deckhouse

unrefined - nowhere near the finest in sydney. arrived just after 5:30 pm for a wedding and had been told in advance that the wharf would be open from this time for guest parking. i was also in charge of delivering the cake (3 tier, requires 2 people to carry). i was stopped at the wharf to say that the wharf was 'still working' today and it would not be open to guests at all. was told to drive back up and find parking somewhere else and figure things out for myself. not a great start. found out later that they had miraculously 'stopped working' the dock as cars were being let in to park no less than 15 minutes after i had driven back up to the council car park ($4.50 p/hour).

got inside and waiters seemed antsy when guests (most with small children) were using the side doors to access the restrooms. did not understand why doors could not stay open (this was open later on in the evening) as it is kind of hard to walk past many tables of guests with a fussy child and through the dance floor to access restrooms from the other end of the hall.

my partner asked for a drink only to be told by the waitress that she was only serving the two or three tables to our right and that we had a designated waiter who was probably in the kitchen. no one came for about 15 minutes. said waitress then came back and offered to fetch us a drink. do not understand this protocol??? also, my table of 10 ended up with 4 snapper mains (quite a dry dish) and 6 beefs (not so bad for bulk catering. it was tender and cooked medium-well done). think some waiters have issues with meaning of 'alternate'? we asked about this only to be ignored. we had two sides: broccolini (there were 5 pieces to share for table of 10) and a mixed leaf with pumpkin and beetroot - it looked like a side salad for 1-2 (again for 10 people).

cakeage was $5 per person (200 guests, that's an additional $600) to serve wedding cake - could have been cut more evenly and arranged on a platter more neatly and not slanted. looked rushed. not everyone on my table was offered 'tea or coffee'. some were not asked. some were only offered coffee. our water glasses were probably refilled once during the whole evening. did not have self-serve jugs on tables like other places.

if deckhouse want to charge the prices that they do (beware, lots of "additional" charges many other places consider inclusive in package), then they need to lift their game. also had a few sound/audio issues but that may be user error. there's not much of aviewin darkness so couples may want to reconsider this ifviewis what they are after. you'd be better off in by the water somewhere closer to the city. it is somewhat lacking of the refined service and decor provided by other sydney establishments and i would recommend thorough research before deciding on this location for the price they charge.

edit 19/05/2015: dedesgroup questions if this post is genuine which is a huge insult. i can assure you that this is genuine (why would i bother wasting my time otherwise?) and the bride and groom will be in touch. in addition, i would like to add that i caught up with the bride and groom (yeah, we're pretty close - i think it's called being family) and discussed additional points that guests (who i guess aren't as important in terms of being a customer as their feedback isn't "genuine") did not pick up:

1. the table settings were incorrect. most importantly, the groom's family table was put in the wrong spot next to the bar instead of next to the bridal table. the bride's family table was placed on the other side next to the bridal table (i.e. positioned correctly). this gives the image on inequality and is a huge disrespect in my culture. other tables were numbered wrongly also.
2. working crew (e.g., band members, photographers, etc) meals were not served on time or at the time agreed upon which then threw the schedule of entertainment out.
3. wharf parking was supposed to be for the whole wharf area. when the wharf was opened, cars were only permitted to park on a fraction of the area agreed upon. see photo attached - we were allowed to park only in the space to the right of the star not the whole wharf area (about 15-20 cars double/triple parked).
4. bride asked for black coloured cushions on the tiffany chairs. we had white coloured cushions on the night. these were also an additional cost per chair, as are chair covers, sashes, etc. again, about $5 each.
5. wedding/event coordinator who bridal couple had liaised with to organise event was there at the beginning of the night. no sign of her after an hour or so. was not told where she went or who was in charge after that.

location, location, location. sitting outside on the small deck for sunday brunch is spectacular but the experience went downhill from there. arriving at 11:00am the dining room was packed with families and there was almost too much noise to make my name understood. we were showed to our reserved table, just inside the door and right at the back of the large modern space. prime tables near the glass front wall are by special request. fortunately we spotted people leaving one of the few tables outside, getting theviewwithout the noise. brilliant!

settled in the autumn sun amidst the dirty crockery but with views to cockatoo island and the city, we waited and waited and waited and waited. after 15 minutes i went inside to things moving and after the slow start the service was fine. our choices from the breakfast menu, baked beans with chorizo and the standard breakfast were looked good but were nothing special, and the coffee is best drunk as a flat white rather than short and/or black.

bottom line, food, pretty but uninspiring, service responsive rather than attentive but improves as the dining room thins out. there are bbqs in the park.

love coming down to deckhouse with partner on a sunny morning for breakfast. we always order the big breakfast, the portion is just right for us. we always like to sit outside on the deck enjoying the gorgeousviewand the staff are all so friendly. it is such a pleasant atmosphere and attentive service.

