wharf one food & wine

came at 7. booked a table and was told it would be ready at 8. waited and tried go get a beer from the bar, only to be told to go to the bar next door (what?). not implying anything related to racism or anything but that was weird.

front staff, whom i assume is a team leader or a manager told us he’ll be attending us to pre- drink but never came to us.

hung around nearby friend’s house while waiting to be called as he told us that he would be calling us on our mobile once its ready. it’s 21.07 pm at the moment as this review is written, zero call/text whatsoever.

overall a very bad & arrogant experience. glad we didn’t spend any money there.

it's ok but overpriced, nice setting at the end of the wharf. food was ok but very overpriced for what it was.
better off going down the way to the precinct for similar quality food at half the prices.

good food, attentive service and a nice location. we had a very pleasant meal overlooking the harbour.

the only negative was the wine list, which was expensive for very average wine.

out of 5:-
food 4 service 3 ambiance 5

excellent service. a great choice of menu. food was very good without being outstanding. in a great location on the water, but somewhat private from the other restaurants.

wharf one appears to be the pick of the eateries at the darwin waterfront complex. the menu is small enough to be confident everything is done well, yet big enough to please most palates. staff seem a bit young and inexperienced, but they’re friendly and eager to help. food is tasty italian-inspired, highlighting a range of local produce

another excellent restaurant representative of darwin's great food culture. local flavors, i had the baramndi (fish), others in party had lamb, pork belly, vegetarian, steak, and a few starters. all plates practically cleaned off! great atmosphere with good views of the harbor. we were indoors because of rain, but with the thunderstorms we got dinner and a show! good times, wonderful food.

the food was yummy! the cream brûlée was delicious. is priced high but is is in a top spot and would be a romantic date place ! service was great but was not a busy night.

90 mins from arrival to receiving our main course was truly terrible. the waitresses were very apologetic and open about the chaos in the kitchen on a monday when the head chef is off. food luckily was good and they did compensate for the long wait. tip for others - avoid monday nights!

an unforgettably poor experience. staff just didn't care. 1.25 hours we waited for our steaks - alas they didn't arrive. staff were eating while they told us that our food wasn't ready. left in disgust.

we booked this places a day in advance and on the night we were greeted by happy waitstaff excited for us to be seated. the decor the ambience the whole feeling screamed out modern fine dining. tonight we put them to the test. one of our members of our table had a dietry requirement allegy to particular things. these guys bent over backwards the waiter who served us sat down for 20mins just to work out what the person could have. as the night progressed the waiter continued to involve himself with our table constantly talking making us feel specially welcomed. we got our special share tasting menu and well heres the truth... presentation was great but one thing i've noticed was the flavor was lacking on the menu all dishes seemed like it had its hero ingredient but didnt have something to pair with the hero that complemented the dish. the main ones that killed the rating was the desert and the mains. having said this... to the bald waiter who served us you definately made the night having a laugh with us and really going out your way for us this is the only reason why the overall rating is 3ish.
service 10
ambience and decor 10
food 4 (desert and main killed score)
price 6

however this will not prevent me from coming back. honest feedback to every restaurant is important and this is mine. i will be back and i will be waiting for the changes. this place has very good potential but the food flavours needs to be relooked at by the head chef to even be considered for better rating.

thanks for the night guys

beautiful restaurant, good food, but unfortunately it goes nothing beyond that. there was nothing exciting but nothing wrong with the meals. for the talk, price and location this place has higher expectations, which we would love to see it meet. would be willing to give another go

i give it a 4 not because it's in darwin but it really deserves a high rating.

the food is great and the service is on par with what you will get in a small city.


loved the black pudding.

came here yesterday for my sister's birthday lunch and boy did the chef deliver! we ordered:
- roasted pork brioche bun, cucumber, kewpie ($7)
- hand-cut parpadelle pasta, chilli, garlic & coriander marinated prawns, napoli sauce, smoked local barramundi ($33) - must try!!
- 300g porterhouse, celeriac puree, sautéed beans, jus ($36)
- shoestring fries ($8)

i personally think the roasted pork in the buns could have been a little more soft and less dry, and perhaps more kewpie would have been nice. still a pretty nice small plate/entree though!

the main dishes on the other hand were too die for. the hand-cut parpadelle pasta was absolutely amazing; soft, melt in the mouth, and just yum! the whole pasta dish was honestly one of the best pasta dishes i've ever had, and even more so because the parpadelle was hand-made.
my sister's steak on the other hand wasn't exactly medium rare (also hard to cut through), and was a bit too sweet for her liking.

afterwards, the following desserts were ordered:
- dark chocolate fondant, honeycomb, salt-caramel ice-cream, malted milk tuille (allow 20 minutes) ($16)
- mixed berry and praline nougat çlacé, berry compote, chantilly cream ($15)

i don't know if it was because we ordered the desserts late but it just wasn't that great. the whole fondant dessert didn't work (with the ice-cream melting becoming watery), and the mixed berry praline dessert was too full on and there was way too much of it.

so overall review? i really enjoyed the mains but the desserts were such a disappointment. really wish i could give a 4/5 because being a darwin restaurant, you really don't find anything like wharf one food & wine. better luck next time!

probably the best place for food in darwin. it gets a 4 because the darwin/nt food scene is not up to scratch and has some way to go to match the larger australian cities. it's pop is 140,000 so it's a country town and we should remember that.

am surprised the ratings are not higher than listed currently.

i had the beef with dianne sauce and it was one of the best steaks i've had in years. staff are attentive and lovely place overlooking the water. would have tried more on the menu if we had time.

definitely recommended and cost effective when you consider how you can easily blow $150 for dinner for two in darwin in places where it's barely edible.

this place was dead quiet at 8pm at night (but only 6:30pm in perth!!) so we had the whole restaurant to ourselves. there was music playing so it didn't sound extremely quiet. we ordered the beef tatare, lamb shank and a pulled pork slider. we were also given free bread to start our meal. the tatare was served with lovely crispy garlic croutons and an egg on top. it was very tasty and the garlic croutons were tasty.

the slider was served on a toasted brioche bun with lovely pulled pork and coleslaw. it was delicious and easy to share. the lamb shank was so soft, moist and tender. it was served in red wine jus, mash, peas and caramelised onion. it was delicious with the sauce. for dessert i ordered the chocolate fondant. it was pretty small and came with vanilla icecream and malted milk crumbs.