Zara 168 Sydney Road, Coburg, Victoria 3058

"IF I COULD DO ZERO RATING I WOULD!!! Had my birthday last night. Closed off the whole restaurant. Paid for 100 guests which was the minimum guest number payable. We only had 83 people and still they struggled to accommodate the guest amount. False promises were made when booking in and let’s say the night was a disappointment. We arrived and hour early to guest arriving to ensure everything was set up, to find the place still not cleaned from the night before. The place was a mess, and not enough staff to get it sorted in time. We had to help by moving tables around, replacing the dirty table cloths with clean linen and help place all the plates and cutlery , and just finished prior to guest arriving. We had the venue booked till 12am. Food wasn’t served on time, nor was it enough for the guests. All night I had to follow up soft drink refills, and food consistently missing on tables. No service throughout , staff looked lost and unsure with what needed to be done. We were promised that no guest would go home hungry, that food will consistently be brought out, it was us following up with the most simple thing like bread. The staff kept taking the guests glasses and cutlery, and at one stage put a bucket on the table and started emptying a guests plate to clean up while they were still eating. I asked them not to remove or start cleaning because people then think the night is coming to an end when it’s only 10pm, that people are still using their glasses too, but they kept cleaning. Instead of enjoying and making memories, all I did was run around, stress and kept following up with the staff what was missing and needing to be done. The simplest thing was a guest asked for a black coffee in which was served 5 minutes prior to some people but she had missed out, but was told sorry kitchen closed and the kettle stopped working . Let’s not forget the outdoor jet heater they have inside the room. This shouldn’t even be used indoors, but all night it just smelt like heavy gas. The owner did not care at all. In his eyes he had made the almost $5K so he didn’t care with how his business was running. I would NEVER recommend this place to anyone. If you’re thinking of booking your event, think again and save your money because the owner is a yes yes yes to please prior and then doesn’t come through with the promises. My special day was ruined and I wouldn’t want anyone else to have the same experience."

"Worst Turkish place ever, the boss told us over the phone 45 per head and when we went to pay he charged us 50. Mind you when I made the booking he told us that there would be belly dancers at the time we booked which was 5:30 to 6:30 , we got our dinner at 7pm and the dancer never came he later told us during the dinner she was coming at 9 I would not recommend this place to anyone"

"Friendly and generous guy at the counter; everything has a home-made vibe to it; lots of Turkish-looking people eating there - it's a good sign, no? They cook their own turkish bread within (he alleged), and it was bloody delicious."

"1st time here, was travelling back from the airport, and fancied Turkish food. Ordered baba ganoush, donner kebab, salad, bread; very tasty and impressive, given that their was only one person taking the orders, cooking, waitering, etc. Explained that staff difficult to get. If over that way again, will eat their again."

"Quite simply the best Doner kebab in town. And the other dishes are awesome too. I've been going here since the 80s and it's the same owners. The service isn't great, sometimes they can take a while or forget a few things but they are lovely, hardworking folk who take pride in the quality of their food. If you want a fancy Michelin grade restaurant go elsewhere. If you want to experience the best Turkish food then come here. Saturday nights are good too to get their authentic experience with the music and belly dancers (not my thing, I'm all about the food!!!)."