The Harbour Terrace

You wouldn’t know this was a restaurant from the outside. This used to be a Pot Black though, so maybe there wasn’t much to work with? As for inside, the décor is okay. A little tacky maybe, but I appreciate a chandelier as much as the next girl!
Whenever I’m here for a meal I notice there are always large groups dining too, usually very loud. Conversations can be hard to hear, especially if there is a live band playing as well (which is often). Something to keep in mind.
Food is good. Nothing ground-​breaking but always satisfying. The cocktails are great, but really, when are they not?
I find the service hit or miss, most of the time it’s pretty good. Prices are cheap, depending on the night, but– heads up!- they don’t do split billing. Boo.

Having some drinks by Hillarys’ last night with some colleagues I thought would be an obvious choice «see you at the waterfront».. . little did I know, they were onto the Harbour side.
This bar looks like a strip club from the outside, matt black doors and an entry disclaimer. Once inside, the reflective surfaces and mirrors lining the carpeted staircase keep to a similar theme. One up the stairs (which can be daunting after a big day, there is a feature sculpture of a male torso, back lit with bright blue lights.. .(gay bar?) Once inside the bar there is an open space that has been divided by some transparent curtains and couches facing the right hand side. The left hand side is pool tables, tined up like dominoes, with an outdoor seating area on the balcony and a walkway to get to the bar. The bar is decoratively done with kitsch cocktails and red swirls– the cocktail list is reasonable but the prices are up there, frozen cocktails for $ 10 are their signature beverage. We ordered some drinks and a bowl of chips. For $ 9 I expected something decent, I was a tad disappointed but hey, I wasn’t really there for the food. The service was so so. The first guy was pleasant, but charged me $ 3.80 for a soda water w lime TWICE! (Considering a pint of carlton was $ 9 I felt crazy ripped off) then when I tried to give him a tokonistic $ 2 tip he walked off, so I took it back thinking, I never reward someones’ back.
The waitress served my friend a flat champaign but when my friend asked for a fresh glass, the girl was happy to re pour with a new bottle and the third guy didn’t charge for the water-​smart man!
If you’re heading to the harbour side, hit up the guy with flames on his arms– he knows what service is.

When me and some friends discovered that a new restaurant/​bar had opened up in Hillarys we were keen to check it out. When we went in we were pretty impressed by the décor, the large comfy looking booths and numerous pool tables and we went to the bar to go order a few drinks and some food.
No clear system was demonstrated so we picked what we liked from the menu and waited patiently at the bar for a good ten minutes or so, finally someone told us if we were after food we’d have to go to the counter at the other end of the bar, we looked but just hadn’t noticed. We went down there and had to wait again for someone to stop by and serve us, finally we ordered our food and sat down at a table. We had a view over the harbour which was nice and I’m sure would be a really pretty view during the day. There was some live music which was nice but a little too loud so it was hard for us to talk to one another. Eventually our wood-​fired pizza came out and it was quite underwhelming, a little burnt, and quite small for the amount we paid. We were hoping to get in a game of pool before we left, but since we were there during quite a busy time we were out of luck and decided to call it a night. After poor service, hard to hear conversation, spending a little more than we would have liked on food that wasn’t quite worth it, we resolved to not be going back.

Between the Boardwalk’s Lower Deck and the Harbour Terrace, I am more inclined to drink at the latter. Where the Boardwalk is expensive and thinks very highly of itself – or at least gives one the impression of doing so – the Harbour Terrace is reasonably priced and laidback. (Twelve dollars for a mojito is not a bad deal.)
With its lounge chairs and large, open-​plan design – it is a pool hall, after all – it is also very comfortable. I went along for a pre-​dinner drink recently and found myself thinking that I would happily blow dinner off if it meant I could remain in so convivial an environment.
The place is great for functions. On the night I was there – a party of one – I noted two birthday parties and at least three work functions. That all these gatherings should have been taking place at the same time without the place seeming crowded is rather to its credit.

It’s a hard life being a uni student, constantly struggling to enjoy your social life with your empty wallet, or if your lucky perhaps you’ll find the odd shrapnel lying between the seats of your car. Thankfully, whenever I go to The Harbour Terrace I can be sure that I’m set for a good time. Wednesday nights consist of $ 10 pizzas, $ 10 cocktails and $ 2 for a game of pool. No longer do my friends hate me for coming up with the lamest ideas to «hang out», its more of a poor excuse for a poor girl. This ultra chic turn on the classic pool hall has got you covered, whether your heading there for dinner or you’d rather a few casual drinks at the bar or maybe just a couple games of pool. I don’t know about you, but at that price, I don’t care what I do, it all sounds pretty good to me!