931 reviews
AI reviews summary
The overall sentiment for Best Restaurants of Australia is largely positive, with users frequently highlighting the service as a convenient and high-impact gift solution. Many customers appreciate the ease of the digital purchase process, the quick delivery of vouchers, and the significant value added during promotional periods (such as bonus vouchers or percentage discounts). However, a significant recurring issue exists regarding the clarity of participating venues; several users reported frustration when discovering that only a small fraction of restaurants listed on the website actually accept the gift card as payment.
Pros
- Convenient Gifting: The platform is highly praised for last-minute gifts, offering instant digital delivery via email or SMS and sleek presentation features like unboxing animations.
- Promotional Value: Users frequently mention the excellent value for money found during sales, specifically citing "bonus" gift cards (e.g., $20 bonus for every $100 spent) as a major highlight.
- Ease of Purchase: The website and checkout process are described by many as smooth, user-friendly, and efficient for both domestic and international buyers.
- Redemption Simplicity: When used at participating venues, the redemption process is generally reported as seamless, often requiring a simple scan of a QR code or barcode.
Cons
- Misleading Restaurant Lists: A primary complaint involves the website's search results; users found that while thousands of restaurants are listed, only those with a specific "green tick" accept the card, leading to confusion and disappointment at the point of sale.
- Limited Regional Availability: Several reviewers in Western Australia, Queensland, and regional areas reported a lack of participating venues, sometimes finding only a handful of options in major cities like Perth or Brisbane.
- Customer Support Delays: While some found support helpful, a notable number of users experienced long wait times or no response when trying to resolve technical issues, incorrect email entries, or delivery failures.
- Technical & Fee Issues: Recurring complaints include the inability to easily print vouchers in a professional format, lack of an Android app update, and unexpected "admin" or credit card surcharges at checkout.
Verdict
Best Restaurants of Australia is an excellent option for those seeking a flexible, high-value gift, particularly when purchased during promotional sales. However, prospective buyers should carefully verify that the intended recipient has access to "green tick" participating restaurants in their specific area to avoid redemption issues.
I recently purchased gift cards and was really impressed with how quick and easy the whole process was. The website was simple to navigate, checkout was smooth, and the gift cards were delivered promptly without any issues. It made gift giving so convenient, especially when looking for a last-minute present. The range of options available was… Read more · 1
excellent, and the entire experience was hassle-free from start to finish. I would definitely recommend using this service for anyone wanting an easy and reliable gift card purchase experience.
I received a $200 voucher as a gift and most restaurants I go too, aren’t on it and the two that are on the list, don’t know how to scan the code and keep telling me it needs to be in my apple wallet to work . I couldn’t use it at either venue and I informed the people that bought it for me to ask for a refund and never buy that card again
The best restaurants of Australia gift card is only accepted at certain places listed on their site, not all, which is misleading on their part. When selected to gift card only, their 6900 restaurants drop down to 400 something. Back in December they ran a promo offering $20 bonus gift cards when purchasing $100 gift cards so we bought these cards for family members. Couldn't be used anywhere local.
Hi Patrick, Sorry to hear about… Read more
Reviews with attachments
We had a wonderful dining experience. The food was beautifully presented and full of flavour. Every dish tasted fresh and well-balanced. The service was attentive without being intrusive, and the staff were friendly and professional. The atmosphere was warm and inviting, perfect for both family gatherings and special occasions. Highly recommended — we will definitely return!
Purchased this Best Restaurants gift card last minute for a Valentine's lunch, and it was a total lifesaver. First time using it, and I was blown away by the huge variety of restaurant options Redemption was seamless, they just scanned the code right at the counter with zero hassle
When they’re on sale these vouchers are excellent value for money, especially when you want to eat at a fine dining place.
Saw Best Restaurants advertised on Instagram and for once I went ahead and purchased the product (a gift card) with no issues. Will purchase again! Show reply
It's easy to use and a good value. I am looking forward to have more restaurants to join the program.
