Market Bistro

We arrived at Market Bistro with the intention of celebrating a birthday, which the staff had been informed of prior to our arrival. From the beginning the service was off; the man that led us to our table seemed to dislike us for some inexplicable reason. We waited for quite some time to have our drink and food orders taken. When the drinks arrived, the did not ask who ordered which drink, instead placing the drinks in front of the wrong person, and mocking us for the issue whilst we moved our drinks to the correct person. Our entrees arrived about 30 minutes after we received our drinks. Again they handed the entrees to the wrong people, and seemed annoyed at us for the issue. We waited patiently for our mains, which took far too long to arrive. Both tables on either side of us arrived 30+ minutes after us, with the same number of guests, and yet were served their entrees and mains long before us. We were there for over an hour and a half waiting for our mains, and yet did not receive even a refill on water, and we were ignored the entire time. Throughout the meals, we were not offered more water or drinks, and we were not asked how the meals were or if we needed anything, whilst the tables on either side of us received such service from the same waiter. During our meal we had a number of bugs flying into our drinks and food (we were inside) including a moth and a fly. We also saw people receiving birthday services such as cake, whilst we were not offered anything of the sort. The food was sub par at best. The mains were bland, the chargrilled octopus was far too chewy, the potatoes were far too fatty. We also ordered a meal gluten free, however the member of our party who consumed that meal soon fell sick as there was obviously some kind of gluten in the meal. We also saw staff tripping over chairs and hitting customers on the head as they passed. Once finishing our mains, it was difficult to get the attention of any staff member to get our bill. When we finally received the bill, we had to double check that we had not been overcharged as they attempted to serve us certain sides twice. During the entire experience, we felt ignored and discriminated against. We were the youngest people in the restaurant and frankly, it seemed that we were being discriminated against and underserviced purely because we were young, and they assumed we did not have the money to be their, despite there being a number of other guests who were dressed far worse than us. When went to the desk to pay, they assumed we would be splitting the bill, which honestly felt like an insult. At no point were we asked how our meals were, or how the service was. We spent $365, which was paid on a single card, as frankly we have more than enough money to do so, and yet the entire time we were treated as if that were not the case. They even questioned if we really wanted what we were getting due to the prices. Never in my life have I received such disgusting, discriminatory service, and I would never recommend this place to anyone. If I could give 0 stars I would. I'd love to know the genuine reason for such behaviour, as it was completely unwarranted and unwelcome. Such a poor way to celebrate a birthday and finish off our holiday.

Enjoyed our first dining experience at Market Bistro. We chose not to have entrees because we’d seen the dessert menu! For mains, two of us ordered the slow cooked lamb (a lovely crunch on the outside but so tender). which was delicious with an amazing creamed mint sauce; another ordered the snapper done in a tomato based sauce - again delicious, cooked perfectly and a huge serve; our fourth ordered the gnocchi - cooked perfectly with a beautiful creamy sauce. My lunch companions chose for dessert pavlova and a white chocolate parfait with shortbread while I chose the New York cheesecake topped with a beautiful lemon sauce - the absolute winner! Better still it was gluten free so my celiac companion was able to steal a taste. The service was light hearted and friendly - nothing stuffy about this restaurant. Love, love, love it! Will definitely be back.