Reviews by BigWhinger

This review is for White Star Hotel, Albany WA

verified email - 16 Nov 2014

Ate here back in September at 1:00pm.The place has a lovely atmosphere,spacious with a good set up.It was fairly quiet when we went and our order took over half an hour to appear which wasnt good.We shared a BLT ($21) and Fish Bites ($11) between two people.
The fish was ordinary (some type of shark),not oily but nothing special.The best part of that was the homemade tartare sauce which i thought delicious.The BLT was awful and a big RIP OFF! The Brioche bread was way too thick and the lettuce was totally excessive so that you could barely taste the bacon-but with only ONE piece of bacon it didn't really stand a chance of being seen! $21 wasted on the worst BLT of my life.
At least the waitress enquired how we enjoyed our lunch (which seems extremely rare these days for staff to show they care) and we told her what we thought.She said she'd pass the message on.

Approximate cost: $21

This review is for Three Anchors, Albany WA

verified email - 16 Nov 2014

Ate here back in September,2:00pm on a Friday afternoon.We'd had drinks a few evenings before and the place seemed nice.The waiter was quite efficient and showed silver service skills.He seemed very dedicated so may have been management?! Anyway,that was the last of the good impression.So for lunch we ordered Steak Sandwich ($23.50) and Queso Dip ($15). The place was not very busy so the longer than half hour wait was the first pitfall.The drinks were also slow in coming.The girl behind the bar was nice,as she had been in the evening,but the waitress was just doing her job,nothing more or less.
The steak swch was average,the rustic fries were undercooked and had an unusual salt over them-possibly chicken salt with paprika and parsley mix ?(like one of those store bought ones). The Queso Dip was NOT value for money and a huge disappointment. There was no spice in it,no sign of peppers,no seasoning and it tasted like they had just melted two bland cheeses together and placed in a shallow bowl.The corn chips were a bit better-possibly a tortilla that they cut in to triangles ,then fried but these were unevenly cooked and had that over the top salt on it-i can handle salt but this was too much! Overall I think the place is overpriced.It looks great but does not match in reality.

Approximate cost: $23

This review is for Patrick Taylor Cottage Museum, Albany WA

verified email - 16 Nov 2014

Only for lovers of History and old artefacts! I loved this place.Its a small house,the oldest one in WA and it is full of old items.People have contributed their family heirlooms and it visually takes you back in time.You can get up close and touch certain items but most are behind glass displays-but you are not roped off from these and so can still move in as close as you wish.The rooms are set up as they probably were back in the old days ie bedroom,nursery,kitchen etc. The staff are volunteers and on the day i went there was a lovely elderly man who was willing to share whatever knowledge he had.I arrived with only 15 minutes before closing but he was generous with his time and said "take as long as you like". I didn't take advantage of this but could have easily been there an hour.Check out the mustache cups and the biscuit press.

Approximate cost: $5

This review is for Albany Boatshed Markets, Albany WA

verified email - 16 Nov 2014

Tried this place mid September at 10:00am.I had a brochure from the tourist centre and i think it is false advertising.It may have been that way 20 years ago but to me it's barely like the web page suggests.(Kudos to them i suppose,as it made ME want to go there!) It's small with quite limited stalls and the products are quite pricey.I realise local people have to make a profit but i'd be surprised if anyone is really selling much.There's wine,oils,soap,candles,knitted items,fruit,bread.
The usual things you see at markets or fairs.There was a singer on stage with his guitar.The atmosphere was nice enough but it has the look of mainly regulars going there to hang out and curious tourists who leave pretty quickly. We bought pies that one of the local bakeries supplies-the sellers were very friendly but the pies were average.A lot of people just sat outside near the waterfront on a concrete wall,which was lovely but not practical if they get any busier.It was quite
disappointing for us and i hate to knock local people who are just trying but it's just not an intereting place to visit.So much more could be done-instead of having it every Sunday make it special and limit it to monthly and then maybe have more stalls? I wouldnt go back,sorry.

This review is for Osborne Park Hotel, Osborne Park WA

verified email - 16 Nov 2014

This a little hard to rate as initially it was terrible but then was fixed-so i am rating it half way.I had lunch at 12:30 on Thursday.The place was empty at 11:30am but by the time 3 of us ordered there was quite a lunchtime crowd.Friends ordered Wagyu Burgers ($21) which were a generous size,looked good and i'm told were very good.This review is mainly about my order- a Chicken Burger ($19).The order took a reasonable 15-20 mins to arrive.Thank goodness i always lift the top bread layer to add salt (no pepper jars provided) because i then saw what little filling it had.There was ONE piece of chicken,approw 8-9cm in diameter.(similar size to a McDonalds hamburger burger).This was small enough to cover HALF the long bread roll.It was extremely pitiful.There was also 1 piece of bacon,2 slices tomato,a bit of fancy lettuce and a generous dollop of aioli.Unable to believe my eyes on the size of the chicken i thought i'd check with staff if this was for real.Up at the counter even though they were busy the young staff member acknowledged me straight away and beckoned the manager/owner. "Is this missing a piece of meat?" i ask and the manager straight away takes the plate,saying,"That's not right" and takes it to the kitchen where i see her speaking to a cook.When she comes back to me i ask if if that's how its meant to be and she says no.She was very pleasant to deal with and reacted promptly and correctly.On bringing me my new burger-which was very quick so someone else's meal would have obviously been delayed-she let me know that the cook had been given a lesson in how to properly serve a chicken burger.This new one had 3 new pieces of chicken that covered the whole bun,plus an extra piece of bacon and extra chips thrown on top of the old.Now this was worth $19! It was a lovely tasting burger and i would order it again.It's a shame it hadn't been done properly and fairly the first time.It concerns me as to what that cook normally serves up.The manager gets 5/5,the quality, service and overall scores get 4/4 the second time around.

Approximate cost: $19

This review is for Il Portobello, Essendon VIC

verified email - 05 Jul 2011

Disappointing.First we were told we had to absolutely must book between 6pm and 7:30pm. At 6:15 we were booked in only to find that that were numerous empty tables and no need for such a frantic need to be there.We ordered chicken schnitzel,asking if it was real,as opposed to processed and was told it was made on the premises.Along with the chicken pollo-breast with a creamy sauce.The pollo was so overdone it was terrible to eat-extra dry inside and the outside was so hard you could tell they'd been cooking it a very long time on high heat.Points given for the other items on the plate which were lovely.Schnitzel looked and tasted processed.NO flavour whatsoever! Bland,boring and hideous.Is that really made in their kitchen like they say? Thats shameful. I did complain and they did give us the entrees for free but we will never go back.A bit pricey for what it is and service was very ordinary.

Approximate cost: $24