1888 Eatery & Bar

This is a hard one to review — there is something not quite right about the restaurant.
The hotel and restaurant are new and prides itself as a boutique luxury hotel. However, stepping into the appropriately named 1888 themed hotel, I felt uneasy straight away.
As soon as we stepped in through the entrance for breakfast, the reception and 2-​in-​1 lobby lounge and restaurant were smack bang in front of us. No corridor or any other space leading up to the 2 areas. Inside was dark and cold, I felt like I was in an underground cellar. From the furnishings, I could tell that the hotel really tried to emulate an old-​world, opulent charm with modern furniture in that style, but it felt cold and lacking.
There were 2 staff behind the tiny 3m long reception desk and none of them greeted us. We had already encroached onto the lounge /​restaurant territory when we came in as there was hardly any other space when we came through the main doors. As the lobby area was combined with the restaurant, there was no restaurant staff to greet us either. We stood in the space for a few minutes before asking reception what to do. They told us to sit down anywhere and a waiter would be with us shortly.
The waiter approached us (finally) before we had even sat down or looked at the menu and asked for our order — a big no no.
We opted for the buffet breakfast. For $ 21, you get a coffee /​tea, juice, bread, cold hard croissants and friands (maybe 2 types altogether), 3 types of cold cuts and 3 types of cheeses which were cut into 2 cm x 2 cm pieces (and there were only around 10 pieces spread far apart on the cheese board). Not worth the price at all.
The restaurant has some potential but has so far failed on food, service, price and ambience. There is a long way to go to improve guests’ dining experience.