Bitton Oatley

So we came here for a dinner party to celebrate my mother-in-law's 60th birthday, with a reasonably large party of 24 people.

The staff had arranged the seating into one long table, but in order to try and fit us into one long table, it had one end right up against the wall, so everyone had to go around the long way, including the staff, to reach the other side of the table. This in itself was also problematic because I was seated against the head of the table so I pretty much sat at an angle to give space, and at times, I simply got up and got out of the way. I would say it wasn't a major issue for me, but something they should have thought about beforehand, as I feel it also was part of the cause for one of the servers to drop a plate which of course shattered on the ground right next to myself.

While the staff did sweep it up, the didn't get all the shards, which was a bit of a concern as my daughter was seated next to me, but my sister-in-law's boyfriend was good enough to pick up the bits still left behind and put them on the sideboard nearby so they were out of harms way for my little one.

Onto the food situation, we had a set-menu choice, which, you can see some of the options below that came by. I didn't manage to get a picture of the risotto, french onion soup, and chicken breast that I know of.  From all accounts the majority of the food was good.

I had the chicken liver and foie gras pate with caramelised onion and warm baguette. Pate was great, but the bread was far from warm. My main was the Salmon with Ratatouille. The skin was slightly crispy but very well cooked inside (just cooked and so tender), and the ratatouille was beautiful, very melty eggplant and warm flavours that enveloped my mouth.

My wife had the salmon gravalax, and the sirloin strip, which she specifically requested the sirloin to be medium rare. The server said normally it was cooked medium, but would get hers done medium rare. Well, it was a good thing she asked, because everyone else were very jealous that she did. Hers was great at medium rare, the others were distinctly firm in medium, and by all accounts on the side of the table I was at, it wasn't very enjoyable.

Perhaps the 'standard' for the sirloin should be brought back to medium rare.

My daughter (just under 3yo) wanted the 'egg' dish (she's on an egg fixation at the moment), so we got the Bitton Breakfast, which was a great size portion for a kids meal. She did eat a lot of the egg, so that was to her liking. We also got her a Babyccino which she ate the foam and marshmallow, but left the milk behind. I tasted the rest and understood why, as it was very watery, I suspect possibly skim milk, or so much steam was required to make the foam it diluted it down. She normally drinks it all....

The only other thing that kind of cropped up, was that my brother-in-law had ordered a "wake me up" smoothie, but this green 'thing' turned up. He tasted it thinking it was the order but then realised, it definitely wasn't the wake me up smoothie. We enquired about it, which it came back, and the response was that they didn't have the ingredients for the wake me up, so they made the green one instead! I mean, come on. Would it not be normal that they would first come back and ask before doing that? What happens if he had an allergy or issue with something in the green smoothie? Kind of irresponsible really.  

The server however did make the offer to get something else, which he got a banana smoothie instead, and they left the green smoothie behind for us anyway, which my daughter drank, and she did enjoy it (so that at least was a plus).

The cake was brought out, and taken away for cutting after the candles blown, but they mis-counted (did not include my daughter), and so would have been one portion short. We were offered that they could make a mini creme-brulee for my daughter, but I declined as I would have just eaten what was leftover from what we gave her.

With these issues up and down on the food, and the table layout, I probably would have given it a lower score than a 4, however the professionalism and service given to our table by the main server in charge of our party (Angus) was outstanding. He was very calm, very understanding, and very accommodating. He handled our requests very well, and apologised for all the issues that cropped up, and for that, I wanted to commend him greatly for his quality of service. I think his serving us made a big difference in making everything run smoothly.

Overall, I had a lovely evening, as the birthday being celebrated had everything go well for them, and the food quality was pretty solid.

I note that one of the reviews mentioned the toilet being filthy. My comments on that just to be inclusive, the paper dispenser was nearly out of paper, a small deadbolt to lock the door was kind of weird considering the 'feel' of the restaurant, and the scent dispenser thing on the wall was out of scent (it said 00 on it, and was beeping every few seconds). My wife commented that there was an actual change table in the accessible bathroom, which was appreciated.

Would definitely be interested in coming back to try some other dishes at some time again into the future.

Good lunch to be had here with a wonderful variety of European/French food. Atmosphere with wedding parties and birthdays around us enhanced the experience too.

I had a absolutely perfect lunch on Friday the 17th which was the Crispy Skin Salmon with Lentil Salad, Leek Vinaigrette and Bitton Coriander Pesto.

I say "perfect" because when ever I order crispy skin salmon in other restaurants, its not really crispy or a little bit of it is crispy and the rest isn't.

I say "absolutely perfect" because the salmon was done the way I like it and that is rare, I don't mind if its a bit over cooked but I really hate when salmon when its cooked well done because its dry

This little gem in Oatley offers great french cuisine and their wine list is always on point. We come here for lunches often and at our last visit, the crumbed pork cutlet was cooked perfectly, crunchy on the outside and the meat was juicy and tender on the inside. Worth a try!

Front of the restaurant was pretty empty when we arrived for dinner but the staff brought us to the rear, only to be greeted to a lovely garden setting with quite a few tables filled. Staff was attentive, service very good and so was the food. We were pleasantly surprised with the complimentary crème brûlée with was superb! Suggestion: please make it part of the dessert menu

Had special vegetarian set menu and items from the normal menu. Everything is delicious. The steak is cooked perfectly. Wine is superb. Host that night is very knowledgeable about wine and patient with our tasting and selection. Looking forward to going more regularly.

We had our engagement celebration here and it was a truly wonderful event made that much better by the exceptional Bitton team. The antipasto and charcuterie platters tasted as good as they looked and the canapes were generous in size, incredibly delicious and kept on coming. They also went above and beyond catering for those with dietary requirements. Having our event in the garden meant the kids could run around while the parents enjoyed a relaxing afternoon. It had a very homely feel to it which is exactly what we were after. The outdoor bar was also a total hit! The Bitton team were very accommodating and attentive and it did not go unnoticed. We have received many compliments from our guests who were so impressed with the food and beverages, the service from the staff and the venue itself. It was a perfect afternoon and we couldn't have been happier that we chose to have our event at Bitton Oatley. Thank you to the team who helped make it such a special, memorable occasion!