7 July 2010

Tilley's de-microwave?

| greencape
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Why is the food at Tilley’s so average?

Our last experience was Luke warm canned contents served on a big plate topped with a chicken breast that smelt terrible and had the rubbery consistency one can only achieve through the magic of microwaving meat… Why? It wasn’t cheap…

[ED – On the other hand I’m reliably informed the vegetatian fare is excellent, possibly a matter of emphasis?]

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colourful sydney racing identity9:29 am 09 Jul 10

overpriced, overcrowded, over-reated.

typical males

SmileOnTrial1:58 pm 08 Jul 10

Lazy I said :

Potato said :

Tilleys=most overrated venue in Canberra. It has noting going for it.

+1

Even when the editor tries to put a rose coloured tint on the original post.

+2

Potato said :

Tilleys=most overrated venue in Canberra. It has noting going for it.

+1

Even when the editor tries to put a rose coloured tint on the original post.

“Our last experience was Luke warm canned contents… “

At Tilley’s, wouldn’t it be Lucy warm?

Tilleys=most overrated venue in Canberra. It has noting going for it.

Tilleys is a greasy spoon. The food – which is boring and outrageously overpriced – is packed with fat. Why is it overpriced? Because Tilleys hates having to serve food, as they make such a fortune on drinks & cakes, and simply don’t need to serve food, other than thanks to pub rules. They max out the prices. I can’t believe people pay such prices with no table service.

A small number of the staff are pleasant – but most of them are obnoxious and resentful.

They recently illegally charged a public holiday surcharge without a specific menu for the purpose. That’s been illegal for about a year now …

The exit is narrow, and blocked full of piles of equipment including rubbish – illegal and dangerous.

The toilets are dirty and dingy, and the hand-drying equipment is usually broken.

In short, Tilleys is a dive!

We went to see Darren Hanlon just before Christmas… We checked their website re: dinner, and saw their menus…

Arrived (a good hour or more before the support act started) on the night to be told, sorry, the kitchen is closed, because “It’s almost Christmas.” (They were also out of potato chips, most beers, vodka, and some other basic drink we requested for the same reason: “We’re closing for two weeks in a few days.” Sorry, what?)
We left a friend who was recovering from surgery in search of food. Found the Pide place around the corner. Ordered, returned to keep out mate company at Tilley’s, then went to pick up our pides… Tried to return to Tilley’s – were told we weren’t allowed to bring external food in, because it was competition with their kitchen… I argued that they weren’t serving from their kitchen – and we’d fully intended to purchase their food when we’d arrived, and was told it didn’t matter: “We’re not a takeaway shop.” We were told we weren’t even allowed to sit at the outdoor tables to eat.
I pointed out my friend who was waiting for us… Shortly afterwards, while we were huddled on the kerb eating from our pizza box, the gentleman I’d spoken to went over to my friend to tell her she shouldn’t be minding seats for anyone, her friends should have been organised enough to get here on time.
My friend texted me, and I went back to the door to re-state my frustration at the situation. Again, I was told too bad… Shortly afterwards, though, another employee came out to us and ushered us inside, then brought plates and cutlery to us so that we could finish what was left of our Pide (although we were totally fine using our hands – we hadn’t wanted to cause them any washing up, esp. as we hadn’t paid them for food, just to eat a meal and enjoy the show).

It was bizarre.

Darren Hanlon was fabulous, btw…

Yeah, the food at Tilley’s has always been pretty average, in my experience. The veggie nachos are nice, but it’s almost impossible to screw that up. What also annoys me is the way that they make you stand there for your coffee when you’ve ordered a meal.

Fair enough maybe if you’ve only ordered coffee and cake and they’ll serve the cake to you right at the bar, but if you’re going to wait for your meal, why not deliver the coffee at the same time?

Holden Caulfield12:23 pm 07 Jul 10

Tilley’s for breakfast, bacon and eggs, for example, is no problem (usually). But in my experience lunch or dinner has never been a big success. So, I just stick to using it as a breakfast venue now.

I go there at least once a month, and the breakfast veggie lot is always great.

Even with the occasional side of bacon it’s fine.

Granted, Tilley’s is no gourmet extravaganza but I’ve always enjoyed eating there. The veggy breaky is a winner and is definitely not nuked.

There’s plenty of other places I could complain about … Yarralumla Brasserie for starters … totally overpriced, crappy food – the location really is the only thing going for it.

Shame – it used to be really nice there. I’m going there on the weekend so I guess I’ll see this firsthand. 🙁

stereo henry said :

Agreed, the food at Tilley’s is terrible and the service atrocious. Was there for breakfast a while back (haven’t been back since) and ordered the pancakes. Having worked in a few kitchens during my uni days, I know that a lot of short orders can be, and most often are, microwaved. The pancakes I received were nuked beyond belief and had a consistency more like rubber frisbees than pancakes. I sent them back, they were offended, the pancakes came back (inedible again), and I left. Food was bad and the service terrible. It makes me wonder how they remain in business – actually, this is Canberra so it’s no shock what-so-ever.

I had the pancakes there awhile back too.. And they actually tasted like store bought cooked pancakes reheated in the microwave… Not cooked fresh as claimed.

Apparently the rug doesn’t taste like chicken either.

icantbelieveitsnotbutter9:42 am 07 Jul 10

I’ve always had good food there… and i’m no vego.

stereo henry9:36 am 07 Jul 10

Agreed, the food at Tilley’s is terrible and the service atrocious. Was there for breakfast a while back (haven’t been back since) and ordered the pancakes. Having worked in a few kitchens during my uni days, I know that a lot of short orders can be, and most often are, microwaved. The pancakes I received were nuked beyond belief and had a consistency more like rubber frisbees than pancakes. I sent them back, they were offended, the pancakes came back (inedible again), and I left. Food was bad and the service terrible. It makes me wonder how they remain in business – actually, this is Canberra so it’s no shock what-so-ever.

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