Looking for a dining experience in all the wrong places
I really should sleep but I’ve got to just put this up real quick. I haven’t had a nice night-out with my better half for some times now and when we got the chance I booked a table for two at Times on the Park, a restaurant at the Sheraton Hotel by Hyde Park. The reviews on Eatability were stratospheric and as a plus, it’s considered a romantic spot. So off I go.
My girlfriend chose the goose foie gras entree while I opted for their soup of the day–sorry, soup du jour–lobster bisque. We also split an order of seared scallops. Well, the goose foie gras was nothing special, and while I actually liked the bread that it came with she thought it could have been thinner. As for my lobster bisque, not only was it rather watered down (I miss the lobster bisque as The Palm restaurant in Boston), it was also missing a certain … oh, I don’t know, maybe LOBSTER?! I saw two small pieces of red bell-pepper (capsicum to you Aussie readers) floating in the sea of lobster bisque-flavored heated water and some other green garnishes and that was it!
The seared scallop was also average at best.
So after all these we still haven’t ordered our mains as my companion had felt queasy at the start and wanted to see how things progressed. Seeing how things had turned out it was probably for the best that we left, but we didn’t. In fact, I ordered a Time Fillet (what the hell is that?) along a side of chips (fries to you American readers).
Good lord. The steak I made for dinner tonight was juicier and tastier than what they served. A bit dry, chewy, and … well, again, average at best. I’d rather eat the $5 steak my girlfriend and I would get at this one pub she found. The chips were also just so-so.
Not convinced at just how average this restaurant we each proceeded to order desserts and also a cafe latte for myself. The coffee was decent, the ice cream uninspiring, and my lady had some white chocolate delice that was too sweet.
All in all, barely average food in a quite romantic surrounding. Most definitely not coming back.
Times on the Park
Sheraton on the Park Hotel
Level 1, 161 Elizabeth Street
Sydney NSW 2000
Tel: +61 2 9267 4022
Homepage: http://www.timesrestaurant.com/
