could be said about any part of the experience.

gorgeous. dined here on saturday lunch with a girlfriend. i have been here a few times before and have always been impressed. we both had the fish and it was delightful.staffwere attentive but not intrusive. wine is a little on the expensive side but i guess that's what you have to expect in that area

incredible service. aquitaine saved our night. after a booking mistake in the restaurant next door, they accommodated our group and the food was brilliant. really enjoyed how inventive and creative the food was.
but most of all, the service andstaffwere a+, and we brought out own birthday cake which they plated, wrote happy birthday on it, provided candles and plated it with ice cream, all to our surprise.

disappointing evening at aquitaine. do not waste your time with aquitaine if you are in a large group. horrible service. we booked the private room upstairs on saturday 5th july for 20 people and the service we received all night was appalling.

it took three people asking and 25 minutes before we received drinks menus and another 20 minutes before one of the requested bottles of wine, arrived. then the rest of the drinks trickled in after more requests for drinks menus. we had to request a knife and fork for someone for their main, more people had to request wine glasses, the person of honour had to pour her own champagne because we the room wasn't properly staffed. we had 3 dietary requirements on one table, each were offered the wrong items. the gluten free main option was disappointing - tough venison with a 2 huge handfuls of kale.

after the 3rd reminders about an espresso martini ordered during the first drinks order, it finally arrived... with the mains! a comment about the espresso martini didn't result in a usual apology, just the wait person saying, "you'll have to excuse me, i'm the only person here tonight".

aquitaine, if you do not have the ability orstaffto provide the right level of service to a private dinner party, then don't accept the booking.

will return. i celebrated my birthday here with hubby sat night. thestaffwere very professional and attentive - out waitress was friendly and knowledgeable about the menu. the prices aren't cheap but the food was fantastic - the pork belly entrée was sublime and my venison main was to die for! the hubby's chicken main was equally high quality. be careful when ordering sides though - you may not need them, we couldn't finish all of ours (but the panzanella salad is very good). the only downer for the night was that we just didn't have room for dessert. guess we'll have to return soon and make sure we can fit it in. will definitely go back.

first time visitor to aquitaine and we thoroughly enjoyed the experience. dishes were good proportioned and tastefully presented. very pleasant waitingstaffmade the experience even more enjoyable. well worth the visit.

brilliant. last night i celebrated my birthday with a few friends at aquitaine brasserie, southbank and could not have picked a better venue for it.

the front of housestaffare polite, professional, attentive, thoughtful and friendly. one of my fellow diners pointed out that they were particularly impressed that our waitress waited until we had all finished our meals before beginning to clear the plates, something that is not done in a lot of establishments as they try and rush covers through.

highest compliments to the chefs at aquitaine brasserie. the menu was varied, creative and seasonal. the meals were beautifully presented and delicious!
for dessert i had a special surprise as our waitress must have figured out that it was my birthday and my (incredibly presented and gorgeously delicious) snickers inspired dessert had been decorated with "happy birthday" written in chocolate across my plate!

thank you to all thestaffand chefs at aquitaine brasserie for a beautiful evening out to celebrate my birthday. i will certainly be returning in the near future.