Equus - Sale

The pleasant atmosphere, coupled with the friendly and welcoming staff, along with one of the best eggs benedict dishes I've ever had, made for a truly enjoyable dining experience.

Equus is the bar/restaurant attached to the Sale theatre. Generally speaking we have found eating establishments in arts precincts to be above average. Unfortunately this restaurant falls a bit short in relation to service. After being seated and given a bottle of water and menus we were left for an inordinate amount of time before we actively had to ask for someone to serve us. There seemed to be a general level of disinterest from staff. Food was fine when we finally got it. Improvement in the service area should be a priority here.

I have dined at Equus multiple times and have found the service to be lacking. Upon being seated, we were given menus and asked if we wanted any drinks. However, the staff did not take our food order until 30 minutes later. The food and drinks also took a considerable amount of time to arrive. For example, during my last visit, after we had finished eating, the waitress only asked my partner if he wanted another drink, completely ignoring me. Despite our attempts to get her attention, she rushed off without taking my order. This type of service is not an isolated incident and it is clear that the manager does not prioritize proper customer service training for the staff. It is unfortunate because the staff, who are mostly young teenagers, appear nervous and confused. While this level of service may be acceptable at a cheaper restaurant, customers paying upwards of $60 for breakfast should expect more.

This venue has such huge potential but regularly fails to hit the mark. Each time I venture back, I anticipate that I have left enough time for the service to improve. But alas, not to be. This Sunday our experience was similar to my previous visits. After seating ourselves because no one came to greet us, someone only came to our table after I went inside to ask if we were going to be served or did we need to order at the counter. The meal arrived quickly (bonus points there) but was missing the side of chilli,the pot of tea and any cutlery. Another trip to the counter to get those.While we waited to be served, other people arrived after us and obtained table service. We actually suggested to incoming diners that they best go to the counter because it was likely they wouldn't get any table service.When we paid (another trip to the counter) I mentioned the poor service and missing items we ordered, which was acknowledge by a less then mediocre 'oh sorry about that'. The previous week the experience was similar, no table service (which I know they do provide), no real interest in making the experience enjoyable.Prior to these two experiences, I have attended this venue for a show and like many attending, struggle to get served for a preshow drink as the staff appear overwhelmed by the quick influx of customers-which is what happens just before a show.Another dining experience saw our table struggle to be served any drinks with one guest asking five times for another drink and ended up going to the counter to ask was there a reason that one venue staff member could not simply take a stubby from the fridge and serve it.The problem as I see it is the lack of experienced staff with the venue using very inexperienced staff who simply do not have the experience to provide good service when the venue is busy. On my last visit, I counted three young wait staff and 2 staff cooking in the kitchen. There did not appear to be any experienced management in attendance.This venue is one of the few open on a Sunday in Sale, has a great outside area that people can bring their dogs, arrive on pushbikes etc and enjoy the great food. But the service is absolutely the biggest let down. There is such a good argument for the American system of tips as wages. Equus your staff will be going home broke!

We were overcharged for one dish and although the price was reduced when we queried it we considered it was still overpriced. The milkshake I had was poor. Added to this we were seated by a door which turned out to be sliding door. This trapped my bag and hat which I had placed on the floor when a staff member opened it without warning. It also knocked my arm. Not impressed.