Thanks Parky45 for the suggestions. When we first visited Australia in 2006 we drove up the coast from Sydney to Cairns (fantastic experience) and we did eat in a number of these clubs. I'd completely forgotten about these places and how good the food can be so I'll have a serious look at the ones you've mentioned plus any others that I might find.

Rosalyn

Just been in Sydney and found it really expensive - $8 for a beer etc. etc.

Now in Adelaide where it's slightly cheaper but don't come here without plenty of cash...and it's not even sunny!!

We've just been in the outback to a place called Mitchell and found the food very expensive. $29 for a steak in the motel, $9 for the same meal in a pub. Watch out for pubs with "specials" on offer as there are some great deals.
Beer in Charters Towers was $4 for a schooner. Breakfasts in the cafes were from $10. Petrol from $1.21 a litre.

As Roma says, bring plenty of money.

hi Babs

We went on xmas eve to a place called cafe sydney, my son had booked a table on the terrace months before and even then he was put on the waiting list and he was lucky to fill a cancellation, and the view just can't get any better than that, overlooking Sydney harbour bridge.
If you put Cafe Sydney into google, you can have a virtual tour and see the menu.

The most fantastic place for the view is the cocktail bar on the 36th floor of the Shangri-la hotel,(I do believe there's a restaurant too, but we'd eaten at cafe sydney and went there for cocktails), it's plate glass from ceiling to floor and you overlook the bridge looking down sideways on the road across the bridge and all of Sydney, but the prices for the drinks, ouch ouch and ouch.....beyond our budget, but it was part of the night that my lad had organised for us....something we will never forget.

Gotta go

Sanji

Thanks Sanji, the view is certainly to die for - but the prices are another matter altogether! Whilst I realised 'to eat with a view' would not be cheap I hadn't realised quite how expensive it would be . Certainly this menu appeals to me, especially the cheesecake!; the question is can I persuade hubby to open his wallet a little wider than normal
Rosalyn

We tried to get to Harrys today, but no joy, Ge was still in the same place but parking nearby was inpossible. We finished up on Darling Harbour and had Greek, nice but expensive, at Darios or something like that.

Parky, am I right in thinking there are two Harry's in Sydney? Which one did you try to get to? We're staying at the Mercure Hotel.
Rosalyn

I don't think so, but if there are, the one we saw was pretty close to the Tunnel and the Police Station.

Well, we are back from a fantastic holiday cruise. We were in Sydney the Saturday the temperatures reached 42degrees and the papers described it as 'The Day Sydney Melted'. I thought I'd melt as well! Couldn't persuade hubby to open his wallet wide but did reach a very satisfactory compromise. We had a very nice lunch at an outdoor cafe (sorry, can't remember name) just beyond the ferry terminals at Circular Quay heading towards the Opera House. Although they were busy we weren't rushed and were able to sit there and take in the view of the Bridge on my left and the Opera House on my right - Magical. Why is it that I never tire of seeing these two amazing icons?

We did find Australia more expensive than when we were last there. Maybe today's Budget will make things a little easier and we can afford to go again (and again)!!!!

Rosalyn

Welcome home Rosalyn...it sounds like you had a fabulous time.
Well, the budget has done sod all, so we will just have to save up that little bit harder if we want to go back, or wipe out the kids inheritance once and for all.

Sanji x

Re Harry's Cafe de Wheels - there are 2 in Sydney - one is just outside Capitol Square shopping centre and the other one is in Woolloomoolloo (I love that word).
I will not bother to put up the full addresses as they are both rubbish.
Jono Coleman, an Australian DJ in UK, was always talking about the one at Woolloomoolloo so we made a point of finding it as my OH likes the occasional pie and we were bitterly disappointed - dry and tasteless pie but it was nice to look at the photos and memorabilia around the cart.
One day we were shopping and saw the one in Capitol Square so decided to give it another chance - that was even worse - gave it them back as there was no filling inside.

A friend told us they are now franchised so maybe that is their downfall.

here's something we have just done. We joined the local Power Boat Club which is affiliated to other clubs. We're also joining the RSL Club (similar to British Legion, but no formalities), owned by the same group, who also own the Surf Club.

Hi Parky.
Well I hope they were more pleasant than the Surf RSL Club at Coogee.
After reading your suggestion and as we were doing a lot of walking by the sea where these clubs are situated, I walked into the one at Coogee and I got no further than three steps inside before a small and rather obese Aussie stopped me and told me this is private, and he more or less shoved me out the door, and thinking about it later, he was very rude and didn't give me the opportunity to ask anything.

So I thought you can shove it, I wasn't that desperate to save a few dollars by having to suck up to the likes of him.

Sanji x

Hi Sanji. Yes they were indeed better than that. As soon as I showed my membership card at the bar it was first name terms and every time I visited after that.
The RSL clubs were very good and treated us foreigners like mates. (They had no option really, or I'd have asked them about the Ashes!)
Food was always good and drinks reasonable, staff polite and free bus service excellent.

I'd have asked them about the Ashes!)

We were only 10 minutes away on the bus from SCG, and we passed it every time we went into Sydney.
Jeez, they lost a cricket match, I thought there'd been another war and they'd lost that.

Sanji x

What do you call an Aussie who can handle a bat?

A Vet