Review The Cookhouse - Randwick

Delicious thin slice of chicken schnitzel fried in fat with finesse. $12 lunch deals on Tuesday are worthy of trying out this cozy, rustic eatery.

4.5 Rating Excellent food, steaks, burgers and chicken parmigiana was cooked to perfection with good portion sizes. Cocktails during happy hours of 5-7pm was a great deal and mu espresso martini was a great balance of cream to coffee. Great place for a dinner with friends & family!

Came on a Friday night, you need a booking unless you're a table of two. Wagyu steak was much better than the fillet mignon. duck ragout with egg pasta was delicious. Kids meal available. Happy hour beers (schooners for $5) before 7pm.

Great atmosphere and friendly staff. Food is always great - they've got the best polenta chips ever!

We were there for a business function and we were served chicken that wasn't cooked properly and it even had blood on it. When the issue was raised to the waiter/Bar tender, we were told " it has veins on it, blood is normal". Health Hazard!! avoid this place.

It's an old building reinfored as restaurant, food is really nice, suitable for friend gathering. The waitress is realy nice and pretty.

A nice local for after work drinks. Has happy hour every day perfect for ending a hard day at work. Food includes at the standard pub fare done quite well. Range of drinks and beers is quite extensive

It was perfect ...the steak was well done and juicy !

Where do I start.....have been a few times ( not sure why we kept going back really??? ) Our last experience was last night never again-staff rude with bad attitudes. Had 2 cocktails and both times glasses were chipped even after bringing it to the bar attendants attention still managed to serve the second cocktail in a chipped glass???? Walked out without finishing our meal-could have potential if you changed your staff and revamped your menu!

Food is lovely , service and food is a tad slow both times I have been . The staff are great , you just get the feeling they are under staffed. Good wine selection . I'd love to see a salad (large plate) on the menu . Chips on the lunch special were cold that was the only food negative....The ravioli was amazing my husband had it twice !

Can't believe I haven't written a review sooner! These guys were amazing when I had my birthday dinner here in November. The food was lovely, the atmos was great, and the drinks were delicious! Plus the lovely manager gave me dinner on the house as a birthday treat! 100% recommend and will return. Thanks guys!

First time coming here - spur of the moment dinner choice while here from Brisbane. The food was tasty and very filling. We would recommend this place to anyone.

The Cook house more like the shit house. Worst meal in Sydney! Horrendous! Waited 20 mins for espresso martini covered in cinnamon and strawberry daiquiri fit for a tooth filling. 40 mins later.... Halloumi saltier then the Black Sea! Cuttlefish chewier then a shoe Steak Pepper sauce definitely from a jar Mash drier then Nevada desert Overall worst meal ever and paid $135 so not worth it ---- don't go here please! Waste of money

Wouldn't recommend this place to anyone went for a nice meal with husband and found a bandaid in my burger.. Disgusting...

Beautiful restaurant with amazing food and lovely staff!

I held a large group event here last night and it was excellent. The service was great and the food was delicious. Overall I would recommend these guys highly

Unlike your great tasting tapas, the confusing happy hour pricing left a sour taste in my mouth. Don't call it happy hour, call it drink specials if there are only a few beers and cocktails that are special prices.

Celebrated my 21st here last weekend, incredible food, people, service and atmosphere! Thank you so much for being so accomodating and personal on the night and leading up to our function. I would say this is one of the best venue's in Sydney to eat, drink and celebrate.

The southern style chicken burger was so good I could have eaten two. Definitely will be back

Amanzing place great food and beverages and happy hour as well,

The Melbourne Cup luncheon here is fantastic, great food, great value and happy friendly staff, I have already booked for next year.

Great service. Excellent food. Loved the upstairs seating 🌟

Really enjoyed our time at The Cookhouse. My steak was cooked medium rare, the chips were well fried and they were generous with the sauces. The chicken parmigiana was also nicely done and seasoned well. The selection of drinks available during happy hour was also great, along with the service.

This has got to be the worst location in all of Australia if you want to have a nice afternoon! The cocktails are just pitiful!! Their jug of “Pimms” is the most disgraceful thing I’ve ever laid eyes upon. I put Pimms in quotation marks as you can hardly call that monstrosity Pimms. It was orange for gods sake! Please don’t go here if you want to experience tasty cocktails.

