CBD Restaurant & Bar

Posted by: topdiner64 | 13 January 2010, 8.25pm

We had dinner at CBD Restaurant and really enjoyed the whole experience. The food was attractive and delicious and the service team (mainly girls) are very friendly and seem to really enjoy working there. Best of all was the buzzy atmosphere in the al fresco area with great music where you can kick back and watch the world go by.
It's obviously a very popular hang out with locals and regulars...the location on the corner of King and Hay streets is fantastic.

Food:			Visit: Tue 12 January 2010 Mealtime: dinner
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Posted by: loverandhater | 18 June 2009, 2.33pm

My work collegues and I dined here last night for a farewell get together for one of the ladies and were quite shocked at the service. This is a shame as we work close by and would come more often if we were treated with respect as customers.
We sat outside and had a glass of wine to start, and in 45 minutes, not one staff member asked if we were staying for dinner or encouraged us to do so by bringing menus for us to look at.
We ordered 5 different mains dishes and some sides, which were all excellent by the way, my venison with rhubarb was superb. During our meal we had 3 interruptions from the waitstaff delivering wine we had not ordered. The second time the barperson actually came to our table and said "I have just spoken to your waitress and you did order this wine" and proceded to put it down on our table. We all had a full glass in front of us, our second for the entire evening so we were hardly drunk and rowdy and didn't know what we had ordered.
No one asked us if we enjoyed our meals, and when our waitress cleared the table she stood at the end of the table and reached across one of the ladies to clear the plates, which she loudly scraped on the actual table, clattering the side plates on top like a roadhouse diner waitress might. She even asked us to pass glasses from our end of the table down to her so she did not have to walk the 3 steps to get them.
My plate and another ladies dirty plates then stayed in front of us for another 10 minutes.After maybe a 20 minute wait we asked to see the desert menu and were told "The chef is not taking orders for another 15 minutes" which confused us a little. Eventually she explained the kitchen was swamped and we would have to wait before she would even bring us the desert menu to look at. I was seriously considering opening a cafe next door by this time, if this is what every diner goes through, it appeared to be normal and she did not apologise for it.
I went to pay and mentioned to the maitre'd that we were surprised at the service. When I mentioned about the waitstaff stalking us with unwanted glasses of wine she very rudely and loudly said "who was it?" and pointed at a passing waitress, "was it her". This horrified me even more and I walked away shaking my head. A Maitre'd should be a subtle, elegant over see-er of a restaurant.
The food was excellent, the floor staff need a serious training session or two. In manners and service. When you pay $38 for a main with the additional charge of sides, I do not want to have to pass dirty glasses to the waitress who scrapes plates on the table next to me. Not hard really folks......

Food:			Visit: Wed 17 June 2009 Mealtime: dinner
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Posted by: reece22345 | 4 June 2008, 4.50pm

