Parge

I have to start by disagreeing with my fellow reviewers.

Simply the worse Mexican from the Cabramatta of the North Shore, to Mexico via Baltimore and Washington. This is the 3rd Salsa franchise I have given a go and they are all as tasteless and crap as each other.

Focussing on Chatswood. Nachos : the meat was cold, under cooked. TASTELESS and this included the guacamole on the top. Sour crème tasted like off milk to the point of scraping it off, not like "sour" in a good way.

The burrito wasn't wrapped well so fell apart. Also TASTELESS it makes me wonder how this franchise even exits. You had your chance, never again. I would say avoid like the plague, but the plague doesn't charge as much as Salsa. I would have given less than one star if possible by WOMO

Seriously I do not understand how this place or any of the Salsa places are in business. I am pretty fair and give them all at least one chance, so I am not painting them all with one brush.

But lets focus on Bondi franchise. Food took for ever! For an eatery this is pretty bad! Secondly the chips in the nachos were burnt or under cooked. I left over half as they were burnt. But the key for me with so much choice in the eatery, is taste, or rather the lack thereof. I mean I have eaten Mexican all around the world, and Salsa Bondi have somehow removed all taste from their nachos and Burritos which we tried.

How can you remove taste from guacamole? The mince had some pepper added but that was it. After all this it isn't cheap either. Never again.

What I really like about this Grill'd is that it is mixed in with the abundance of Chinese and other Asian restaurants in the area known as the Cabramatta of the North.

So if you want something different that isn't Asian, but not any of the crap fast food outlets food in the near mall, Grill'd is perfect.

Sure it's a bit on the pricey side when you include chips, mayo and a drink, which seem to be strategically priced to maximise the dollar out of your pocket and into theirs. It doesn't remove the fact that it's one of the best burgers around and the "Almighty" is my favourite. Worth a visit when it's not so busy, which this place gets at times.

Lastly I love how it's open between 3-5pm which is not often the case with many restaurants.

The key part for me is that they try, they try in their customer service and table service as well as putting on live music on an evening - mainly when it's a little warmer.

Slow takeaway, but honestly that doesn't bother me, as most of the time I have plenty of time when I am in Lane Cove.

Coffee is just good and far from full bodied and robust in flavour. Prices are on par with the plethora of Coffee Shops in the area. Food was good though a little on the average size considering what one pays.

So my biggest drawback, is the courtyard which allows smokers. Being a bit close to the main road - means you already suck the car fumes, but around food (and families) why do they even have ash trays! If they got rid of this, I would add a star, as such the taste of death which accompanies my meal, makes this place below average.

It does come with entertainment in the sense of the waiters dodging the cyclists who take short cuts through the plaza. That's always added value. I go here because they try, I don't if I see a smoker which is far too often.

I am so glad they brought this store to Sydney and truly can't get enough from this designer. From the always changing, yet always in fashion - perfectly tailored shirts, to simply the best mens clothes in the market.

Straight out of London, the feel and vibe of the line each season complements the Sydney fashion scene. The jackets and pants (trousers) helps me feel like I have just got off the Bond street red bus and ready for a night starting with cocktails, show at the West End and hitting the clubs afterwards.

Though it's a bit pricey, this is a good thing as you don't want every idiot wearing the same as yourself, trying to copy your London look. Take your time and use the staff to get your perfect fit.

The North Sydney area is all about speed. Feeding the masses for lunch as fast as possible. The good thing about Costis is that it's quick and tasty seafood.

It loses stars for being a little on the pricey side. But the seafood is fresh and prepared fresh enough considering the high turnover or high volume of meals prepared. I love the grilled fish or specifically the salmon. You can always see the seafood on display, so if your not happy - wait for the next batch (if you have time) or order something else.

My favourite snack or lunch for many people, is the five fish cocktails and chips.

For those who work on Saturday, the good news is that it's one of the few places which is open on a Saturday in the eatery.

Why is it that when new management comes in they increase prices - thinking this is the best way to turn around the business?

Sadly they have also sacked all their regular waiters who knew their regulars, was extremely friendly and customer focused.

So after making this my regular weekly Chinese, it's now become an AVOID at all costs lunch venue. I have given the new management three chances before writing this review and lets say, things have got worse to the point where even the locals are leaving this place empty at lunch.

The first problem is the wait over lunch! The first time it was 35mins, then it was 40mins and the last time (even though the place was rather empty) had me and my work colleague waiting over 1 hour for our food. The worse part was them telling us it will only be 5mins, it will only be 5mins.

As mentioned the prices have increased with the new management. Portions seemed to have got smaller - not significantly, but they haven't stayed the same for sure. They have also changed the names of a few dishes, a fancy name doesn't make the food better, or warrant a price increase. As for actual flavour I think it has dropped off considerably, but this in itself wasn't the reason why I won't come back.

I appreciate that new management and new staff means it will take time for them to learn their regulars, but I feel they have very little interest in delivering the basics of a restaurant, good customer service, good food and at an affordable price. I have officially "sacked" this place after being of it's weekly regulars.