The cookhouse is a pub in Randwick that has a wide range of drinks and food, from small tapas to larger meals. I've been here on a number of occasions and had the pumpkin and sage and butter gnocchi which is incredible. As I'd had a large evening the night before, I went for a burger and chips. A big burger and crispy fries but possibly could be more cheesy and saucy, though because it's not it's probably a bit of a healthy burger in that sense. They do trivia on a Thursday night which is well organised, lots of fun and prizes are good.

First time. Decor and atmosphere was nice. Service was so, so... Food was okay. We had a selection tapas and the prawn, lobster and crab ravioli was the best, followed by the duck confit. Scallops, duck spring roll was so, so and pork belly was certainly nothing to write home about. Slightly overpriced. Unlikely to go again.

Their express lunch wasn't too express today unfortunately, and the food wasn't anything to die for, but for a $10 lunch you can't complain. Drinks seemed good value with a $10 jug of Coopers!

Great for a quick lunch. We did the $10.00 express lunch special. Was in and out pretty quick. Not bad value. Would return. My burger was good. Lots of people so plan ahead.

Such a great atmosphere and a great selection of beers!! The staff were all lovely and the food was delicious. Will definitely be back. Great spot!

This is my favourite place. Gorgeous setting with beautiful chairs and gorgeous exposed stone walls. Service is super friendly. You have to make a reservation if you want to get a seat. The food is fantastic with amazing gourmet options at very reasonable prices. Generous sharing plate options and great wines. Would definitely recommend

Sitting here waiting to get served food with menus in front of us for a good hour. Customer service is non existent. Disappointed as it seems like a nice place to eat.

Have been here a few times and it has such a lovely atmosphere, friendly staff and great happy hour specials. Food on all occasions has been great, we even made it to the $27 ribs deal one Tuesday...it was so good!!!

$27 all you can eat pork ribs is good value on Monday & Tuesday. a couple of tasty vegetarian options, but this is really a carnivorous joint

Cookhouse for cocktails!. The cookhouse has a great atmosphere and the staff are always lovely and attentive. The cocktails are inventive and delicious - and the specials are a nice cheap option. I also really enjoyed the food, although if I'm honest the prices can at times be too high for the small portions - especially with the tapas plates. This is a bit of a deterrent for eating here, as you never know how much to order. Mains at $30 are pushing it a bit, although generally very tasty and nicely presented. All in all a 7.5/10 :)

Appalling Service. The Cookhouse when it first opened was very different, as a local it was a treat to have a cozy haunt close by for myself my husband and friends to catch up. The décor was and still is inviting, beer and wine menu awesome and a hearty well priced menu to entice us to return and continue to do so.<br/><br/>It slowly plummeted due to the simple attitude of the staff whom repeatedly disappoint. <br/>More than one are extremely rude and dismissive. You almost feel like you are putting them out by entering in the first place, as if every minute spent working is torture. <br/><br/>Showing any sign of wanting to get to know regulars names is non existent.<br/><br/>Advertising happy hour cocktails on a Sunday however tutting when you order a round is not customer service and will not entice patrons to return. <br/><br/>Myself and my neighbours/colleagues have gone back on separate occasions in the hope things may have changed due to hearing of the recent new ownership however unfortunately the bad attitude seems to be somewhat of a pre requisite to work here.<br/><br/>The service is appalling - please recruit a manager/supervisor that is somewhat warm/friendly that has experience to re vamp and up skill the staff and treat patrons as if their custom matters.

Cannot fault!!. Amazing service from the Cookhouse team!!<br/><br/>I had the pleasure of having my birthday upstairs in the beautifully dim-lit function area, canape style, consisting of about 30 people! <br/>Stefan (manager) and Reece (my host for the evening) were extremely accommodating to all my requests and made my night one to remember. <br/>They allowed me to have a stress free, enjoyable evening that every one of my guests have been raving about!<br/>Food was absolutely delicious, with compliments flying all around the room and there was AMPLE to go around! <br/><br/>Cannot recommend this place enough! <br/><br/>Thank you so so much for me and all my guests for the most amazing nigh, couldn't of been any better!

There are plenty of Paleo options, and a few other dishes that just need a bit of tweaking to make them Paleo-friendly (which the restaurant was happy to do). For our dinner out, we ordered for a few starters including Sydney rock oysters served with Cab Sav vinegar with eschallot and tarragon, house cured ocean trout, and chargrilled haloumi (non-paleo).

