The Iluka

If it’s not broken don’t fix it. This place has fallen victim to trying too hard. We have been going since it’s opening and under the new management it’s lost its way. The staff all used to be so well presented which fitted with an upmarket style pub. It’s a shame to see this standard slip. All now in different uniforms, new staff all seem young and not interested. Hard to tell who is staff. Taken away selling crisps, small thing but why? No need. We often sit inside late afternoon at weekends and see tables with reserved signs on. Yet no one on them or come in to sit on them while we are there. Have seen people walk in and out because no seats yet empty tables go to waste with reserved signs on them. Go back to how you used to do it placing times in the reserved sign. Everything now just seems disjointed and it’s loosing its identity. Great shame! Price per person: A$20–40 Food: 2 Service: 2 Atmosphere: 2

I booked a table at the venue to celebrate my partner 's birthday with family. Customer service was pretty much non-existent. Staff were rude. My partner and I both had the carbonara and it tasted awful. Too much peppercorn and tasted burnt. The sauce tasted like it was from a jar. To charge $34 for this is shocking. I bought a $25 cocktail which was filled 1/3 with 1/3 foam so didn 't fill the glass. I took a birthday cake (in a cheesecake box) to the dinner which we ended up taking home as staff stared blankly and said we don 't usually do this . Staff did not put the cake in the fridge so the cheesecake was melted and ruined. Really disappointed with this whole experience and we will not be back. *I initially sent this message in a email to The Iluka but did not receive a response. Food: 1 Service: 1 Atmosphere: 1

We were there last night for dinner with family.. its a nice place, was very busy for a Monday.. food was good, considering they were so busy, food came pretty quick.. but its still a bar. no table service, you have to order at the counter.. its very pricey for a bar.. we ordered barramundi with gnocchi, was $44 with may be 100gm of barramundi, with 2 spoon full of cream, 3 olives and 1 sundried tomato and 20 pieces of gnochhi (come on I could have bought a whole barramundi in that price). I mean I can justify that price for a fine dining restaurant but not a bar.. if you stick to the drinks and starters, you will be fine.. mains are a bit rip off.. Food: 4 Service: 4 Atmosphere: 4

How good is the Iluka these days? Great staff, wonderful owners, fantastic food and they’ve dumped the silly 1.5% fee for paying with a card. Everyone is so happy it’s under new management. Kid-friendliness: Wonderful pub since the previous tossers were kicked out. Food: 5 Service: 5 Atmosphere: 5 Recommended dishes: Steak Frites

I am so upset and disappointed by the meal we got tonight. I have never in my life been served something so disgusting that it was completely inedible. The worst part of the whole situation was that the meal I am talking about was for my 15 year old coeliac daughter. She rarely eats out because not a lot of restaurants will safely cater for coeliacs but we had heard the Iluka was very knowledgeable and safe. She ordered a gluten free carbonara. The meal came out tasting like you were eating straight salt. 3 of us tasted it and agreed that it was pure salt and inedible. I returned the dish and was assured that when re-cooked it wouldn’t taste like that. So while the rest of us had finished our meals she waited for hers to be re-cooked. When it came out the second time it was just disgusting. The pasta was stodgy and had no other flavour whatsoever (now I know why they tried to disguise it with so much salt the first time) I implore you to remove this item from your menu because it is really unfair to feed that to someone who already has enough challenges being coeliac. We left the meal uneaten and walked out. After spending a couple of hundred dollars on what should have been a nice meal out for the family I now have to come home and cook a meal for my child. I am not someone that has ever left a negative review before but this has really upset me. I suggest the owner/manager taste this dish and decide if it’s something you would want your child to be served? Food: 1 Service: 3 Atmosphere: 4