Tung and I went to Hooters last Friday in Parramatta for Simon's 20th birthday, and I guess this will be our very first official food review blog post. As a lot of people, especially those who blog, love food, and going out to eat, we thought it would be nice to give our 2 cents.
Family restaurant. Ribs, steaks, stuff like that.
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Food/Price:
First image: 20 Hooters Chicken Wings. $18.50
Second image: Hooters Sirloin Steak with curly fries + salad. $25.90
Third image: Nachos Grande. $16.50
Raye:I ordered the 400gm
T-bone Steak (medium rare) with curly fries and salad.
$27.50The steak had its own steak sauce and tasted very nice. The steak was cooked very well, and medium rare was just right, it was very tender, but still did not beat the best steak I had at Lonestar. However, the steak is probably a
8/10.
The curly fries were alright, they were interesting to look at, not very practical to eat, and I prefer my chips a little fatter.
7/10.
The salad was crap, either the rocket sucked, or I just don't like rocket, but the salad had a lot of damn rocket, and it was crap.
4/10.
Overall meal: Very filling, T-bones are usually hard to get all the meat off the bone. Salad kind of ruined the meal. Price is pretty typical, expensive, but good quality steak (I think Lonestar equivalent is better, and slightly less expensive). Overall rating:
7/10.
Tung:
The
"Nearly World Famous" Chicken Wings (
$18.50 for
20 pieces) were ordered for our starters and arrived promptly, followed by a few moments of silent awe. For a split second, we wondered how we could've ordered something that looked like it belonged on the "food to turn you into a fat-ass so quickly that your house foundations won't cope" list, but the allure of the glistening mountain of golden "goodness" was too hard to resist. The wings were battered in a more "grainy" or crumby batter than say, KFC, but had a much nicer seasoning (we ordered, "mild", which was only slightly spicy). Every bite was a month taken off my life expectancy, but damn it was worth it. For what they are (a slightly naughty appetiser to be shared), the wings did well and after all, who goes to Hooters if they aren't prepared for some high-calorie indulgence?
8/10
After much thinking I decided to order the
Chargrilled BBQ Ribs ($26.90). Described in the menu as
"Rack of fall-off-the-bone pork ribs marinated in Hooters BBQ sauce. Comes with golden curly fries, fresh green salad and a bib!". While the meat wasn't exactly "fall-off-the-bone" mush, it was fairly tender and didn't take much work to get off the bone, allowing maximum enjoyment without making you look like a savage . The marinade used had a nice, balanced flavour, not overly sweet like others. The aptly named curly fries were quite nice and the accompanying salad was... a salad. Random kinds of lettuce, some tomato, cucumber, onion and vinaigrette dressing - nothing to write home about but did a good job of cutting through the grease. Overall rating:
9/10.
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Setting/Atmosphere:Raye:
We arrived at about 6pm and there were only a few other patrons there. It got busier around 7:30-8pm, and was basically packed by 9pm. The place was nicely decorated, with some colourful lights around the place, and had the wooden building look and feel. We sat at a comfortable and cosy booth, and the place was heated just right. The only disappointment was probably the fact that they served the food on big cheap white plastic plates. I had a bit of trouble cutting my steak and my plate was moving around all over the place. After going to
Ribs and Rumps in Gordon, where you get a huge chopping board with your food on it, I guess the standards are set pretty high for everywhere else, and Hooters did not even come close.
But apart from that, it was over all pretty good. A lot of crazy party people who eat here (we wonder why), but still lots of families with children, so the place wasn't too rowdy. Overall rating:
8/10.
Tung:
We arrived at about 6 to find a only a handful of people already dining. However by about 8 or 9, the place was swarming. Decor was exactly as I imagined. They mixed the "American West" theme (think Lone Star) with Sports. Random sports memorabilia on the walls and television screens, LOTS of them. No matter where I looked, I had at least 3 screens in my field of view. The Hooters chain was originally intended to be "Sports Bars" and that ideology has continued in it's Australian restaurants (but instead of sports, we watched bits of Stuart Little 2. Seems they skimped on the Foxtel and chose to show free-to-air TV instead). Booth seating was perfect for our group of 5 and provided comfort and slightly more privacy. Overall, more fun than classy.
8/10_________
Service/Entertainment
Raye:
Service being... the waiting/order taking, not
that kind of service. The waitresses were really nice, well ours was, there were a few that looked a bit bitchy. She wasn't too naggy when it came to making us order, and we did take our time. After orders, the food didn't take too long to come out (unlike BlackStump, don't ever go there, ever), the chicken wings came out first as they were ordered as an entree, and the food came out pretty quickly, around 10 minutes later, but the waitress asked us before they brought the food out, which was nice.
We were there for almost 4 hours and as some other steak houses (ie Lonestar) makes their waiters do country dances, we got 3 dance shows throughout the night. Each dance was about 3 to 5 songs (but only short parts of each songs, so maybe 3-5 minutes of entertaining). The last dance they do in each session, they do it on the tables and the seats, yes, whoever the lucky men out there who get front row seats, will see these hot ladies shake their booties in your face.
It was Simon's birthday, and we bought him a cake beforehand, and the girls brought it out and sang to Simon. I give the singing
6/10 as the girls showed no enthusiasm (these were the bitchy ones), and walked off immediately. But overall, the entertainment deserved a
9/10.
Tung:
Upon arrival, we were quickly greeted and seated by a MAN. He didn't even have a Hooters T-shirt on and no, he didn't have boobs either. Let's assume he was the manager. Anyhow, since we had brought a cake for m'very'good friend Simon, I asked the "manager" if he could look after the cake for us. I took the plunge and trusted that this man was not some bum off the street and that he wouldn't steal our cake to share with his hobo friends around a campfire.
Our waitress (who we shall call Emily Blunt, because she looks just like her) was friendly and talkative. As mentioned, she was quite courteous and didn't overflow with "bimbo-ness".
Our dishes didn't take too long to arrive and when it came to cake time, the waitress found a few candles for us (we didn't bring any) and delivered it to our table with a trio of singing girls. The singers didn't seem very enthusiastic and basically disappeared after the final words of the song. Perhaps they were needed elsewhere.
The only hiccup we had was when Emily Blunt forgot to bring us some plates and cutlery to serve our cake. The five of us sat there with this small log cake sitting in the middle of a bare table, alone except for some sauce bottles and salt and pepper shakers. "Shit", she whispered to herself, "...sorry darl, just let me get them for you" she replied when I brought it to her attention. No biggie.
There were a few other people who had birthdays that night as well and the waitresses asked all the birthday people to come to the centre of the restaurant for a special "presentation". They made each person stand on a chair and with the aid of a microphone, each person introduced themselves and stated the age they were turning. Cheers were followed by some butt-shaking dances where each birthday boy/girl had to spell their name by writing each letter with their butt while still standing on the chair. Nothing like some slightly humiliating fun to make a birthday complete, I say.
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Conclusion/Overall:Raye:
The restaurant had pretty good food, probably the best entertainment apart from live bands or similar, and the waitresses were pretty hot. The prices were pretty expected for a steak house like restaurant, no bargains there, but not too much of a rip off either. Definitely will consider coming back, maybe for some group party. Overall rating:
8/10.
Tung:
Food was good for the price (around $15-25 for mains) and the service was generally efficient and friendly. I won't comment on the girls (for fear of retribution by someone) but the place is perfect for a light-hearted (but high fat) meal with "the boys". Quite well suited to birthdays, Hooters did a great job for Simon's 20th and as a result, I'm pretty sure he'd agree with me when I say "Hooters, makes you happy". Overall rating:
8/10
