Sinpoz dinner planning part 2

[alasen.livejournal.com]

Hey all,

erilyn and I spent saturday afternoon investigating food places around the Y. We have a list of lunch-type places, which we'll be putting on a map with some other useful shops & services. We'll be providing this at sinpoz, but if you're arriving earlier than saturday morning and would like this info, please let us know.

In our original poll, lots of people expressed interest in having fan dinner(s). On saturday, we looked for places that
a) could fit about 25 people
b) were reasonably close to the Y (within 10 mins walk)
c) could accommodate a variety of dietary options
d) were reasonably cheap. (preferably below $20 main)

You might have guessed that finding places which met all this criteria wasn't going to happen! We did identify some potentials (some better than others!), which I will detail below and people can look at menus and discuss informally first before deciding.
Note that unless I specify we have not eaten at these places before or further investigated, but they all looked well established, city restaurants, but any comments on your experiences welcome. Sydney siders, if you do have a place that meets the requirements above, please let us know!

1. Sanctuary Hotel
http://www.sanctuaryhotel.com.au/ (menu available)
About 10-15 mins walk from the Y, mostly flat/gentle slope. This is a pub, but quite nice inside. Lots of room inside, could hang around at tables for ages, open late. Cheap - mains about $15 (+ cheaper specials on sunday nights). Pub food, but the menu is limited (particularly vegetarian). We have eaten here once a number of years ago and we have no (bad) memories of it.

2. Jaipur Sweets
http://www.jaipursweets.com.au/ (menu available)
About 5 mins walk from the Y, down hill (& up back). Indian. Cheap - mains about $12. Vegetarian options, I'm not sure about gluten-free.

3. Macchiato Pizza Bar & Grill
http://www.macchiato.com.au/ (menu available)
About 5 mins walk from the Y, mostly flat/gentle slope. Pizza & Pasta. Expensive. Mains about $30, Pizzas about $22.

4. Wagamama
http://www.wagamama.com.au/ (menu available, dietary requirements, no prices)
About 10-15 minutes walk from the Y, mostly flat/gentle slope. Japanese. Moderate -mains about $20 from memory (but big servings!) Can accommodate vegetarian, vegan, gluten/wheat and lactose intolerance. Close to Kinokuniya bookshop which is open till 7 on saturday night (what?). We have eaten here.

5. Grill'd
http://www.grilld.com.au/ (menu available)
About 5 min walk from Y. More of a lunch place but we could probably all fit there unlike most of the other fast-like food places around the area. Burgers, moderately pricey for burgers but big & tasty - about $12 per burger. We have eaten here. Vegetarian options ; glutenfree option but dodgy ('may contain traces of gluten')

What do you think?