Helm Bar, Darling Harbour

Since moving onto a new job, I no longer work in North Sydney. My new workplace is in Sydney CBD so I now get to check out different haunts.  One of the senior managers at my work booked at lunch at Helm Bar in Darling Harbour.

Helm Bar is located in Darling Harbour, not far from the Pyrmont Bridge and Aquarium. I've been to Helm Bar on the weekend with one friend but this was the first time that I was going to experience Helm Bar in a group. 20 of us or so arrive this sunny Friday afternoon and we order some drinks.

We order our food one by one at the bar. It takes some time but we sit down in the beer garden downstairs and start talking all things about life, work, love and the weekend.

As time drifts by, some of the staff are concerned as they need to get back to work and we've been waiting 45 minutes. Unfortunately, the staff tell us that there are delays but normally food will come out in 45 - 60 minutes. 

So if you don't have endless time up your sleeve then perhaps avoid booking a group lunch at Helm.

Once the food arrives, a handful of people quickly eat and then head back to work. I'm one of the lucky ones and I don't have any meetings to go back to on this particular day so I take my time.

The caprese salad consists of tomato, buffalo mozzarella, basil in a light balsamic vinegar ($14). It's a smaller portion for $14 but I suppose the waterviews and location may justify the higher price.

Wedges ($9) and fries ($8) are always crowd favourites and I must admit, I eat quite a few of both this afternoon.

For the main, I order the $28 seafood pasta which is a medley of seafood in a tomato based sauce. This dish has a decent portion of prawns, mussels, calamari and other seafood.

The scotch fillet also looks quite tasty. The senior manager I sit next to says it's decent for pub food.

As we prepare to leave, the senior manager talks to the manager as she's trying to sort out an issue with the venue from another event held here. While there was some flexibility shown on this particular issue, She indicates to me that she will reconsider her venue options next time.

Summary: There are great views at Helm Bar with decent pub grub however the wait is TOO long. Their target audience has to be only tourists as most corporate workers cannot afford to take a 2 hour lunch or more. I would recommend coming early to get a table and avoid coming in a group. 

Price: $30ish for mains

Location: Aquarium wharf, 7 Wheat Rd, Sydney

Opening Hours: 11am to 12am daily.