the tilbury

settling into blogger life after journalism, i decided to investigate a zomato meetup at the tilbury. zomato hosts these events for some of the 300-odd restaurants who advertise on their australian platform, allowing them the opportunity to be seen by social media influencers who post about them. by having more activity on theirrestaurantlisting, these advertisers climb the zomato rankings and are thus seen by hungry sydney diners more often. my zomato staffer dining companions tell me this not-quite-organic way of improving visibility on zomato can never beat actually being the next big thing.as someone used to dining as a twosome, group meals are a whole different ballpark. rather than seeing individual entrees, our amicable waitress tells us we’re being served the whole range of them on a platter. when it lands, the awkward sport of sharing them fairly begins, but only after copious insta-worthy photo documentation, with one clever lass peeling back the sourdough toast to reveal a visually impressive wild boar terrine ($18)

great building and atmosphere. very laid back style. not just an ordinary pub. food isrestaurantquality. will be back her for dinner again for sure. the best in the area for casual drink and food.

the setting is great and the service is not bad, but the food was really disappointing. all 4 of us didn’t live any of our courses. the flavors were very strong and not in a good way. also for what we got, it was quite overpriced. as was the wine list. therestaurantis trying to be upmarket and silver service, but is missing the mark with its menu and the execution. maybe why it was quite empty on a friday night... ps. my wife says that based on the food, my rating of 2 is too high...

came here before adding a party. the service was flawless, lovely table setting, charming and attentive staff. delicious wine.shame couldn’t be said about the meals. two at the table had the pork dish ... this was dry and very tough that one had to ask for a steak knife. the prawn omelette was presented differently with only small bits of prawns, but tasty. i had the tuna , i must say my dish was delicious.. all servings could have been larger but give it 10/10 for presentation. thisrestaurantdidn’t quiet make it on the whole sadly.

located in woolloomooloo and popular with the locals this is the spot for after work drinks. the interior is sleek and inviting with a front bar area,restaurantdining and a back leafy courtyard. whilst we were only there for drinks the summer grill menu had some enticing options including gyros, nachos and classic beer battered fish and chips. upstairs was blocked off for a private function however i imagine it is as sleek as the rest of the tilbury. drink service from the bar was a little slow - but that's the price of being popular.

food not bad but the staff really spoilt the experience. shortly after were shown to our seats we notice a big party of ladies started arriving at the long tables right next to us. the rest of therestaurantwas empty so we asked if we could move to another table. the staff were inflexible and said all the tables have been reserved. we were merely swapping from a table of 4 to another table of 4. they reluctantly allowed us to move. the waitress was quiet abrupt and unhelpful when my friends was trying to decide on a wine to go with the meal. she brought 2 bottles that matched our request to the table and walked away with a frown leaving us to decide. after we finished our starters which were delicious we were still hungry so we asked for some more bread (later we discovered it was an extra charged to the bill but we were not told). at the end of the meal we asked for the bill. she came back with a portable card machine. we were paying by card and each couple presented their card. the machine had the whole total already entered. so then she rolled her eyes and returned to the till and reset the value to split the bill. upon payment our friends discovered they added a transaction fee of 2% but the waitress did not inform us. we were unhappy and said it would have been nice to have been told. unapologetically she pointed out to the fine print at the bottom of the bill. such attitude! will not be returning.

it's been a while between visits to the tilbury and boy, has she had a makeover. the downstairs dining room is a contemporary, welcoming space, overlooking the outdoor courtyard, and offering comfortable seating and a lovely ambience.

our dining party of seven was treated to a tasting plate of entrees, our choice of main course, and a dessert platter.

our waitress for the evening was professional, polite and attentive; and demonstrated good product knowledge, explaining each of the items and answering questions as each of the shared platters was served. we were also never without beverages or water for the table.

the meal commenced with a chunk of delightfully flavoursome, chewy sourdough from iggy's, served with olive oil and balsamic.

