Sahara at the Republic - Annandale

Waitress is a bit reserved until you get to know her a bit, then wonderfully friendly. She described the dishes to us , we were happy with choice, except maybe scallops, & as we had a meal voucher, we splashed out & ordered a couple of the tapas dishes after the deal was used. This extra $ was very cheap. Sangria drinkable. Yes, it was a bit warm in summer,coolish in winter, but who cares , we loved the place & have been back there at least 4 times.

No AC inside. 2 out of 5 dishes took 2 hours to come out. The remaining 3 came out in the next 30 minutes. When the waitress saw how annoyed I was getting, she said the food was freshly cook. I would hope that's the case! Food was average or below average. After the first drink was served, no further beverages were offered.Enjoyed nothing about this place, its staff or the meal.

This place is also known as Buena Suerte Tapas Bar. The temperature was 33 degrees Celsius outside, but this place was more like 45 degrees inside due to zero air conditioning or even a fan and a heavy closed wooden door. If the heat inside didn't sap you of any remaining strength, it would be the utterly indifferent ,almost bordering on hostile attitude , of the one sole "waitress". Upon being seated in the dark, dingy and stifling interior, a clipboard with a paper menu ,in a well touched plastic sleeve, is flung at you by the bored and robotic server. After a few minutes a grunt of 'you ready?' is grumbled your way that apparently translates to asking what you wish to order. The voucher that my friend and i dined on was for a jug of sangria and 4 dishes. If you know what sangria is supposed to actually taste like, do not insult your palate and get the sangria. The fruit in it is last weeks and the red wine from a cheap cask. Now for the food. Having ordered dip and bread to start with (outside the 4 dishes on the voucher), this took 45 minutes to hit the table. When it arrived, it was two pieces of wilted turkish bread with a dip of indescribable vegetables. Next was prawns in oil (with added shell left on for your chewing pleasure), followed by dry meatballs (meat??). After well over an hour of being there, only 3 dishes are served. People walk in , and after waiting a good 10-15 minutes, leave as the waitress is no where to be seen. A couple come in to order takeaway and are blantently ignored. The waitresses responds to my friends outrage at having waited so long with "food is cooked fresh" and she walks and grumbles away. Our table and the table next to us have run out of water in an attempt to keep hydrated in the heat. As the waitress is still missing in action a considerable time later, my friend uses her last remaining ounce of sweat soaked strength to go behind the bar to the fridge and get more water. The next table are grateful and gulp water on arrival. When the last dish hits the table, some 2 hours 10 minutes later, it is as unappetising as the first dish. The restaurant was not full (5 tables at most) and the dishes small tapas size. If you are into being ignored, flung less than acceptable food and marinating in your own sweat, then this is your restaurant.

Leave your attitude at the door and enjoy the intriguing mix of cultures in this restaurant, from Tapas to Tagines, with the chef and waitress from Uzbekistan. If you are friendly to the waitress, whose name escapes me, you'll have an even better time. The special deals are really great value and often appear on coupon sites. Food was delicious - we had the two popular tagines, the fluffiest couscous ever. Wish we'd had the Sangria, I thought the wine was cheap but my partner liked it. It was fun, not the most comfortables seats, the decor was eclectic to suit the many themes there. Will return.

All the family went for Mother's Day diner is very hard to really describe the food mixt Azarbagian marocan Rusian Korean food very fatty food served not really professional music a gentleman on boards playing and singing Italian songs if sum body like is ok we did not