Kingsleys Steak & Crabhouse
| Favourite: | 75% say it is one of their favourite businesses. |
| Value: | 25% say they get great value for money here. |
| Service: | 50% say the customer service is something special. |
Location
Reviews
Friday lunch doesn't get much better
Kingsley's, and Woolloomooloo Wharf generally, is by now a Sydney institution. Save for Icebergs, perhaps, there is no better place for lunch in Sydney. The location is gorgeous, the afternoon winter sun even more so. And, happily, the steak meets the required standard. (My 200g grass-fed ribeye was delicious.) Although I still have Moo Moo's in Brisbane slightly ahead on the steak-o-meter, and although Kingsley's is fully priced, the whole package remains superb for a special occasion. Like any Friday.
(PS I've always found it ironic that the government originally wanted to demolish the Finger Wharf, and even more ironic that the greens etc. wanted to save it - imagine proposing to build a 400m wharf in Woolloomooloo Bay if there wasn't one there already??!! On this occasion policy confusion is our gain!)
They muffed it; then they fixed it
This is my favourite Sydney steak place, and I think (at least, I hope) I know a good steak. I came here yesterday to celebrate the end of a work project with a friend and the day couldn't have been more perfect: beautiful clear blue skies, glistening water at the Woolloomooloo Wharf, and a buzzing atmosphere thanks to the multitude of fellow bludgers hanging out instead of doing our jobs.
What a shame, then, things went pear-shaped, as they haven't before at Kingsleys. My steak - meant to be medium rare - came out unquestionably way overcooked and was sent back; only to be replaced with a steak so rare that it was actually cold, to say nothing of blue. This time I asked them to heat it up and cook it a little more. This they did; and finally it came back right.
Something of the enjoyment was ruined, of course - my friend had long finished his steak; I was stuffed from sampling a couple of bites of the first two attempts; and I could certainly have lived without some of the remarks from some of the staff ("I hope this is cooked to a temperature of your liking", withered one girl - I had to explain to her it wasn't a matter of opinion; it wasn't medium rare; and I was just hoping not to die of any major illness caused by eating uncooked meat).
But to the place's credit, the maitre d'/sommelier, a charming Kiwi guy, told me in advance that, as a regular customer, they wouldn't be charging for my steak (not inconsiderable a gesture, since it was $56!) and even provided a fresh, new serve of chips to accompany.
I was grateful, the steak, at last, was excellent as always, and I was pleased to know they genuinely valued my business as a regular customer. I'll be back, and, overall, I'm still a fan...
Four stars for the steak and the location...
...but less than that for the service the last time I was there, and the high prices. I love a good steak, and on this, Kingsleys has delivered every time I have been there; the eye fillet, in particular, is fantastic. And sitting out on the wharf at Woolloomooloo is a great treat, especially at lunch. But on my most recent visit, I found the service to be not up to the standard I'd expect for such a well-established, and pricey, restaurant: it took ages for our drinks to arrive, we had to constantly search for & hail the waiter to get attention to order nibbles & further beverages, the staff forgot the bearnaise I requested - then told me the chef had thrown it out in the interim, and the mains took so long to arrive that we decided to skip dessert. Argh. When shelling out this kind of dough for a meal, I expect service to be seamless and attentive (which is in their interests too as we would have ordered a lot more if given the chance). So I've decided to give them overall three stars to balance out the great steak & location with the less-than-great last experience I had.
The best steak I have ever had in my life!
I went here at the start of June and had the best steak I have ever had in my life!
We sat outside on the wharf with views of the city lights and surrounded by heaters which were extremely warm
We started with some shared entrees which were the salt and pepper octopus, the crab and sweet corn fritters (you cannot forget to order these when you come here!), the garlic prawns and a half dozen of the kilpatrick oysters. Each entree was delicious and full of so much flavour (ranging in price from $18.90 to $20.90)
My amazing steak was the rib-eye served medium rare, the other guests I was with ordered lamb shanks (which I tasted and were delicious), the king crab carpet bag, t-bone and the Kingsleys burger (prices from $19.90 to $36.90)
We also ordered some sides to share with our mains, the steakhouse chips- (so crunchy!), the butternut pumpkin salad which is served with goats cheese and a lemon dressing with a real zing, the baked cheese potato gratin (really creamy - I couldn’t get enough of this one) and the broccoli (which was so crisp)
Our waiter was really knowledgeable and talked us through the specials, his recommendations and which bottle of wine would go best with our meals - they also have an offer at the moment called the basket press which is a range of wines discounted on Thursdays & Fridays (we got two bottles of the Stonewell Shiraz from the Barossa for $99)
For dessert we shared the sticky date pudding, toffee cheesecake and the chocolate cigars. I noticed that the chocolate cigars are no longer on the menu but they replaced that with a chocolate brownie and banana sundae which looks divine! The desserts were the perfect way to end our meals.
Highly recommended! Great meals & amazing views
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