Super easy to purchase The Frenwick was fantastic We celebrated our 24 th wedding anniversary there . And wow did they deliver Venue service and food was so good 10 out of 10
Absolutely loved the website and the benefits which led me to eating at meat and wine co
- +4
Thre of us went to Grazia Restaurant at 159 Burke Road, Glen Iris. It was our third or fourth visit. With all the Italian restaurants in Nelbourne, oddly it’s been hard to get good pasta, no shortage of mediocre pasta. This was excellent one was papardelle with lobster on a bisque base sauce. It was just right, good depth of flavours and … Read more
perfectly cooked pasta, another was seafood ravioli which similarly well executed. Tge third main was eye fillet with a pepper sauce, a classic dish well executed. Tge accompanying soft smashed potato with basil was hmm not so sure, I don’t think basil was made for potatoes. One side dish was roasted cauliflower, thick steaks of cauliflower on a cashew cream, divine. Entrees included oysters with lemon granita, clever! And king fish crude, again very good. Dessert we shared a Sfinge (variation on bombilini, Sicilian doughnut) loved it. Well worth a visit or 6!
It’s very convenient to use and absolutely great gift idea. We used it in Italian restaurant.
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Formosa Asian restuarant currens hill very good asian food at a very affordable price. Great service on site & order pickup service.Our favourites are satay chicken,combo chow min & crispy noodles,dim sum ,salt & pepper pork chop.Flavours of all dishes we have tried are very good and full plates.We are happy to advise people who love flavoursome food to give it a try.
Overall good experience in purchasing and using the digital gift card. I used it when travelling to WA.
After a bad experience & overpriced restaurant in Newcastle. I decided to go to Signal box in Newcastle. Wow! very pleased we gave them a try. Great service & very pleasant waitress. The atmosphere was nice. Gave you plenty of time to relax & read the menu.The food was beautiful & well worth the price. Started with entrees followed by main meal.… Read more · 1
I had the steak, omg!! cooked just right & so tender. My friend had the Crispy pork belly. She loved every part of the meal even had a couple of scallops on the plate. Followed by our Sticky date pudding. Oh!!!! I thought I was in heaven. Great dessert to end the night off followed with a cappuccino. Can highly recommend this restaurant, you will walk away a happy person.
Great gift. Easy to buy and redeem, and a good range of restaurants that it can be used at. Show reply
Very convenient service for sending presents from far abroad. We got multiple, almost daily updates of the delivery process. Much appreciated for this was our first experience. Show reply
This is to warn people that are contemplating buying this card please DO NOT! I bought this card almost three years ago in Cairns and have about $375 on it. To date I have no found a reputable restaurant here that actually has heard of this card let alone use it. I tried to use it a Pullman Hotel Cairns' Coco's Bar and Restaurant. The Best… Read more
Restaurant Card's website clearly had a 'green tick' to show that amongs all the restaurants listed in Cairns, Cocos was one of only three restaurants. (The other two restaurants seemed to be of the same Accor group hotel's restaurants). I should have checked if they took the card but if the Card's website said that they do would you still have to call and check? If so what is the point of their website listing? After dinner when it came to payment the manager of the Coco's restaurant and the General Manager of Pullman Hotel both feign NO KNOWLEDGE of such a card or ANY ARRANGEMENTS. Clearly Best Restaurants' website and marketing is misleading. When I emailed (as usual no on answers the listed 1300 phone number) Best Restaurants customer help -there was the stock standard, somewhate suggestive of A.I generated reply thanking me for giving them 'feedback' about which restaurants DO NOT ACCEPT the card! I did NOT SPEND $180 to be a guinea pig for YOUR CARD'S acceptance test! The email moreover had a link to their 'latest list of restaurants that accepted the card.' Guess what Coco's Bar and Restaurant again came up on this list! So unhappy - I have $375 - soon to run out as they have a THREE YEAR limit to use up the funds or LOSE IT. They DO NOT ANSWER THEIR EMAILS FOR EXTENSION. ONCE YOU PURCHASE YOU ARE ON YOUR OWN. I DO NOT BELIEVE THE POSITIVE REVIEWS - THE CARD IS VERY STRANGE - I HAVE NEVER SEEN ANY DISPLAY OF THE CARD'S ACCEPTANCE IN SYDNEY OR MELBOURNE. IT IS ALSO NOT LIKE A COLES OR OTHER REPUTABLE MERCHANTS' STORED VALUE GIFT CARDS. THE INSTRUCTIONS FOR ITS USE IS VERY SCARCE.
