Bather's Pavilion Reviews

Great service, thank you. And our meal was gorgeous.

Newly renovated, love the atmosphere here, staff are friendly, food are delicious and beautiful presented and it s quite busy all day especially summer.

Received a very cold reception from the staff I think the middle class are not the kind of people they want at their restaurant.
This was followed by cheap food with an expensive price . I m all for expensive food but in return you need to deliver some value.

What a disappointing experience ! I got to say the worst western restaurant I ever seen over 20 years of my life in Sydney. The Pizza Margherita worse than pizza hut's one, but you paid triple price for it. Roast barramundi fillet didn't meet the standard, not mentioning the smallest portion I ever had. It is not worth the money at all. If you come for the food, trust me, you will be dissappointed !

We live up the hill and have visited mainly the bistro regularly (twice weekly) for a number of years. I have always looked past the inexperienced staff as the food and setting are always spot on, and at least the staff did try and were happy to serve. However, after the new fit out (which looks great) I visited with a group of 7 overseas & interstate guests yesterday for afternoon tea. The male server was so obnoxious, downright unhelpful and bordering on hostility. He obviously has a wealth of experience and maybe thought it is beneath him to be working in the bistro serving us common folk. It put a huge dampener on the whole afternoon with everyone commenting on his unhelpful attitude and I felt personally responsible as I recommended the venue. Unfortunately doubt if much notice will be taken of this review as the location will always guarantee a constant stream of diners but please stress the importance of customer service to your staff.

A great location to look out over the middle and north heads out to the ocean whilst being provided great service of the menus for food and wine but the coffee is rubbish, please taste what you serve and compare to some reputable coffee stores in Neutral bay & Cremorne.

Beautiful venue, good coffee, and a solid menu that has been very similar over the last 15 years. One thing we noticed is the change in style of the service, where a little arrogance and push has snuck in, in the place of happiness and warmth. Sad to see...it is almost like the service is being aligned with the 'preferred' clientele as opposed the real people who have made bathers what it is up until now.

Great place with perfect ocean view. Super friendly staff as well and reasonable price! Lovely experience

The perfect weather and amazing location was fantastic for my special birthday. The service too was excellent but the food was not. Not one of us had anything good to say about the entrees - the tuna sashimi was totally overpowered by the beetroot, the corn soup had too many unimpressive additives and the overcooked swordfish - what was that apple sauce doing on the side? I did enjoy the roast beef and the barramundi was good but nobody else was excited by their choices. Perhaps being the end of the holiday season was the problem, but as it is rather pricey, none of us will be rushing back.

First time here. And what an excellent experience. Great service. Even better food. And who wouldn't enjoy those views.

Excellent food and service. Great beach front location.

Great dinning experience. Took my parents there for their first Australian cuisine exposure and they loved it. I now think I have made a mistake as now their standard and expectation is high.....

Great service at a North Shore institution, had the tuna for entree & beef for main which were both delicious & beautifully presented. A great dining experience

Beautiful food, lovely service and beautiful setting by the water.

Nice restaurant facing the beach. This place was more crowded than the beach, must be popular amongst locals, i presumed. Try to get a table close to the window for a good view. Good service and great food.

Always great food and such a nice view. Love coming down here for a lazy Sunday brunch

Beautiful views, friendly service, great atmosphere, delicious menu and fantastic location.

My husband and I, celebrated our birthdays with friends and the service was impeccable.

Beautiful location for dessert. Amazing Baked Alaska

Great location with expansive views over Balmoral Beach and a sizeable chunk of Sydney Harbour. Nice food and good service.

First impressions last and as we walked through the door there was a bit of a awkward greeting (later to be know as the part owner Serge), I was keen to stay positive as it was my birthday celebrations and I was being leanient as it was the first day open after the Covid restrictions changed. In terms of atmosphere the view is the highlight, due to the weather there was less foot traffic but the occasional walker likes to peer inside. The layout was great, giving ample views and the booth style is fine for a group like ours. The decore after the renovations was nice and ties in with the look, there were various styles of seating and rooms/sections. The food was nice but I could see the chefs may have been rushed with the entres (Fritto misto) but the mains (Gnocchi & Linguine with side of vegetables) were a standout and to finish with affogato was perfect.

