A little while back i had purchased a voucher off Living Social website. I am signed up to so many of them it's not funny! I get spammed everyday, but i am always on the look out for good deals :)
For this particular deal, which i thought was a real bargain ($89 for a 3-Course Meal for Two and a Bottle of Wine Valued at $193), i had sent it around to my friends as i was sure they'd be keen as well. Turns out that 3 of my friends had bought the same deal, so i got mine for free! I was stoked! So this was definitely worth it for me hehe.
However, i have bought vouchers that have been disappointing as well, and also have heard stories from friends. One couple i know, bought a voucher online for a "8 course meal for two" somewhere (i won't mention), and it turned out to be 8 courses BETWEEN two people, not 8 courses each (which is how it usually should be when you're dining out!)
Another disappointment for me, was buying a voucher for a seafood platter in Glebe, and rocking up to find that they had changed owners, new management, so the voucher was no longer valid! *sigh*. That was $19, which i got refunded back so that was good.
And a last one, was a special deal of high tea for 2 at $35. It was a small cafe with only about 5 or 6 tables (obviously bookings are required if you only have that many tables!!), we only got 8 pieces of sandwiches, a truffle, a macaron, two strawberries, two small nut clusters, and a small chocolate dipping sauce which had this awful skin set on top of it, totally gross.
Anyway, i'm so wary of every deal i read now, you never know if they could be ripping you off or not :(
Anyway, enough about that. Bigbear and i used our Foveaux voucher on a Thursday night (it wasnt available on weekends, and most Friday nights were booked).
I really liked the food, although the portions were small, after dessert, we were still hungry! The food was really nicely presented, and the potato puree- was so indulgent! I can't imagine how much butter was whipped into it hehe.
Amuse Bouche of curry, lentils and warm yoghurt soup.
Buffalo ricotta cannoli, cucumber, tomato, olive and provencal herbs
Roasted quail, smoked eel croquettes, caper, beetroot and leaves
Roast king salmon, zucchini puree, cuttle fish, green olive jelly, coriander and popped skin
Braised wagyu shin, smoked sirloin, pearl barley and potato puree
Potato puree $8 (extra)
Chocolate mousse, orange sponge, orange curd ice cream, chocolate soil and brazil nut
Ginger sponge, carrot marmalade, cream cheese ice cream and walnut powder
Has anybody else had any horror stories for these cheap voucher deals? I think at the start when they first started coming out, they were really good value for money, but now it seems every single small company is in on it, and only want to use it to gain customers, and the price you are paying, isnt much of a deal breaker afterall..
65-67 foveaux street surry hills
tel 9211 0664
fax 9211 0669
info@foveaux.com.au
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15 comments:
yummy photos betty! sounds like a great deal, $89 for a that meal. Also, its good you didn;t get jipped for this meal (although meals were small)
natalie
Haven't used any of these vouchers, but know a few who have, and they're always a little dodgy.
The food here is always presented so beautifully and look great, even if they are small.
I understand where you are coming from with the whole value for money issue, however, working within the hospitality industry at a place that has signed up to one of these companies, i can assure you the only person who wins is living social, or cudos, or spreet....or any of the hundreds of these that are out there now. Just to let you know, the price that you paid for the voucher, the business owners are only seeing at most 50% of that money....which means that with every voucher sold, they are essentially down 75% in sales. Im actually surprised a place like Foveaux was in need of using such a voucher....i guess it just shows how tough this industry is becoming. I admit that i used to sign up to these sites, however after seeing it from both sides, i've boycotted them as i have found that is does not support this food scene which i think is one of the best in the world.
haha...I'm like you! I signed up for a lot of them and now i get like 20 emails everyday :D I've only bought two, and they've turned out not too bad for me, though the deal wasn't that great in the first place. I've heard plenty of bad stories too, which is the reason I so rarely buy them :D This one looks good though- the food looks delicious!! The second dish look so pretty :)
so far I've been quite lucky with the deals, but I usually buy activities like $1 bowling + beer or 1 month gym memberships which has actually helped me decide on what place to join! but totally agree, the foodie ones are a hit and miss, though this one seems worth it! :)
I have heard some really good things about this place, the food looks beautiful and that mash must have been so rich and creamy!!
It's always good to do a bit of research before buying a voucher. It's very easy to get tempted, that's why I'm subscribed to one voucher site only! Lovely-looking dishes at Foveaux, I'd like to try it soon.
Oh a friend at work bought this same deal so its perfect timing that you reviewed it :) she wasnt too happy about not using it on a Saturday but looks worth it :)
oooo saw this deal but didnt end up getting it! the food looked good though... havent been to foveaux for such a long time now. might have to revisit soon! great photos :)
It's funny because I actually bought this offer and redeemed it some months ago. My friend had been raving on and on about Foveaux so I thought we couldn't possibly be disappointed given we were choosing from the everyday menu. I was a little disappointed though as our means were not of the precision we had come to expect from a hatted restaurant. It wasn't bad value but for me didn't compare to other dining experiences like Becasse, Balzac, Assiette, Est., and the others (I found Tetsuya quite disappointing though). For discounts, I definitely think buying an Entertainment book is the way to go, even if not all the famous restaurants are in there.
I had a bad voucher experience at Emmilou and an okay one at Alira. Overall I think the quality is always a little bit less and it never ends up being the bargain deal it should have been given the quality you end up with.
Lots of love from a fellow Sydneysider,
x Kel
all about golden children
I'm tainted from buying these coupons! I've had more than 3 bad experiences...from a restaurant who wouldn't even take a booking to use it to a place where they served dodgy portions...
Oh these dishes look like little works of art :)
I have bought some dinners on Scoopon, they have been pretty good but I haven't tried any of the others.
Heh! I got the same deal and thought exactly the same thing! "Oh this is a brilliant deal" and then "Man... such small portions! I'm STILL hungry!" Foveaux was a restaurant I wanted to try so I thought this was a great voucher. Whilst the food was great, I'm so damn glad I didn't pay the full price for it though.
I hate the voucher offers for the very reason you've mentioned. They are very crafty with words and definitions on courses. I mean why can't they offer a good deal on a complete experience so that people will come back? If anything these deals peeve people off more!
On a lighter note, the photos are great and the food looks delish! I gotta come back here one day.
Wow, really great photos! I especially love the second shot with the ricotta cannoli - the plating is gorgeous and the capture with this low light and depth of field is beautiful! The pasta has been fried if I see it correctly? I will try this at home ;)
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