So I have been back to this place to give it a chance and all I can say is that it's got worse.

It's under new management which means the first thing they do is increase the price. Now I already felt this place was too expensive in June 2012, a year and two months on and let's say inflation hasn't exactly caught up with the prices and price hike.

If you are thinking of the lunch specials, you will need to order two meals to make up for the small size. So though it may look cheap, it's rubbish.

I could break down every dish my family and I ordered. But the entree sums it up. We ordered the Satay chicken, where everywhere else in the world doesn't come Deep FRIED with soggy thick batter around each piece of chicken - it's normally BBQ'd. Then on top of this was the worse satay sauce which had no satay flavour, it was like peanut butter 10% and water 90% which shouldn't be on any food. Especially deep fried battered food!

Now repeat this explanation for all main dishes and you have an understanding of where I am coming from. I have tried to given them a second chance, especially since management has changed. But never again, not at any price and especially considering the prices.

If your looking for cheap and "nasty" Mexican this is your place. Not to say that the food is bad or anything. It's just doesn't have that feel like the place is "clean." I will say that the prices here were more than reasonable and my burrito was a decent size and tasty.

Locals who want to spend a little more will go 15m down the road, to get what was fresher and cleaner Mexican. But I don't want to take away anything from Burp, if you are looking for a quick Mexican feed in Adelaide City and your on a budget, head to Burp.

It's not really about one thing that I hated about the Grand Chancellor on Hindley, but rather a series of issues which didn't get resolved and added to what I felt was unreasonable for a four star hotel. Lets start with the good – and that is location. Right on Hindley street you really are at the heart of Adelaide City. The drawback of this is that it gets very noisy on Friday and Saturday nights, so I would recommend staying on a floor above level four. Bus from the airport was only $3.00 for an adult at time of writing, take J1 or J2 took 39mins.

Now for the issues. Started when we arrived and we had to wait almost 20mins to check in. And this was the case when we asked for a map, an umbrella, have our room key re-scanned. Not once could we walk up to reception and be served. Rather whether there was one person on reception or three, there was always a wait which lasted over 15mins.

What really annoyed me is that whilst being served, the staff would ALWAYS answer the phone first and just keep you waited. It was if they were being monitored in regards to their speed on the phones, but when it comes to actual physical guests standing in front of them, who cares! Twice when we asked for directions (and waited 15mins) they couldn't help us, after this we just worked it out, or asked randoms in the street.

Now we stayed in two rooms for 7 nights. With my parents on level 4 and myself, partner and 4 month old baby on level 8. The cot the hotel supplied was adequate. Again a lot of these issues I mention now aren't enough for me to warrant suggesting never come here, but for a hotel of this quality and stature, it was very disappointing. Five times we had to get our room keys rescanned, which is a bit of a hassle coming down from the 8th floor (with a baby) only to go all the way back up again.

On three occasions when they did the rooms they did not replace the toiletries. Twice in one room and once in another. When we asked for a set to be sent up they were never forthcoming. The bed sheets are not replaced each evening, it was only when we put some of the sheets in the bathtub, where they actually replaced, rather than just made.

Two evenings some people were playing knock and run on my parents door. Though the Grand Chancellor can't ever prevent this from happening, they could have done more in terms of stopping this. After I called reception to let them know, it kept happening for 1.5hrs. I was genuinely concerned for my parents safety when it didn't stop! The fact it happened the next day for a small period was really annoying. I felt that security could have done more – or if not, move my parents to another floor.

Maybe this is an Adelaide thing? But every morning people tried to take my newspaper during breakfast? Not the Hotel's fault, but just weird. Breakfast had an excellent selection. With the fruit being extremely good. I just didn't like how they only had poached eggs on two days and not the others. Unfortunately the coffee machine is “rubbish” and didn't seem to work. Can't say many guests were too happy with it. I was put out, when I asked if the wholemeal bread was going to be replaced, only to find be told the Hotel has run out. But then when another guest asked another breakfast waiter – it was replaced in an instant. Not a big deal, just annoying really.
On two occasions I rang my parents in their room from an outside line (my mobile). Both times they did not ask for the guests name? We aren't megastars, but I know if I was, or imagine if a star was staying. The noisy reporter could just ask for every room, disturbing every guest before they possibly got right guest? Or what if you just don't want to be disturbed, especially by someone who is dialling the wrong room.

Upon checkout we were accused of not returning the umbrellas (4) 2 umbrellas borrowed twice. The irony being is that we happened to borrow No.14 umbrella a second time, so surely we had to return it to borrow it again! The Grand Chancellor did want to charge us for 4 umbrellas until I pointed this out.This was sorted out, but just a hassle which took 10 mins when it shouldn't have. One room was accused of drinking from the mini bar, which was not charged but again – glad it was rectified but why have the mini mistakes. What they didn't charge me for was the parking which I brought to their attention and paid for.

Overall cost of the Grand Chancellor on Hindley was more than reasonable. But I would not recommend staying here unless senior management really swept broom through the ‘philosophy' of customer service. Hotel was overall clean and amenities were good, but not great.