Hacienda
As far as views go, Hacienda is definitely up there. Located in the Pullman at Circular Quay, with a clear view of the harbour bridge, the opera house and the ferries that sail serenely on Sydney's glistening waters, Hacienda offers a stunning backdrop both day and night.
If only it didn't have loud nightclub music pumping.
I had called Hacienda to book the Sunday brunch - and received a call to confirm my booking. When we turned up, however, we were told that brunch finished at 1pm - right when we booked. The staff were lovely - they checked with the kitchen to see if they could still make some brunch items for us, but alas, the answer was no. The kitchen had packed up the brunch ingredients - fair enough, we were fine with ordering off the general food menu.
The food menu, however, was not what we wanted: it is bar-foody and it was difficult to find things which were interesting. I suppose the whole point of the menu is to nibble while one drinks.
The cocktail menu is only 5 cocktails long, which may be due to COVID shortages, but still, I was surprised by how limited it was: if Hacienda doesn't intend to compete on food, surely it needs to have a strong alcohol game, especially when its food-focused competitors have longer cocktail menus during COVID. I didn't test the theory, but I assume if you had asked for a classic cocktail off the menu the bar staff might happily oblige.
Despite the small cocktail menu, all the items were very creative and interesting.
The campfire espresso martini is a twist on what has been one of the most popular cocktails in recent years: who doesn't love the combination of caffeine and alcohol? Stimulant and depressant at the same time, much like a more refined version of the vodka redbull.
The espresso martini at Hacienda is made with house-made marshmallow vodka, Kahlua, coffee, and topped with some grilled marshmallow. It is deliciously sweet, boozy and balanced.
When these were presented, I was immediately delighted: a rectangular croquette! This is quite an enjoyable bar treat - sufficiently carby to line the stomach, the macaroni is reasonably well-cooked, and the truffle flavour subtle but distinctive.
This atrocity was genuinely upsetting on multiple levels, least of all the fact that as it is one of the very few substantial items on the menu, a couple of us ordered it. Here's the description in the menu: "[Hyde Wagyu Beef Burger] with sundried tomato, gruyere chasse, rocket, aioli, brioche bun & fries".
The beef patty was dry and overcooked, not even the rich wagyu taste could save it. The burger was served barely-warm. The cheese was barely melted so tasted quite plastic-like, and the sauces were really sad - the correct ratio was not achieved, resulting in buns which were dry like stale bread.
Another feature of the burger dish that was unmissable was the distinct lack of fries. We asked the staff - they informed us that actually, the burger doesn't come with fries, fries is an extra item on the menu. This special feature was not mentioned at all at the time of ordering. To the staff's credit, after being politely asked to double check with the kitchen given the unambiguous written words of the menu, they brought us a bowl of fries for the table to share.
The fries were actually pretty great: cooked with skin on, they were salty and crunchy. This particular bowl also tasted like the fulfillment of contractual obligations. Writing this review, I have checked the menu, and they don't have this item listed: there is instead a sweet potato fries with smokey chipotle mayonaise dish for $14. It's a pity that one of the best items of the meal is not actually a menu item so regular punters might not get an opportunity to taste it. It's also a pity that decent-but-not-special fries are among the best items on a menu.
Here's another joke of a dish. The menu described the dish as being served "with green mango & cilantro salad and spicy lime dressing". Looking at the photograph, one would be forgive to ask, "where are the salad and the dressing?" There were a few sad, sorry leaves at the bottom of the dish, which vividly reminded me of Ode to a Nightingale: "Where palsy shakes a few, sad, last gray hairs..."
There's truly a Keats line for every occasion.
The squid itself was nice, but the pieces were really small - one would have preferred larger, juicier (i.e. higher quality) squid pieces, even if that would mean less number of pieces.
The mushroom bao is not a menu item. One of the party is vegetarian, so the kitchen kindly swapped out pork for mushroom. Having said that, we were geniunely surprised by the lack of substantial items which are vegetarian friendly (let alone vegan friendly) in this day and age.
