The Engine Room

9 Reviews on “The Engine Room”

• Maurice Fenton

  The best food in the world…..just a bit expensive but you have to treat your self now and then. Every part of my steak perfect and desert to die for.

  October 13, 2020, 9:41 am

  Log in to Reply
• Maverick

  We went here to try the steak since it was listed at @urbanlist as one of the best steak. We were not disappointed though. Tried the pork schnitzel since they recommended it as best seller and it tasted great as well. I just hoped the vegetable side dish can be improved. Friendly staff.

  October 13, 2020, 7:02 am

  Log in to Reply
• Nick Hammond

  My wife and I had dinner at this restaurant last night. The starter for my wife, who had the souffl, was good. My soup was extraordinarily average, nothing remotely worth paying $16 for. Might as well have been warm tap water with a few vegetables thrown in. Main course for my wife was the Scotch fillet which she said comprised more of a whole heap of fries and sinewy meat than much else. My duck main course started off well (first bite) then deteriorated rapidly into a salty tour de force. No desserts but we did notice that the next table’s chocolate in the coffee cup creation may perhaps have had more than a passing connection to the open containers of Nutella we saw in the kitchen. The evening’s menu was stuck up on a blackboard behind my seat, hardly ideal if you have to keep twisting around to read what’s on offer, let alone not entirely legible or easy to read. Why would you not simply have a menu available at the table instead ? Well, the answer to this is because you can’t read easily in the dark…our table had one measly candle about 3cm high which made reading the wine list something of a chore, let alone deciphering the fine print. If you use reading glasses, make sure you bring them along, unless you like squinting into darkness. Perhaps the wine list print is so small because the wines are so incredibly expensive. Note to the waitress: always, always, always check with the patrons if you can remove their wine glasses BEFORE you take them – a common courtesy, particularly when wine is still left in the glasses. Other than that, the service was reasonable for a Saturday night. Would I go to this restaurant again? I highly doubt it. Overpriced, overrated and a major disappointment for us both.

  August 27, 2020, 5:33 am

  Log in to Reply
• Gina Snow

  Amazing food, great atmosphere. The young girl serving us was fantastic she knew the menu and was very pleasant and helpful. Highly recommended it.

  July 30, 2020, 2:30 pm

  Log in to Reply
• Pol's Pot

  I really loved the styling inside and out, from the funky, perfectly set lighting and well chosen temperature, to the furniture and place settings.Service was hit and miss: the waitress gave us drinks menus but failed to mention there is not a table menu. Instead there is a chalk-style board on the far wall of the dining room, meaning we were sitting waiting for menus when she came back to take our food order. It was a slight annoyance and she was very apologetic but this is not the kind of fundamental slip up you want to start off your night.Food was good: if it was a local bistro it would be great, but when you charge $25+ for a starter and $42+ for mains, you’d hope for something special. The chicken liver parfait was delicious: silky smooth and flavoursome. The tuna crudo was ruined by a dressing that was far to heavy on balsamic, to the point where the star of the dish, the tuna, might as well have not been there. I wonder if the chef is tasting what is leaving his/her kitchen beause that dish should never have been presented. I should have sent it back but didn’t want to wait for a replacement and instead pushed on.Mains were fine. Beef steak and fries was, well, beef steak and fries: no more, no less. I wouldn’t order it again. Pork schnitzel was tasty but the slaw which should cut through the oil was insipid and served only as a pointless garnish, meaning the dish was pretty one dimensional.The wine list was excellent with lots of choices by the glass.Overall it was fine but I feel a bit disappointed that this is regarded as the best the Shore has to offer. O’Connell St bistro offers the same type of food for the same price but with better results. Somewhere like Rothko does better food for cheaper. I suspect The Engine Room survives on the back of well-healed locals who know what they like, and that is conservatism, not creativity, or indeed good value for money. But hey, it’s been there for years and will continue for be there for years, with or without my custom!

  July 27, 2019, 3:14 am

  Log in to Reply
• Brendan Abel

  Brilliant place, awesome atmosphere, found the blackboard menu a little tricky to use but food was good, perhaps a little dear for what it is. Worth a look for sure

  February 10, 2019, 10:47 am

  Log in to Reply
• Bridgee

  Hadn’t been for years, so 3 of us decided to make the big trek across the bridge to try them again. Hadn’t been since the refurbishment so was good to see the bigger space. Having said that, they need to do something about the heating, as our table was near the door and the restaurant was cold – my friend and I kept our coats on the whole time. All of this was made better by the excellent food – goats cheese souffl is still a wonder to behold, and I can never go past the Steak Frites. Our service was a bit patchy to start with, until Natalia took over and then things were much better! Shame it’s so far away.

  January 5, 2019, 3:08 am

  Log in to Reply