Outrageous Corkage.

Recommendations for other good restaurants aside, this article is about Cipriani and how much it sux, and I’d like to get back on topic.

My friends and I have had Cipriani on our blacklist for a long time now. Firstly, cause it was originally just a Zefferelis with a couple of extra bucks tacked on to the price. But more importantly, every time we went there it was trouble – plastic in our food, aluminium in the food, poor to non-existent service, faulty lights, bills completely stuffed up (on multiple occasions, and multiple times in the same night).

Now it’s tried to re-brand itself as some hoity toity restaurant with a fancy chef and all, but I’m not biting.

This ridiculous corkage issue just takes the cake. I encourage all and sundry to boycott the stupid place, run it out of business, and let some decent operation take it’s place. Kingston’s got plenty of fine places to eat without succumbing to this sort of rubbish.

fuck i cant be chirpy dan everyday.

I could come up with some lame excuse – but some days im just an oversensitive prick

Im sure the regulars will deal with it.

Have to agree with the others Danman. I was about to ask your best half dozen, but after seeing the response to Sasha’s request..I’ll just shut up!!

Danman you are just a git and obviously oversensitive with a lack of perception.

whats a blog/forum/website without opinions ?

Probably not a good day for me to be on the Riot anyway……Bring on that workplace next to the bottle-o

rocksalt is bloody awesome – it’s up there in my top 5 for the berra.

Nope thats it danman I am going to rocksalt and if it aint the best restaraunt in canberra then you are going to cop it :p

Danman – why do you care about what others think of your opinions? I sure as shit don’t!

I think Sasha was really asking for your expert opinion, Danman, not taking the piss. I’d be interested to know your thoughts as well. Don’t let the nitpickers get you down.

additionally – i have poor powers of grammar and 12wpm typing speed but i sure can drive a tractor (and take the piss out of myself too)

Lighten up RiotACT – this place is getting anal.

Would not have happened a year ago…

G’day Sasha –

As I do not know you I am not qualified to comment.
As I know myself and know what I like and what I define as a good wholly rounded dining experience I can comment on what I think.

As I do not knwo you I can not comment.

I was merely saying that me being a qualified chef entitled me to know what a fairly well rounded dining experience should entail..

I like Rocksalt – and have been there several times – to the point of calling it (IN MY OPINION) the best restaraunt in canberra.

Please let it be noted at this point that peopel who are not Qualified Chefs are entitled to opinions as well. For me to deny them that would be a serious shorcoming on my behalf.

People do not agree with me and thats fine.

This is why I will not

Oh Sashy – by the way – I work in a government department – and left hospitality in 2001 – I habve no affiliation with Rocksalt whatsoever except for being a return customer.

Som eother good choicces of retaraunts in canberra include (In no certain order AND ONLY MY OPINION) Mezzalira on London, Dickson Bellucis (Woden sux IN MY OPINION), Green Herring, Artespresso, I have heard bad things about ALTO, the old FIG (food in griffith) Cafe was good, courgette is ok, Charcoal restaraunt is good (they should be worried as Kingsleys Steak and Crabhouse is now open – and a very good contender) and (once again IN MY OPINION only) the best laksa can be found at Thai Gardens in Dickson.

If anyone disagrees with my opinion then thats fine, try chilling out before posting a reply though.

Danman, as a qualified chef, where other than Rocksalt (where I assume you work) would you recommend we dine. What do you think of Courgette or Chairman Yip, for example. Any other tips would be much appreciated.

Thanks
Sasha

sorry i realise that was a comment not to do with the thread intent but the discussion about fine dining in canberra made me think of it.

a friend of mine recently went to book a group dinner at water’s edge and was sent the most outrageous set of terms and conditions i have EVER seen or heard about for a restaurant ever – including 50% paid at time of booking and the remaining 50% paid 2 weeks prior to the night of the meal. wtf?!

Interesting that you could bring a $25 bottle of wine (say, the Henschke Julius Eden Valley Riesling 2005), pay the $20 corkage, and it’d still be cheaper than what they charge on their wine list for the same bottle ($49.50).

Niftydog – as you are entitled to your opinion – so am i.

Do I have to preceed everything with “In my opinion” – can it not be assumed that because I say it that it is my opinion ?

McDonalds is surely several canberra residents favourite restaraunt – that does not mean its mine.

Se where I am heading champ ?

Rocksalt Canberra’s best? You don’t get out enough!

Rubicon gets my vote.

i second mr shab.

canberra has access to teh raw ingredients, and has soem fine venues. marry teh two and you could ask those prices.

ciprianis is a joke.

20 bucks corkage ?

id not go there based on that alone.

I’m prepared to pay over $30 for a main in Canberra, Danman – but it had better be worth it. Sage, Anise et al charge over $30, but I’m happy to fork over that kind of dosh, as it compares favourably with what I’ve eaten in Sydney and Melbourne (yep – the service too).

I almost never eat in those types of restuarants anyway, because I don’t see the value. Expensive corkage does nothing to change this view.

My advice is if you don’t like it don’t go there. No point whinging about it. And it is a privately owned restaraunt so theoretically they can do whatever they want in terms of charging can’t they??

No point in fine sydney or melbourne style dining in canberra.

If you want canberras best – go to Rocksalt – but even Rocksalt pales in comparison to Flower Drum in Melbourne – or Bilsons or Tetsuyas or Rockpool or Quay in Sydney.

If you pay over $30 for a main in canberra you are getting rorted.

As a qualified chef I have sensible grounds for these opinions.

Plenty of good places to eat in Canberra – but expecting an experience more qualified for Sydney Melbourne or even Europe – canberra can only go as far as charging the same – but delivering quite less.

Although Skaboy, I would say that chef gave up his glittering career overseas to come and work in a resturant in Canberra, why that is remains a mystery. You would have to ask him.

Give me a chicken schnitty at the club any time. What do I care about Michelin stars. Let the taste buds decide.

I guess what you spend on corkage would really depend on what you get for your money. I’ve paid more than twice that in Melbourne when we enjoyed three bottles of Penfold’s Bin 95 at Langton’s a few years back – for the money we got Reidel glasses (changed for each new bottle) and decanting – reasonably good value considering.

Having recently experienced an evening at Cipriani in Kingston (not a patch on the original – and still the best – Cipriani in New York) I can only assume that the Michelin stars were awarded in the “greasy spoon / road house” category because the whole affair sucked arse – from the inattentive service, to the poorly prepared, ill-conceived and crapily presented dishes, the wine list that was out of date/stock (to the extent that we had to settle on our fourth preference , the first three choices being inexplicably ‘out of stock’!) and capped off with a waiter that ignored us at the end of the meal to the extent that we were actually considering ‘doing a runner’ because he seemed so disinterested in preparing our bill …. $20 corkage …. Tell ‘im his dreaming!

Well I would call bullshit. The chef is full of crap about the Michelin stars. The Michelin Guide website states that they only review restaurants in Europe and North America.

WIN said it used to be $6 corkage.

Then some, even.

You can see their wine list with some creative google caching. Seems to be the standard “charge double the bottle shop price, and the some” pricing structure. This page says it’s $6 corkage, not $20, with mains up to $29.90. Pretty reasonable for a Balmain bug and crab lasagne.