The consumer of this bao provided the feedback that it is "bao-low par" (ha!). It's nothing to write home about, though the mushrooms were salty and buttery. The other bao you see in the background of this photo was a pork bao that we didn't order, and subsequently sent back, thinking they may have delivered the food to the wrong table. Then when I paid the bill, I noticed they had charged me for the item. They corrected this mistake quickly when I pointed it out.
Despite the lovely view, the polite staff who quickly corrected issues and the quite-nice cocktail, I have to say this was one of the most stressful and disappointing dining experiences in recent years. I am not sure whether the low standard is COVID-related, but I am equally not sure whether I would accept that as an excuse in circumstances where other eateries are performing to their usual standards, and not even COVID could justify not supplying or under-supplying items which are clearly stated on the menu, and for which patrons are paying full price.
Score: 1.
Cost: approx $40pp with one drink and little food - it's a pricey joint, especially given the quality of the food.
Address: 61 Macquarie St, Sydney (Lv 3 of the Pullman Hotel)
Website: https://hydehaciendasydney.com/
If only it didn't have loud nightclub music pumping.
I had called Hacienda to book the Sunday brunch - and received a call to confirm my booking. When we turned up, however, we were told that brunch finished at 1pm - right when we booked. The staff were lovely - they checked with the kitchen to see if they could still make some brunch items for us, but alas, the answer was no. The kitchen had packed up the brunch ingredients - fair enough, we were fine with ordering off the general food menu.
The food menu, however, was not what we wanted: it is bar-foody and it was difficult to find things which were interesting. I suppose the whole point of the menu is to nibble while one drinks.
The cocktail menu is only 5 cocktails long, which may be due to COVID shortages, but still, I was surprised by how limited it was: if Hacienda doesn't intend to compete on food, surely it needs to have a strong alcohol game, especially when its food-focused competitors have longer cocktail menus during COVID. I didn't test the theory, but I assume if you had asked for a classic cocktail off the menu the bar staff might happily oblige.
Despite the small cocktail menu, all the items were very creative and interesting.
 |
| Campfire Espresso Martini, $24 |
The espresso martini at Hacienda is made with house-made marshmallow vodka, Kahlua, coffee, and topped with some grilled marshmallow. It is deliciously sweet, boozy and balanced.
 |
| Baked truffle mac n' cheese croquette, $12 |
 |
| Hyde Wagyu Beef Burger, $18 |
The beef patty was dry and overcooked, not even the rich wagyu taste could save it. The burger was served barely-warm. The cheese was barely melted so tasted quite plastic-like, and the sauces were really sad - the correct ratio was not achieved, resulting in buns which were dry like stale bread.
Another feature of the burger dish that was unmissable was the distinct lack of fries. We asked the staff - they informed us that actually, the burger doesn't come with fries, fries is an extra item on the menu. This special feature was not mentioned at all at the time of ordering. To the staff's credit, after being politely asked to double check with the kitchen given the unambiguous written words of the menu, they brought us a bowl of fries for the table to share.
 |
| Fries, priceless |
 |
| Salt & Pepper Squid, $21 |
There's truly a Keats line for every occasion.
The squid itself was nice, but the pieces were really small - one would have preferred larger, juicier (i.e. higher quality) squid pieces, even if that would mean less number of pieces.
 |
| Mushroom bao, $8 |
The consumer of this bao provided the feedback that it is "bao-low par" (ha!). It's nothing to write home about, though the mushrooms were salty and buttery. The other bao you see in the background of this photo was a pork bao that we didn't order, and subsequently sent back, thinking they may have delivered the food to the wrong table. Then when I paid the bill, I noticed they had charged me for the item. They corrected this mistake quickly when I pointed it out.
Despite the lovely view, the polite staff who quickly corrected issues and the quite-nice cocktail, I have to say this was one of the most stressful and disappointing dining experiences in recent years. I am not sure whether the low standard is COVID-related, but I am equally not sure whether I would accept that as an excuse in circumstances where other eateries are performing to their usual standards, and not even COVID could justify not supplying or under-supplying items which are clearly stated on the menu, and for which patrons are paying full price.
Score: 1.
Cost: approx $40pp with one drink and little food - it's a pricey joint, especially given the quality of the food.
Address: 61 Macquarie St, Sydney (Lv 3 of the Pullman Hotel)
Website: https://hydehaciendasydney.com/
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