Augustine’s On George

Good food but wait times are very disappointing — especially considering the price paid

If you’re at Augustine’s it’s either a special occasion, you have a decent amount of money or the person buying your meal for you is rich.
The façade of the building is arguably the most impressive thing about Augustine’s. Located in the Mansions building (circa 1889), and being in operation for the last 26 years, Augustine’s brings in politicians (Julia Guillard and Kevin Rudd amongst them), visiting celebrities (Cliff Richard, apparently), corporate types and for some reason a lot of city-​stationed police on their downtime. The inside of the restaurant has the quaint high-​dining feel of bygone times, and you can see every expense has gone into creating food that is delicious across the board and small in serving size (in-​line with most fine dining).
I’m lucky, as my friend used to work here as a server. I don’t know a host of politicians or celebrities, but I have spoken to people who have visited Augustine’s as a one-​off for a romantic dinner and the feedback is always different. One complaint I heard was that the carpet was wearing away; it is indeed true that Augustine’s interior hasn’t changed much over the last decade, with much of the furniture and the finishings being around for a while.
I think anyone coming here for a one-​off experience will have a good or bad night depending on how Augustine’s is running the ship at that particular moment. Many of the servers (decked out in uniforms, down to the white gloves) are students or young adults who don’t see their future at Augustine’s, so you might get an indifferent server who makes you wait an hour for your food, or someone friendly or efficient if you’re lucky.
If history is any guide, servers who seem disgruntled may be so because of arguments behind the scenes. I know there used to be a restaurant rule that no female or male staff member could be alone together in the kitchen at the same time, literally enforced by the restaurant’s owner. The mind boggles at what a former employee (s) must have done in order to spawn this rule.