Basil's Seafood Restaurant - Marsfield

I booked it through The Fork for as it wouldn’t allow any earlier for the discounted rate. I thought I was taking my daughter out to a nice restaurant only to find they were closed at Google website stated close.. they were seriously closed even though the booking was made. Absolutely appalling!!!

We have being going to Basils for over years. To our surprise it had changed hands recently so now has become a truly woeful experience. No seating or greeting on arrival, as we were pointed to the table. No table presentation as it was...a Christmas Luncheon as fine dining definitely not!!!!! Restaurant was in need of a thorough clean. As it was a set three course menu at per person the food choices were limited to two only. After an hour wait our drinks were served, another half hour wait for our order to be taken. Another hour went by and food arrived shocking presentation and inedible. In my opinion they should have cancelled the luncheon as they struggled to present and deliver what was advertised.

I read the reviews a few weeks ago from and thought I better not book. But the funny thing is I read the review under the same title same name weeks apart and different bad reviews So U love bad food and...service or U have a vendetta. Anyway we booked and it was a pleasant experience for us. The food was great and served in a timely manner. We expetted things not to be as we enderstood the challenges restaurants and hospitality were facing with staff shortages. The ambience was great the food was tasty and the staff friendly.

We knew it had changed hands recently but were willing to give it a go. days before, the new owner rang and asked for a deposit. Upon arrival, the owner saw us and walked away. minutes later his wife showed us part...of the way, then pointed to a table with not enough chairs or settings for the numbers of guests booked. No waiter approached the table for minutes. We had to ask for an ice bucket for the BYO wine and open the bottle ourselves. The menu was a set menu so very limited choice. The waiter who turned out to be the owners wife finally attended the table after minutes. We waited over an hour before we received the entree despite the restaurant being nowhere near full. Mine was very small cold prawns with a bit of sauce dripped on them and half a mango and some green decoration. We waited another minutes for the mains which was advertised as a traditional Christmas dinner with turkey ham and pork served with roasted vegetables and gravy. I could only detect ham and bit of turkey, not much vegetables and no bread was offered or provided. The meal was small and very amateurish. Then the desert looked like the pudding had been bought from Coles or Woolworths with a side of ice cream. No presentation, although I'm told it was not bad. The room looked dirty, there were drip stains on the wall, duct tape holding some power supplies onto the power points and plenty of avoidance from the owner and the waiter who at times came out with deserts only to take them back to the kitchen unable to find the right table. When I got the bill, the owner did not deduct the deposit amount and charged me for corkage despite not having touched out BYO bottle although he did provide the ice bucket. Sadly Basils has turned into Basil Fawlty. When Tim owned it, it was one of Sydney's best restaurants with amazing service and food. We went there many times. That's now gone. Only the prices have remained. The food was edible, but my meal was not fine dining and the portions were small. What was provided in terms of service and food fell well short of the expectations given the price and the past history of what was a great restaurant.

We might have known things were not going to go well when we were shown to a reserved table that was missing a napkin, had an extra water glass, wine glasses clustered in the middle and the cutlery set out incorrectly . The absence of...side plates was a second warning and given we paid over pp, complimentary bread/ oil balsamic dip would not have been too much to ask. To say the service was slow would be an understatement... a three-course lunch took four hours! In addition, after unsuccessfully trying to catch the attention of a staff member for at least ten minutes, I had to go to the desk to order wine (which we had to pour ourselves). None of our courses arrived at the same time, so we all ended up eating at different times... except for dessert when mins after all the other plates arrived, a guest was informed the dessert they had ordered was not available. Also, don't expect an affogato to come with a liqueur "We don't do that here nor in a glass that is even remotely appropriate. Plate clearing was haphazard at best with one entrée plate remaining on the table all the way through mains... two wine menus were still in the middle of the table when we left. Spelling errors on the menu provided some light relief, especially the Moronay sauce. The arrogance of the manager (building owner) was breath-taking, especially given the Kafkaesque experience he provides for customers. I am all for supporting hospitality venues post-COVID, but this restaurant should re-launch themselves as a genuine Fawlty Towers. Along with everyone else, we can only mourn the loss of Basil's (RIP).