Enjoyed many meals at the cafe and restaurant in the past. Had lunch there yesterday and ordered grilled Tasmania octopus with potato etc. The food was obviously NOT COOKED TO ORDER but precooked and pilled onto the plate. I ate the potatoes and they were off! So sad to the reputation of this iconic restaurant serving old, precooked food probably leftovers. I spatted the potatoes out onto the plate. Since I was meeting a longtime no seen friend, I decided to not make a fuss. When the waitperson collected the plate, she asked if everything was ok, I told her the potatoes were off and the food was OLD. Anyway, she came back and said she can offer a cup of tea for free... really? What a let down of the food but you can wash the spoilt food down with our free tea... will never ever go there again

Beautiful mid range dining, always a seat and if not a drink at the bar while you wait

I dined at Bathers for a Saturday lunch with a Dimmi offer that gave us 50% off the bill. The location is spectacular, boasting brilliant views of Balmoral Bay in a very comfortable and relaxing, yet upscale, environment.



Service was friendly and professional, my only critique is that there could have been a little more efficiency in providing drink menus and taking our drinks orders at the start and throughout the meal.

The biggest let down was the desserts, which weren t to our liking. The chocolate dish was so heavy, thick and rich, that it was hard to swallow, the blueberry meringue reminded me of a bath bomb, both in appearance and flavour (not that I eat bath bombs regularly...). The other two desserts we had were ok, the passion fruit and caramelised chocolate was good if a little underwhelming, the grapefruit being the only dessert we actually really wanted to finish, which was fresh, light and cleansing.

Desserts aside, I will definitely be back as we had a great time, and as I said the service was very friendly and welcoming! Perhaps I ll try the cheese next time instead!

Always a great meal in beautiful surroundings. Interesting menu with some classics and some new innovative dishes as well. Cafe is casual, restaurant is upmarket and more $$$.

Brunch doesn't spill over to lunch here so we had the lunch menu which really lacked inspiring veggie options. I eventually settled with the sweet corn soup with the cauliflower beignet which was also served with bread and butter on the side. Too salty and not enough bread to balance! For dessert I got the passionfruit and pineapple pavlova. The pavlova was more like a soft sticky meringue. The fruit accompaniment wasn't tart enough to balance the sweetness. But it still gets four stars because of the beach view from our booth and great service. I also tasted my friend's chocolaty dessert for which 80% of it was absolutely delish!

We were visiting from out of town and loved the food and setting.

Close to great beaches, cafe on the side of a high class restaurant, beautiful surroundings.

Celebrated our anniversary here... Absolutely wonderful food, fantastic service and perfect location! Highly recommended.

Great location and great view. The white linen service is exceptional. The degustation is the way to go. Wines and prices are what you can expect for this food and type of service.

Worst customer service ever!

I went to this restaurant recently to celebrate 2 very special birthdays of my family. My choice of the venue was based on its reputation of fine dining, views and location at the waterfront. Regrettably, it turned out to be an entire nightmare; I wish I had never been there.
The views were alright 'cos we didn't get a window seating despite our early booking; the food was not too bad; the worst, however, were yet to come.
As soon as we stepped into the venue, the front-man pulled a long face at us; we immediately felt like we were not welcome in there. As we were shown to our table, the other staff there staring at us with an awkward 'laugh' made us felt humiliating. Frankly, I didn't expect smiley faces but certainly not that kind of unfriendly greetings.
When we were served drinks, the waiter spilled our drinks all over the table; not apologetic, the bloke found it funny and laughed.
We had the 7-course degustation lunch on the day. 4 of the 7 courses the waiter couldn't be bothered to say a few words about the dish when we were served.
Throughout our lunch at the venue, we felt we were ignored. Honestly,I didn't expect the staff there to treat us as valued customers, but certainly not the kind of customer service we received. Unprofessional is an under-word; the customer service there is absolutely horrendous; it's a total disgrace. The venue is simply not up to its reputation. And, I can assure you, for the kind of money you spent there, one can easily find a much better place with a similar view, atmosphere and food without suffering of the shocking customer service.
My final words are this was my worst fine dining experience; never ever come to this place again.