on the shared entree platter we had the following;
wild boar terrine, confit rhubarb, basil, sourdough
blue mackerel fillet, smoked mackerel, horseradish pate, pickled beetroot
ox tartare in coal oil, kohlrabi, egg yolk jam, charcoal cracker
tuna tataki, ponzu dressing, sesame, wakame

the boar was slightly gamey but had a delicious flavour to it. the tuna tataki was a crowd favourite, with its delicious sesame crust and kick of ponzu paired beautifully with the seaweed. the ox was okay but not to everyone's taste. the mackerel was done well, and the tiny globes of pickled beetroot added big pops of flavour.

all the main courses sounded amazing making it difficult to choose. between the seven of us, there were six different meals selected, increasing the risk of food envy but giving therestaurantthe opportunity to showcase a range of dishes.

the general consensus was that the meat dishes definitely trumped the fish dishes as a few of them were overcooked. we had the cowra lamb cutlets, white bean stew, heirloom tomatoes, capsicum and the venison ragout, papardelle, cepe mushroom, parmesan, parsley. the lamb was beautifully cooked, pink and tender. the accompanying white bean stew was rich and flavoursome and would have been completely satisfying as a stand-alone meal, it was that good. the venison ragout was not too gamey at all and had a rich meatiness that paired well with the fresh pasta and mushrooms.

the sides we received were;

crispy eggplant, yuzu, & coriander dressing
butter kipflers, rosemary salt
carrots roasted in cumin caramel
hand cut chips, truffle, parmesan

these were tasty and went down well especially the carrots which had a delicious sweetness. the kipflers were just regular potatoes so wish they advised of substitution.

the evening ended on a sweet note with dessert including;
carrot & walnut cake, coriander ice cream, carrot & vanilla purée
chocolate brownie, malted barley cream, vanilla pod ice cream
pineapple upsidedown cake, pineapple & fennel sorbet
tilbury's gin & tonic jelly, citrus fruits & mint

of all the courses, dessert was possibly the most polarising, as would be expected when you are presented with something as intriguing as coriander ice cream. people either love or hate this strong flavoured herb, and here it is transformed into a zingy and refreshing sorbet, a unique and unexpected accompaniment to the carrot cake. the brownie was dense and decadent and is one for the chocolate lovers. the accompanying vanilla ice cream was reminiscent of street's blue ribbon ice cream, which isn't a bad thing. like the coriander sorbet, the gin and tonic jelly garnered mixed reactions, but the delicately flavoured jelly and tangy citrus fruit were a nice pairing. the pineapple cake was nice and crumbly although the flavour of the pineapple only came through on top of the cake. the accompanying sorbet was nice.

the tilbury offers a wonderful choice of meals, with inventive and sometimes unusual pairing of flavours. their focus on local, seasonal produce is apparent in every dish.

overall, it was an evening of great food and service amongst good company.

thank you to zomato for organising this zomato meetup and keiren for hosting the event.gabbys79 anna bread pitt baz juan pablo sanchez keiren

must say i was pretty surprised. for a pub, it's very fancy. they've apparently renovated just recently so it's a fabulous little spot. the front looks like your typical pub but therestaurantand back sections are gorgeous. food is pretty fancy too. definitely not your every day pub grub. flavours are good, presentation is good. it's the perfect place for a long boozy friday lunch.

this place is great! we've been here a few times and have always found the staff friendly and helpful. we ate for the first time in therestaurantand found the food stunning! it was beyond all expectations. we usually just go for the bar food but decided to hit up the restaurant. so glad we did.
one of our friends has an allergy and can find it hard when dining out, but the staff were truly amazing - nothing seemed too hard or difficult. which was a breathe of fresh air.
this pub has something for everyone. we love it and have never had a drama, we will be back (as often as possible!)

the tilbury hotel is in wooloomooloo and is an "institution". this revamped hotel is a lovely space with arestaurantthat seats approximately 70. it is spacious with a long and inviting bar. the bar has tiles which is keeping with it's heritage and these look very effective. it gives the appearance of old world mixed with modern world. 

therestaurantis situated behind the bar and is comfortable and relaxed. there are comfy lounges paired with the tables.

the menu is seasonal and produce driven. the tilbury has high quality food but you can still have steak and chips. it extends to the courtyard which is alfresco and there is function space. you can order at the bar too. the food is high-end gastro pub.