Falling into that strange nether region between pub and restaurant, the latest incarnation of this beautiful sandstone building takes up where The Montpellier Public House left off.

Mr Nick Agir. After hand over to new operators service and food have a big improvement.<br/>I was with my family for dinner and we enjoy so much good food and good service in historical building:)

Great, bubbly staff and tasty wholesome food.. Unlike previous comments I always had a wonderful experience dining at the cookhouse! The waiters are always bubbly and very attentive. The food is delicious, especially that home made style gnocchi. Great location and the cocktails are fantastic.

Arrogant, rude waiters. This is the third time I've been to the cookhouse for cocktails , each time I've hoped the next experience would be better but sadly it's only gotten worse. It's a real shame as the place has so much potential! The cocktails are great , the food is ok but the attitude of the male bar staff and waitstaff is horrendous! I have no idea why they think that the way they communicate with customers ok. <br/>The first time I came here was with a group of girlfriends. The barman came to our table and sat down with us to take our order, and try to sleazily flirt with the group, this seemed a little inappropriate but it was just a minor thing so we let it go. When we finished ordering drinks he asked if we wanted any food, to which we replied no. He then insisted on sending over a bowl of fries to which we declined but they arrived at our table anyway, but here's the real clincher , when we asked for the bill at the end if the night the fries were on there!!!! Fries we didn't even order! When we brought it up with the barman he didn't even apologise! His response was' if it bothers you that much I'll take them off the bill' . <br/><br/>The second time I attended the cookhouse I was designated driver so I ordered a soda water. The barman (same guy as before) insisted I have a cocktail instead, (I think I know what I'd like!) I told him I wasn't drinking and he proceeded to ask me in a very condescending manner 'what's wrong with you' ?!? I'm pretty sure this is not how you should serve a customer, in normal circumstances the customer orders and you oblige, you don't insult them!<br/><br/>Today when we arrived ago the cookhouse I went to the bar to order a drink, when I enquired if cocktails were included in happy hour the bar man snapped back at me ' yeah, but I have like 30 of them to make so you can wait' . <br/>This is the last time I attend the cookhouse, and my friend have all said the same.<br/>I just don't understand the attitude of the staff, are they told to act obnoxiously? Like I said, the placed has potential but the staff really bring it down

Rumours true .... I long wanted to go here as its such a nice looking building but I had heard so many bad rumours about the service I waited till now; sadly they turned out to be true. I can't see why the waiter staff are so arrogant - they really aren't very good at the job. The food was good, if a little pricey. I understand now why its not a busy as it could be.

Amateur hour. A group of us ate in the upstairs section, great atmosphere and decor, however:<br/>1. Waiter did not remember who ordered what, despite stating the dish would be delivered to the chair that ordered it<br/>2. Waiters seemed stressed out, rushed<br/>3. A few ordered the Salmon was ordered, much to our surprise we all received blue eyed cod instead and were not able to reorder<br/>4. Pork belly - very low on the meat itself<br/>5. Desert seemed pre-prepared and/or out of a box<br/><br/>On the plus side the steak was huge, wine options were impressive<br/><br/>For a $60 set menu, it really was sub par

NOT recommended!. Overpriced....... i'll second that! brutal service, literally waited 80mins for food. Tiny portions, the waiter didnt think to even point out that the Pork Belly is served only with only a small salad, and no carbs.. didnt fill the partner to any extent. massively overpriced!

Cutting Corners. What a disappointment. This was my third time eating at the Cookhouse, the last time I give it a chance. First meal, steak was served with a meagre spread of mashed potato. Second time, lunch, gnocchi served dripping in oil. We complained that the oiliness made it inedible. We were told that's how chef makes it. Sorry chef I have had fried gnocchi before but it's not oily pellets. Last time, tonight. Slow cooked lamb shoulder with mashed potato and kumera. Lamb was chunks of tender meat but surrounded in thick white fat. About a third of the meat was edible. Kumera consisted of 8 pieces of half centimetre squares. Potato, a smudge on the bottom of the plate. Easy to see where they make a profit. We gave feedback. Apparently chef did not agree. Never again. Good atmosphere and beer but don't eat more than bar snacks. Waiters obliging but that's not enough.