Bathers restaurant is absolutely the best place to dine in Sydney. It ticks all the boxes. Has a superb menu. Amazing views and wonderful well trained wait persons.
Just the best!
Thanks Serge!

Great venue for lunch,

We had lunch at bathers and I enjoyed every mouthful of my meal. the menu was easy but took me a while e to decide as I was so distracted with the gorgeous view and enjoying my gin & tonic, there were so many yummy dishes to choose from. We were so full and satisfied at the end of our meal.
Great service friendly staff.

Great location, used to come here very often more than 10-15 years ago. We went to Bistro side. Came here first time after 12 years, the interior has been upgraded and the beautiful view stays the same. Great place for instagram or photo ops.

Food lacks vegan options, there is only one eggplant main course dish. I also ordered a Kale side salad which was the best tasting dish. My family ordered Linguine with clams and the clams were hard and not tasty. There are also pizza and pasta, they offered gluten free pasta and pizza. From that section only garlic crust is vegan.

The staff wasnt that attentive, we had to ask a few times to get dessert menu.

Overall, great for a special event, amazing ocean view, beautiful interior, but not for food or service.

Good value, excellent food, best outlook. Eggs Benedict a suggestion

Lovely meal in the bistro of Bathers. Great service, food and cocktails. Nice to be eating ot again.

Always love dropping in to soak up the view and the food.

Such a wonderful time, and would highly recommend this restaurant. My wife is pregnant, and as soon as we walked in they noticed and said "Don't worry, we can cook everything well done". And in all meals (we ordered 5 course degustation), they ensured to drop the small comments e.g. the yoghurt is pasteurised. So small things, but made the world of difference. All dishes were delicious, gorgeous views and rest of service fantastic as well. Highly recommend.

Dirty glasses and dirty water jug were placed on the table after I replied that we would prefer tap water. Crews found in hurry to clear plates off the table when it was just not even 9 p.m. and cafe closes at 9.30 p.m. on sundays. And we were quite clearly visible eating from the plate. Though the spot is beutiful a little bit of respect in what they serve could bring magic and save the reputation of this cafe.

Disappointing. Tables/chairs too close. Food overpriced and some inedible. Such a shame.

Had a lovely meal there Sunday evening with my partner and parents. Food was delightful, seafood, fresh and well cooked and presented. Beautiful ambiance and location. The thing we found frustrating was how dysfunctional the staff were. The Manager was fantastic, BUT he was carrying the whole team....once welcomed and seated, we were left for 15 mins, before i approached a waiter, so we could order a drink...this continued through to our food order. When our mains arrived, our entree plates were still on the table ...The waiter looked at us...we had to stack the plates to make room for our mains. Overall, it was a pleasant experience, but why spend so much money on a complete refurbishment, looking over a majestic location, with fresh seafood .....but fail with the staff...pay more and get quality staff OR train what you have before you let them loose on the public

The best scones, I have ever had! I wish they did them for longer then 2-5pm.

Beautiful location & friendly staff. Slightly pricy but this is to be expected for such a price location !!

Brunch on Sunday was a real treat - weather a bit ordinary but the view was still awesome. Eggs any way you want and the best Bloody Mary I have had in forever.

I tried almost all the menu on the list with friends, still the best is the pizza, so i just ordered the pizza while being here

Amazing! Nothing short of it! View, food, service and ambiance in general make it a special occasion each time.

