With a reno'd, minimalist fit-out, the Bank Hotel's popular open-air Thai restaurant has traded rustic charm for timber decking and stainless steel chic, but some of the hallmarks of the old Sumalee remain. That means you'll still be lining up to order at the bar and also that you can expect a serious crowd on Friday and Saturday nights due to its popularity (even though the space caters to more than 250 people at capacity).
Head chef Chris Yarnprasitkul is back in the kitchen and, while some of the classics have survived the relaunch (tofu curries, tom yum soups), you can expect to find a contemporary Thai menu with increased price tags to match. Red barramundi curry is a standout, as are the rich duck stir-fry, barbecued pork salad and spicy Thai sausages. Seasonal specials like pat pue (stir-fried blue swimmer crab) and oysters with chilli, fried onions and lime add some interest, but ordering the classics seems to be a safer bet. Bar-wise, they've taken things up a notch with a comprehensive list of wines by the glass and bottle and enough boutique beers and spirits to save you a walk upstairs to the terrace bar.
Jen Paterson
Open
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t
w
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f
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Breakfast
Lunch
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
Dinner
O
O
O
O
O
O
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Late
O
O
Sun-Thu noon-10.30pm Fri-Sat noon-11pm
Thai
Signature dish: Red barrumundi curry
Entree: $16-$25
Mains: $19-$58
Payment accepted: MasterCard, Visa, Diners Club, American Express and EFTPOS
Licensed with bar. Wine is available by the glass.
Vegetarian options available
This venue accepts bookings. It is advisable to make a reservation ahead of time. Group bookings are supported.
Seats 300
Outside dining area
Wheelchair access
and wheelchair-accessible toilets
All reviews and ratings are the expressed opinions of our users, and in no way reflects the opinions of yourRestaurants, its staff and its affiliates.
Posted by:
wheelyweb
|
10 May 2009, 7.59am
Lovely food, insufficient staff and poor floor management
Summalee Thai is a great place to go if you like Thai food, one of the better ones in Newtown, for certain, but it is both expensive and the "service" is almost non-existent. I also recommend avoiding the banquet menu or larger groups, (more than 6) as the banquet is a rip off, delivering less food than if you ordered a la carte, at a greater cost per person.
The staff have a hard time counting, as, for our party of 17, we were given 40 wine glasses, 15 plates, 22 spoons and 13 forks, causing me to ask for more table ware and to remove some glasses. When we asked for water for the table we received one pitcher of mostly ice, until I specifically asked a waiter for three water pitchers, only half full of ice (it was a cool May evening, hardly a "full ice in the pitcher" day).It is not that difficult to supply a reasonable level of service when people are spending twice what they would be paying at a more humble establishment.
To begin with, at Summalee, there is no table service, just table deliverers, and you have to line up to order food at prices that would suggest they can afford waiters. I'm not complaining about the bar ordering system, just that it is not justified for the price and service received.
I hosted a table of 17, for my partners birthday, and we ordered from the Banquet menu, as I thought that would be simpler for them, and apart from the seriously bad delivery (providing a dish at a time, each ten minutes apart, with cold dried-out rice), we didn't even get the complete sum of all our dishes. Our three starters came, but only one of our 3 expected mains, but by then we were too frustrated to complain any further. Thankfully the wine, which was quite good, nullified our anger. I would have preferred BYOB though.
I had to have a word three times with the manager to try and organise the food better, but I definitely warn you this place is OK for a table of 2, 4, or 6 but they couldn't organise a banquet if they tried. Be prepared to be the waiter yourself as the management doesn't supply enough of them to begin with.
I have been to many pubs that serve food in this manner: order at the cash register, get a table flag, wait for it to come. No Problem. I can even forgive them for not telling patrons this as they approach what at first looks like a table-service kind of place. It is called being polite to your customers to explain how the place works. "Order food here and drinks there and we bring it to you"; easily done.
But in all other instances, the staff either bring you what you need to have your meal, or politely point you to where you can collect your plates and cutlery yourselves. Other places bring your mains in one go, not scattered apart so far you have to pass one around the entire table and allow some people to miss out. And the others deliver you the food you ordered, not reduced amounts or avoid some dishes. And when you have to politely complain, they acknowledge you and drop by the table to see how you're getting on.
Good food but expect to wait for your food, not be attended by the overstretched staff. Insolently tolerated. 0.5 out of 5 for service but a 4 out of 5 for food, so long as you go prepared.
To top it off, we had two bottles nearly full, of wine and we decided to take them home. We were rudely approached by the security staff who wrenched them from our hands and told us we couldn't take them home, but they did leave them behind the bar, not pour them down the drain, and I would not be surprised if they served them to clients in the bar upstairs. The excuse given was that they didn't have a take away licence, odd that I could see a bottle shop attached to the premises. If they have rules, fine, but being so rude and obnoxious was not necessary, and really puts me off taking any friends there in future. It's not like Newtown has other bars equally fun nor other Thai restaurants with comparable quality food. Take patience as well as an appetite to what could otherwise be a real star in the Newtown universe.
Food:
Visit: Sat 9 May 2009
Mealtime: dinner
Service:
Atmosphere:
Posted by:
NDW
|
29 April 2008, 12.30pm
Sumalee Thai restaurant
We came to Sumalee to celebrate a birthday; the evening started with moving tables three times by the staff, and ending up on a table that was clearly not large enough for our party.
One of the vegetarian dishes was so bland it was left on the table and not eaten by any of us! The other meals we ordered were ok.
It seems if you have a group of 20 or more this restaurant would be perfect.
We were looking forward to eating here, as we had been to the old restaurant many times before the renovations.
Food:
Visit: Sat 12 April 2008
Mealtime: dinner
Service:
Atmosphere:
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