Great Venue.. shame about the food. Went recently with some friends. A beautiful pub with lovely big leather arm chairs for a drink and a nice environment to sit and have a leisurely dinner.. The service was good, however the food was below average. We ordered kids chicken and chips only to cut through the chicken and find it was raw!! Steaks were overcooked and very average as were all the meals. Such a shame. Please get a new chef!

Do not go there. We went there with a bunch of 8 friends on a regular Friday evening.<br/>Prior to dinner, I did read some bad reviews on the place but was hoping for some improvements<br/>Long story short:<br/>after ordering we waited at least 30min to have the starters<br/>and then we waited another 30min to have the mains<br/>we were the last table to be served. we sat at 8pm and left at 11pm<br/>main waiter explained the Chef was new in the Kitchen and they mixed our table with another one. <br/>I will never go there again. do not go unless you want to waste time and money.

Loved this pub style bistro in randwick, the food was reasonably priced considering the quality and size, and they have quite a decent wine list... The atmosphere and service were the main draw card, our waiter Ben was very friendly & welcoming... Randwick could do with a few more places like this, we will definitely be back soon!

Unprofessional, overpriced and rude.. This place, in the cursed sandstone building at Avoca and Belmore has had a rough time with restaurants, but this is by far the worst one to have ever moved in.<br/>Staff are mostly foreign, which is fine when your waiter can speak English but not so fine when you need to explain what something on the menu is to them..<br/>Some giant, foreign, Curly haired man who works there nearly kicked over my 3 year old girl and didn't apologise, even after I confronted him about it.<br/>Food was mediocre at BEST and each dish should have been at least $5-$10 cheaper... The chef could be heard yelling at the staff more than once in our short hour and a half stay there - and most of that time was spent waiting for our food!!. (an hour and 15 too long if you ask me)<br/>Beer selections were the only redeeming factor.<br/><br/>The next time I return to the sandstone building on Avoca and Belmore will be when a NEW restaurant opens there..<br/>Until there, My family and I will find other places to dine at.<br/>TY

I was looking forward to trying out The Cookhouse but I have to say I was pretty disappointed. After ordering wine when we sat down we waited about half an hour before it arrived (and after two reminders). The food was ok, nothing to write home about. The warm olives were delicious though. I won't be rushing back.

Try the salt n pepper squid and the kangaroo, delightful! Love the exposed brick, cosy atmosphere, just the ticket on a winters night. Extensive wine list and reasonably priced. Def be back!

Just what Randwick Needed. We went here for a birthday last night – the food was awesome and staff really friendly. Although a bit disappointing that they had run out of some deserts by the time we ordered, it was great to be able to sit enjoy wine and chat with out feeling any pressure to leave (we were the last ones to leave). <br/>The only negative is the weird plastic stationary holders that the cutlery is presented in – surely its not that hard to set a table?! The red plastic containers are tacky and totally out of character with the setting.<br/>Randwick has been crying out somewhere like this and we will definitely be back

It's pretty clear that the staff are trying really hard. There have been some teething problems but things are improving. On a brighter note the golden larger is superb.

We decided to go the cookhouse in spite of reading negative reviews which were written when the restaurant first reopened. <br/><br/>Clearly the management has listened to the criticism and made great strides to improve the customer experience. <br/><br/>We were welcomed as soon as we walked in, offered a table for two and menus. Note: the bar area downstairs now provides full and attentive table service.<br/><br/>Agree...the cocktail sizes are indeed too small for the price. But beer and wine and cider offerings are plentiful and good value. <br/><br/>We ordered oysters (cab sav vinegarette) and grilled haloumi and both were fresh and delicious and came out promptly.<br/><br/>Mains were also amazing - swordfish fillet (fish of day) and seafood pasta with a side dish of pumpkin. All cooked beautifully and well presented. <br/><br/>We decided to have a third course because we were enjoying ourselves so much! Vanilla raspberry panna cotta and sticky toffee pudding. Both were exceptional. According to our waitress the pastry chef loves what he does. This was clearly evident in our dessert experience. <br/><br/>Still some teething around service communication but nothing that isnt experienced in more established venues. Overall, the service was consistently attentive and we felt valued.<br/><br/>We will definitely go back abd be taking friends with us as it is a venue great for couples and groups.<br/><br/>Ps: upstairs is more intimate but we were walk in and upstairs was fully booked.

Loved this place - great addition to randwick! Delicious, reasonably priced menu and quick friendly service. Nice atmosphere and there's nothing snobby about it. Just need's a fireplace! Will definitely be back.