Thankyou for making our daughters day that little more special. Beautiful setting with truly beautiful staff who could not make you feel anymore at home, and then the cuisine was delicious. Simple as that. Thank you

Review is for the takeaway Kiosk - deeeelicious fish and chips might be fav in Syd .. great fruit ice blocks also . Balmoral is pretty touristy and food isn't normally this great in touristy areas a++ recommend !!

It is all about the location for The Bathers Pavilion. Set on the sandline in a curve of Hunters Bay, the venue is graced with phenomenal vistas of crystal clear water lapping against pale yellow sand. The building itself is stunning, with intricate adornments including the beautiful fretwork windows.

The wait is always worth it at Bathers Pavilion. The view, the splashing waves and the breeze make a perfect Sunday breakfast that extends into lunch: this was our first tour in 2008 where the sweet breakfast dishes were ordered and at exactly 12pm when the lunch menu kicked in, all desserts were ordered. It meant that we had the BEST creme brulee in our lives! Despite having eaten it all over France! Alas the pastry chef isn't the same now but the quality of food hasn't changed. It is always a guaranteed wonderful experience!

A special occasion to be with family. Fine dining and wonderful attentive but non intrusive staff in a previous swimming club building.

Had a phenomenal 3 course Christmas lunch at Bather s. The food is divine, the wine is amazing and you can t beat the view.

Professional! Busy place. Fantastic locations. Perfect for a romantic lunch or dinner. Coffee from the kiosk is very good.
We ate at the bistro for lunch. Excellent service, staff are very professional. Attention to detail. Good wine and cocktail list. Food was exceptional!!!

I and my wife, went here. Very nice place, great view and service.

Great staff. Waitress squeezed us in for 60min last week without booking in these very stressful and challenging times. We had a fantastic lunch with plenty space. Thank you and we certainly will be back as we are locals

Great location and nice view of the beach. Unfortunately the food is too ordinary for the price.

We had a beautiful lunch with great food and a pristine view. The team made our small event memorable.

Very nice atmosphere. I had the steak and it was brilliant. Was there for lunch and found that the staff were run off their feet. It was hard to get their attention (order ect). Would go back again.

Attended a friend's wedding here and was impressed with the venue and staff. The view off the roof top terrace was stunning.

Lovely setting
I ve had better more adventurous food but the experience was nice.
The wines picked by the Sommelier were perfect for the meals served up.
So yeah not bad but not up there with the best either!

We ordered the mushroom pizza, salmon fillet., Banana pithivier and affogato. All of them were extremely well made and tasty. The pizza base was fresh and light, the salmon was seared perfectly as to give the skin a maximally crispy texture without overcooking the fillet. The pickled baby radish and soured bean and tare sauce created an incredible flavour that complimented the salmon perfectly. The banana pithivier was sublime as well. And this was the non-fine dining half of their menu as well. Will definitely come back for more!

The food was incredible, but the staff really made the difference. My fiancee is Coeliac and they made every effort to accommodate her as well as they could. Very friendly, and always managed to come by just at the right time. Would definitely recommend - but be warned it's not cheap

We had the degustation menu with matched wines. Exceptional. Was a terrific experience which we spent over 2 hours savouring. Great food and great service with a terrific view. Highly recommended.

Great baguettes sandwiches. Consistent quality for the last 15 years

A few dishes were great, a few not so. Thanks to Ronny our waiter, who was working very hard.

Excellent Services, food is tastes, busy place but comfortable.

A strong Italian influence with the occasional Asian overtone. M. Pignolet has created the best restaurant in Sydney when you take into account the stunning location.

Not cheap but UNBELIEVABLY great food. The deserts alone are works of art! The raspberry one looked amazing as did the chantilly cream. My blueberry was impressive but didn't live up to the look. Morton bug entree and tuna tartare are recommended. And all of our group loved all the mains.

Unparalleled aspect and beautiful, comfortable interiors. I've had breakfast and lunch there, and it was delicious both times.