i visited deckhouse a few times and disappointingly the menu has not changed a bit. so why did i keep going back you might ask. it's all about location location location! the restaurant has a greatviewover look the harbour so it's perfect for selfies or postcard photos! make sure you get a window seat to enjoy the harbour bridge view. the food at deckhouse is ok. salmon and scallops are slightly overcooked and the sauce is bit plain but i do like their panna cotta and banana parfait. overall it's a pleasant place to enjoy a lazy long lunch with family and friends.

the food is horrible. we had the chicken breast which is way too salty and the salmon which is as plain as a piece of paper. greatviewcannot make up for the horrible meal. won't come again

visited here looking so a wedding reception decided to have breakfast which was nice, tasty but nothing special! service was good, staff were friendly & theviewis beautiful!

i would visit here again because of the location

amazingviewwith a very average brunch menu. the venue is so beautiful that they have a wedding venue preparation just beside the cafe. however, the food was just so so. i chose eggs benedict just to be safe. considering they have quite a wide range of options when it comes to their benedict. it turns out to taste all right, but not great. costumer service was all right, the food is average and theviewis breath taking. so, if you're just looking for a good ambience this might be the place for you. i'm not gonna lie, theviewis super awesome, very photogenic and you can even see the harbour bridge from afar.

went for lunch at deckhouse, had oysters n perri perri prawns for entree, salmon seared n ocean trout seared for mains n dessert tasting plate.
niceviewoverlooking sydney harbour bridge n great food makes the experience worth while.

expecting nice coffee & lunch at woolwich deckhouse cafe with waterviewthis sunday afternoon 26th june, we were greeted with ignorance & unprofessionalism from 1 of the older gentleman servicing customer. we visited the bar area, asking the lady bartender if we could have coffee here & sit on the outside area. she said that is fine. as soon as we open the door to outside lunch area, a dismissive grey hair male attendant told us, u should have talked to me 1st. we said u r not here, the lady told us we can sit out. u can order ur coffee here at the counter. we told him we haven't seen the drink menu yet. r u here for lunch too? we might, again we have not seen the menu. then he asked where outside we r going to sit, we said we have not been in there, we don't know. he reluctantly let us in the verandah to choose a table. he then said he'll bring out the menu. 7minutes later, still no menu. we decided this place not worth our time, he is no where to be found at the front counter. after greeted by such a power tripper of a reception, who in the right mind will ever come back or recommend this cafe to anyone else?! no apologies for not being in the counter, no welcoming smile, how on earth he is in charge at the forefront!? this is customer disservice & i will strongly discourage anyone from even getting their morning tea at deckhouse cafe!!

our good friend decided to have their birthday lunch here, expecting greatviewaccompanied with good food.

wrong... greatviewyes but good food was a let down. for what you pay for it definitely was not value for money. example was my main, blue swimmer crab and scampi pappadelle with dill, lemon crème sauce it was so bland! there was barely any crab and scampi almost non-existent.

service wasn't the greatest with the staff picking up our food without asking if we were done, and bringing out extra cutlery half way through our meal.

in addition to the above for some unknown reason they decided to cut the cake before it even got bought out for the birthday girl. how irritating and unprofessional!

overall experience is not pleasant wouldn't come back. there are a lot more places with gorgeous views and food to match.

very disappointed! theviewand atmosphere is lovely, although the room is a tad noisy, but what let it down was the food- my pancakes were floury and dry! 

service was fine but would not recommend this beautiful restaurant sadly.

for the 2nd time here, the female manager/host was incredibly rude. it's been a long time since we've come across someone so abrupt & rude. no matter how good theviewis, the food is just ok, with a poor welcome, we definitely won't be back.

a lovely spring day in sydney and an impromptu decision to lunch on the waterfront led us to the deckhouse woolwich. magic location.
we were grateful to the waitress who cleared a window table so this melbourne girl could enjoy a perfectviewacross the bay to the sydney harbour bridge.
the food was delicious! i had the special - swordfish with potato mash and a butter sauce with teeny tiny little sweet tomatoes.
aviewto die for, great food and wine and impeccable service (along with great company) made a wonderful lunch combo. i heartily recommend the deckhouse.

fantastic lunch. we had a family lunch here today, our first time. the service was wonderful, the food outstanding and theviewwas divine. we stayed for four hours! everything was perfect. can't wait to take other people. very impressed!

how not to manage a walk in. we have eaten here many times. we arrived, at 9.30 on a sunday morning, without a booking to an almost empty restaurant (with harbour views). after being asked by three different wait staff if we had a booking we were handed over to the maitre d who asked us if we had a booking. we were then ushered to a crowded rear side deck with aviewof the marina (without harbour view). we felt that was our punishment for not booking. we ate breakfast. it wasn't bad, but not worth another visit. as we left a couple of tables in the restaurant had been filled but most were still empty as were some of the tables on the front deck. we won't be back for breakfast, we might consider lunch but we will make sure we book and won't be taking the side deck.