cold, stale and crapi hate having to leave bad reviews and actually this is my first because normally i only leave raving reviews about my favourite restaurants and dining experiences. boy i had to write one for here though because it was just that bad. a girlfriend and i came in on saturday night, considering sitting at theirrestaurantbut when nothing looked particularly appealing we just decided on burgers from the bar. wish we hadn't bothered.. seriously how hard is it to f up a burger?!both the haloumi burger and wagyu burger came out with cold, stale and i don't mean a little bit but the kind of stale when the bun actually breaks and crumbles!! they both were tiny, served on their own with a single piece of lettuce and tomato, no garnish, chips or salad and had no appeal to look at. we ordered a side of fennel and apple slaw, sounds great right mm you imagine it to be lots of apple, maybe some walnuts and raisins - even just a couple. nope basically cabbage with no dressing turning brown!gross and a miserable fail, we will never return. for such an amazing location the tilbury is a real let down, they also have basically no heating outdoors for those colder winter nights... oh and i forgot to mention it took over 30 minutes to get to the table and there was no one else waiting on food..

had valentines dinner with my partner last night and it was the first time trying out this restaurant. the food was amazing!!
i didn't hold a high hope from therestaurantas it looks like an ordinary local pub , however, the food proves me wrong. the valentines dinner set menu blew me away, it was surely fine dinning quality.
the first course was stuffed tomato, it looks like a picture of sunset, all the flavour was well balanced with the crunchy crumble olive and feta, it was a good start to the menu. then it comes an even prettier dish which is the compressed watermelon with sashimi, it was refreshing with the watermelon and pea purée. if i have to pick on anything. i would have to say the duck leg ravioli was a touch too salty and the mignon was not top quality meat. the chocolate fondant was all you need to a perfect finish. considering the price it was surely great value for what you get, only if the service was more friendly it will be a gem hidden in this classy neighbourhood.

food was fab, service was cold & unpleasant. the food, venue, menu, location are all fabulous therestauranthas so much going for it, except for the waist staff. we had ask for menus & we just felt like such an inconvience to the staff. therestaurantwas only 1/4 full so it's not like they were busy. all our meals were brilliant, it's such a shame the service didn't stand up to the high quality of everything else. i wouldn't go back again.

tilbury standards. previously therestaurantof choice. easy parking, excellent food but what has happened.
a table for four on a thursday, but all for this day, - non alcohol drinkers. ordered four sparkling mineral water but none was available although it appeared on the menu. had to settle for lemon infused tap water. not a good start.
the slow cooked beef as a main, was ordered "medium".it just fell apart but was only warm and was rare. it was so rare that one gagged with the taste of raw meat.
i normally never send anything back. but this was an exception at $38, and was inedible. it came back after ten minutes but was unchanged. still raw and gagging. it remained uneaten and to the credit of staff, they did not charge for that plate.
but it, along with the no sparkling mineral water, put a dampener on the whole meal.
then there was the usual trouble when one sends a meal back, getting any attention at all from the staff. almost had to trip them up to get to order desert and coffee.
normally i don't give arestauranta second chance to absorb my $120 for a meal, but then perhaps.......three other guests were satisfied.

the tilbury hotel is located along nicholson street in woolloomooloo. it’s a great place to grab drinks with a nice modern pub feel (they renovated a few years back) and now with new headchef elton inglis (formerly with jamie oliver and ramsey), they deign to establish the tilbury as a new dining destination with premium dining and ingredients :  its doing a great new menu and doing a fancy moet ice champagne bar on fridays (5-7pm). $10 moets. we drop in and attend a cooking masterclass with the chef courtesy of stella concepts. chef elton inglis lifted london’s assiette anglaise’s review score to the 12th top spot on tripadvisor’srestaurantreview rankings. here’s a link to the review of assiette in the independent (uk) scallops being dished out. gotta say, these behind the scenes look into a restaurants kitchen are always great. and here’s what you need to make a killer scallop dish. there’s not a lot of ingreidients there really. all the goodies cooking away. noob presentation of o