Delightful !. I thought I would check out the new Cookhouse in Randwick after watching its rebirth happen from the sidewalk the last few months.<br/>It's great to see some life and warmth breathed into the building, the Reno has been totally complimentary to the gorgeous sandstone of the building, and the casual and comfy layout downstairs enticed me to take a seat in the sunshine and sample the delicious sounding fare.<br/>The menu will suit anyone who might be looking for a bistro type meal or just a casual catch up with friends with shared snacks and a wine or beer.<br/>I was meeting some friends for an arvo tipple and snack - the wine list was extensive and well priced ....and perfectly crisp and cold! We shared some salt and pepper squid, delicately spiced with freshness coming from cucumber and coriander- wolfed down! I have to say the Blood pudding and scallop with beetroot relish was a favourite. Clean and refined with some nice peppery-ness from the cress. <br/>Some more wine and we decided to share the crispy skin salmon from the light meals menu .... Perfect lazy afternoon! Just to be polite, I thought I should have desert- the passion fruit tart did not disappoint- and I feel we will be meeting again in the near future!<br/>Good on you Cookhouse for changing the game!! I will be back for more

Not the best 3/10. As were some of you, I had high hopes of the new business on the site of the former Balzac and Montpellier House Restaurants.<br/>They were unfortunately dashed.<br/>The premises always were quirky and unique , promising a different experience – and from the outside this remains unchanged<br/>The interior retains some of its former glory, but has undergone some retrofitting that include imposition of some large exposed galvanised air-conditioning ducts that detract from my memory of the place.<br/>The bar has a good selection of tap and bottled beers and cider, and offers an interesting selection of wines and cocktails. The prices of the beers and the ciders (~$7) are good value and they have a good selection of wines avg $40 per bottle (max $90 with). The cocktails are very overpriced given the small glasses used (a $17 x 150ml cocktail = $113/L).<br/>The seating arrangements are fine, not too crowded and despite the stonework, you can have reasonable conversation without undue reflectivity.<br/>The problems began after we were seated. <br/>The Cookhouse has elected not to have table service. This in itself is not a show stopper, if it is managed well....<br/>Perhaps this is a startup issue, but they did not have enough menus to spread amongst tables, our menu was twice removed by waiting staff who then stood at the table to snatch it away as soon as we have decided what to order. This is not a time to pressure someone! I suppose the logic is you can read the whiteboard as you order.<br/>I then proceeded to the register to place our order – after standing in a queue for 10 minutes, it was placed.<br/>They have one register to enter orders, and take payments from both the restaurant and the bar. The pressure on the staff members resulted in mistakes, and I witnessed a few meals go back to the kitchen as orders had been either wrongly entered or allocated to the wrong table.<br/>The menu (http://thecookhouserandwick.com.au/food-menu/) has a selection of ‘snacks’ ($5 - $7) that serve as both bar food and entrée, a selection of light meals (read bar food – burgers etc $14 - $16) and a mains menu ($24 - $29).<br/>We ordered a House-cured Ocean Trout and Grilled Haloumi from the snacks menu, both came promptly and were pretty good. <br/>We also ordered a carafe (half bottle) of French varietal “2010 Domaine Santa Duc Les Plans VDP” that was excellent.<br/>The mains cover each protein group – a fish (Barramundi), two different steaks, a chicken, a seafood pasta and kangaroo. Sides were chips / salads for the steaks and various vegetables and salads for the others.<br/>My wife ordered the Kangaroo, I ordered the Barramundi.<br/>Thirty minutes later (?/?), we received the main meals, which did not present well. <br/>The kangaroo was cooked perfectly (just off rare), but in the absence of any sauce or dressing or jus was simply meat. The vegetable sides were both meagre and disappointing.<br/>The barramundi was also cooked perfectly, but again had no sauces and thus came across as dry. The side looked like canned bean salad and tasted just as good (ugh).<br/>We finished up, and proceeded back to the register to pay. <br/>There was a queue of about 4 people ordering or paying. It took 10 minutes to be served, bill was $110 (while I waited I witnessed several meals return to the kitchen).<br/>I waited about 20 minutes just to order and pay, and it took forever the get our mains – pretty much ruined the experience.<br/>But to pay $110 for food that in the end was quite ordinary, guess that is show stopper<br/>At best I rate this 3/10, do not waste your hard earned going there.