Zebu Bar & Restaurant

I went there to have a drink with a couple of friends. When we arrived, the tables were dirty and my chair had sugar all over it. I looked out to see if there was staff who would come and clean up but no one to be seen. There was one person working behind the bar and that's it. The atmosphere is lovely but the standard of cleanliness and service left much to be desired.

This is the restaurant at Ridges Port Macquarie. I didn't eat here during my stay, so my review is based on take away coffees which were excellent. The staff were friendly and efficient, even during busy peak times. The bar and restaurant areas are both nicely fitted out, with windows looking right over the grass and water.

Buffet breakfast second to none.All you can eat regulars complemented with great selection of fruits, pastries, make yourself pancakes and EVEN freshly squeezed juice.Also cream brûlée is the best I tried in ages.Recommended!

Summary - not very good value, food or service.We went for a conference dinner at $90 a head - for this you would expect some good food and some wine on the table. We got one drink each and then had to purchase - which was not cheap.The food was not very good - overcooked and quite plain, with small serves. There were no sides or salads on the table. The service was poor - to the effect that the wait staff didn’t pay attention to how they served and provided those on our table with chicken for entree and chicken for a main - good if you like chicken.Dessert was poor too - they obviously didn’t have enough brownies and therefore smashed what they had into the base of bowls - so you had two small bits below some ice cream.Port Macquarie is expensive and this dining experience was poor too. My views were reiterated by 6 others I asked - so it wasn’t just me.2 stars cause the food was prompt and the view was good.

On the last Saturday of January, we dined at Zebu to mark the end of our holiday. Evening started off as usual, greeted at reception. Ordered drinks (which were great) to start off, and the waitress took our orders for food after that. That's where things started to go downhill. Ordered entrees, mains, and a bottle of wine with table water. She didn't repeat the order as what we expected from past dining experiences all around to start off. Entrees came after a reasonable time (15ish mins). After finishing, the main course came after 25 or so mins. However, between finishing entrees and mains being served, the entree plates and some finished cocktail glasses were not taken away despite the staff being active in welcoming other guests and walking around, we felt a bit disregarded relative to other guests. Mains came, and only then did another staff member - who was stationed at the front the whole time - come with the main plates and then made the effort to take our starter plates and glasses. Mains were very good, no issues there. Throughout this, the wine originally ordered never came. After our plates from mains were taken, another waitress (who didn't take our order) asked if there was anything else needed, where then I brought up the wine issue and said for that to be cancelled. Our water throughout this whole evening was never topped up until the very end when I asked. Even then, my own empty glass wasn't filled, only my wife's. At the end of our time at Zebu, the initial ordering waitress came by, and I explained to her our experience so far. She said she'll inform her manager and soon after the gentleman from the front, who was the supervisor that evening, apologised and added a discount to our check. I explained to him as well what happened and being someone who's worked in the same industry for many years, and also knowing what the Rydges reputation in general is, being of a higher standard, I was extremely underwhelmed with the service. He was very nice and genuine during this interaction. I thanked the chefs at the end for their hard work but told them about the service issues, which they acknowledged. That ordering waitress never came around to top up our water, but did so for every other table (all but 1 table was occupied) as per our observations. Once I asked for the check, the waitress stopped pouring water. (At any bar or restaurant with alcohol, water must be available) The F&B director was also spotted speaking to the supervisor as we left. I had to take 2 glasses of water from the adjacent bar just to have something to drink after the first glass and cocktail. Finally, I told the restaurant to call me as my number was on the reservation records. No one called me until I, just before this post was written, called them myself after 1 week, where I was told that due to staff shortages that shift, they were undermanned, but the F&B director Patrick never apologised during the call, saying no one told him to give me a call. He cut the line at the end to add insult, I didn't feel he genuinely wanted to speak to me. Overall, there were fantastic food and drinks which were enjoyed, but very underwhelming service which soured the evening.

Not too bad. Food was good , service was ok but could improve , waited a good 15 mins for main plates to be cleared and 10 after getting the desert menu but staff were friendly and overall had a good night.

We had dinner here recently. Atmosphere was nice but I did not feel it delivered on the expectation. The service was good but not really relational - the staff did not seem happy but just doing their duty. At one point a waiter came and said our meals were taking longer than expected and asked if we wanted garlic bread. We didn’t think it had taken that long but with the prospect of it taking longer we said yes to the bread. I did feel this was more a marketing ploy to sell more because we got the bread and the meals came almost straight after. The meals we had were pretty unremarkable. Nice, but nothing ‘restaurant special’. The fact I happily paid $45 for a steak and it came very small and not especially tasty was disappointing. Really felt we could have had better at home. So just three stars from me - I usually give 5 but just didn’t feel this was honest for this one.

Extremely disappointed with this establishment as a whole. Everything that could’ve gone wrong, did. We have come to Port Macquarie for 1 night on our road trip and this was a nightmare.Booked a table online, asked for a low table and was put on a high table. After deciding what to order, we were then told that it’s a new rule that on Sunday and Monday they are only serving from the bar menu and not the restaurant menu. We decided on something else from the bar menu after already being annoyed, only to be told that they didn’t have any cheese left and couldn’t make that dish.There was no information to state that these things would occur. No signs, no notes in the booking, and nothing on the website. Absolutely ridiculous.We then asked for a refund of the entree that we ordered and the manager couldn’t work out the computer, we waited 15 minutes for him to end up giving us cash while swearing at the till. We ended up going to the pub instead and had a much better experience.Would not recommend this place to anyone.

Customer service is great, with a smile and our waiter was Mark.For my drink requested a pinacolada… it came in a martini glass with orange ……. For entrees requested kilpatrick oysters and they came back very burned bacon and hardly any Worcestershire sauce. They had a garlic bread, which I requested can it be cheese garlic bread and they said yes .. then as they put it on the table it had no cheese, so they apologized and said we don’t have cheese and took it away. The main course was alright .. something I could have cooked at home.The restaurant was clean and nicely presented

Unfortunately it has not been a great experience. Firstly the menu advertised on the Net did not exist once I sat down and seen the menu. Wines were missing and also the good meat cuts. 41 Min later after ordering the chef had to bring me my food as no waitress could be found. I then had to ask for my wine and a steak knife.Poor service. Sirloin steak a little dry but to be expected for the cut of meat offered.