Located next to the entrance to Rydges Hotel on the corner of King St and Hay St, it offers a nice first impression. The main reception and bar has a nice feel to it, whilst outside is slightly more relaxed, offering a casual cafe experience with plain stainless steel chairs. That's about as good as it gets unfortunately. Upon requesting a table for two and seating ourselves outside, I saw the sole cutlery set on the table. Not knowing if it was from a previous patron and considering the lack of a second on a table for two, I placed it on the table next to us in the hopes that we would get fresh sets. Our waitress initially bought us 2 menus and a fairly extensive beverage list for our perusal. As per normal, I saw the eggs Benedict and being my favourite dish (and lunchtime), I decided to have it, and asked the waitress for an Asahi. My partner on the other hand, had a lot more trouble picking her meal. She doesn't like to eat beef or bacon and after looking blankly at the menu, we both realised that there was nothing for her. Sure there was a chicken caesar. "Could be nice", I offered up, but upon further inspection it contained bacon strips. She didn't want something as filling as a chicken pizza and so, unfortunately had to settle on beer-battered chips. My Asahi arrived a few minutes later, followed by the waitress asking for the third time in around 5 minutes, if we were ready to order, but not offering my partner a drink, who, on last visit, was still looking at the beverage list. After ordering a lemon, lime & bitters for her, we gave the waitress our order (How would you like the eggs cooked? ...poached please.) and hungrily awaited our meal, having eaten nothing substantial yet that day. 30 minutes later, our meal arrived, and by this time, we were truly hungry and getting a little annoyed as to where our food was (considering the lack of patrons eating at the time.) After a quick confusion as to who had what meal, the waitress put down our food and we hungrily tucked in. One of the best things about eggs Benedict is spiking the egg and having the yolk run all over the dish. Well, upon spiking it, we discovered why our meal took 30 minutes. They had to cook the egg. Resembling jelly, the inside of the egg forlornly stayed where it was, refusing to allay my fears about my meal. Not wanting to ask for different eggs, I nevertheless began eating my meal. Now I'll give that hollandaise sauce is a tricky sauce to make, upon doing so for the first time, mine came out with a consistency that was runny, but more on the scrambled egg side. But when you are a chef and you have a meal on your menu that requires a specific sauce, it wouldn t be unreasonable to suggest that you should be able to make the sauce. Instead, the sauce that was drizzled over the meal had too much butter, wasn't beaten for long enough and I'm still unsure as to whether lemon juice was even in it. Perhaps the executive chef was on his day off. The chips were good though, lovely golden batter, a little undercooked but not by much. Very edible indeed, served with a modest side of tomato sauce. After finishing our meals, we payed and left, not once with a waiter inquiring as to how our meals were. It was only after going back over our meal with my girlfriend a while later, that I realised that we didn t even get an offer of water on our table.

Food:			Visit: Mon 2 June 2008 Mealtime: lunch
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Posted by: CC1 | 21 October 2007, 1.16pm

I was in for after-work drinks at the CBD Bar and Restaurant at The Rydges on Friday and believe me it has been awhile between drinks.
I did like the bar area in the past but the servive in the restaurant has been lacking, so you can imagine my surprise when I dined that night.
Firstly the vibe and feel was different, the service more attentive and more mature, which in tune added to the feel of the space.
Our waitperson was knowledgable on the menu, as I am one of those fussy people who ask a thousand questions, which she handled me with ease.
The food was good, well cooked with a nice selection, but lacked a certain X factor.
The wine list was a good middle selection of wine, with a great beer list - anyone who has pinot gris on the menu is good in my books.
Over all I must say I will be returning to the CBD more offen now than I have in the past.
When I asked had the chef changed, the response was "yes and so has the manager" gives me great hope that a fresh new vibe has come to the CBD.

Food:			Visit: Fri 19 October 2007 Mealtime: dinner
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Posted by: matted | 8 April 2007, 12.02pm

I have been to the CBD Restaurant (Rydges) a number of times, and I thought I would finally write a review on it.

The only reason I go here is because of the atmosphere and the location. On Saturday nights, especially, it is never too crowded, yet there are just enough people to create a nice atmosphere.

The decor is also okay. Our tables frequently wobble, which is irritating, and potentially messy. I looked over and saw one family had stacked up coasters from their table in order to keep it steady. Some of the table's are scratched.

As for food, well it's rather boring, and the portions are often rather small. Although it is mostly well presented (although on this particular night, my partner got a strawberry with his food that was hard and white...).

The wine list offers a nice, albeit small, selection of wines, but there are a good number of beers. A very small number of wines are available by the glass.

If you are used to San Pellegrino with your meal you will be disappointed as this place only serves Mount Franklin Lightly Sparkling (although if they run out, they serve San Pellegrino, so you may strike it lucky). They also use warm tap water if you opt for plain water, so you will really want to be ordering bottled water.

The service is usually slow, and it can sometimes be a hassle to get attention from the waitstaff, especially earlier in the evening, and if you are sitting outside in the very large alfresco area.

The best time to visit would definately be 7/7.30. At those times, the waitstaff don't seem to hide away like they do for the rest of the time. On the plus side, the staff are very friendly, and are willing to engage in a little small talk about your meal.

Food:			Visit: Sat 7 April 2007 Mealtime: dinner
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