I WILL BE TAKING THE MATTER TO THE ACCC TO INVESTIGATE.
IF SOMEONE IN A BIG CITY IS CONVINCED AND HAVE HAD GOOD EXPERIENCE WITH THE CARD PLEASE FEEL FREE TO CONTACT ME AM HAPPY TO SEND YOU THE CARD AS I DO NOT BELIEVE BEST RESTAURANTS WILL COMPENSATE AND REFUND AND MIGHT AS WELL SOMEONE USES IT BEFORE IT EXPIRES.
Latest follow-ups
I had a great experience using BestRestaurants.com. There’s a large variety of restaurants to choose from, across different areas, which makes it easy to find something to suit any occasion and anyone's taste. Their vouchers are a fantastic idea for… Read more · 1
a gift (I received mine as a gift myself). The website is user-friendly, with helpful filters to narrow down options, including a filter for places that accept vouchers. I also found their customer service to be responsive and helpful.
Follow-up · I ended up using my voucher at C Restaurant in Perth. It's a very nice (but expensive) experience. If you haven't there I highly recommend it. They had no issues using my voucher. You can use one voucher per visit.
Chilled atmosphere with fantastic service and food that is beyond delicious. Show reply
Follow-up · I started with a Sangria, red of course and it was superb in both taste and presentation. We tried a selection of different deserts but my favorite was the Spanish cake. 10 out of 10 all of them. The seating is soft, cozy and spacious. Can’t wait to go again
Process for ordering the gift card was easy to follow, except the gift card was sent to ME, instead of the person having their birthday. May have been my error, but I did double check and I did put in the recipients email address before finalising the order. If it was my mistake then change to 5 stars.
Follow-up · The recipient of this gift card advised that virtually NO restaurants on the Gold Coast accepted this card.
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Positive reviews
Highly recommend - you really save money buying this gift card when they have special promotions. We used it a Meat Wine & Co. Two days ago I wrote to follow up on an order as usually the digital gift cards are sent immediately, and now after following up a couple more times got the gift card - turned out there was a letter missing from my email… Read more · 1
address so it initially got declined. Definitely check it’s entered correctly and it will come instantly :) Thanks so much!
I received a Best Restaurants voucher as a gift and it was a great experience. The voucher is easy to use and gives you the flexibility to choose from a wide range of restaurants across Australia. I liked that I could pick a restaurant that suited the occasion instead of being limited to just one place. The redemption process was… Read more · 1
straightforward—simply present the voucher when paying the bill. It made dining out feel a little more special because part of the meal was already covered.
Overall, the Best Restaurants voucher is a fantastic gift idea for birthdays, anniversaries, or special occasions. It’s perfect for anyone who enjoys dining out and trying different restaurants.
Really convenient way to give a gift, got this for my brother's birthday and sent it to him straight away on the day. Loads of restaurants to select from, would be keen to get one for myself in the future. Show reply
Negative reviews
Received a $200 gift card for my wife's birthday but only 6 available restaurants in Brisbane and we are unsure if they will accept them. Really limited options and site itself is not easy to navigate. Great concept but execution is somewhat limited.
Hi there, thanks for your feedback,… Read more
I bought one for a couple who have restrictive diets so they could pick somewhere that suited them. We live in Perth WA and there are very few options. I could only find 16 and that is not much to choose from. No casual pub or bar places listed at all from what I see so if you are in WA, its not worth it, sorry.
Hi Sharon, thank you for reaching… Read more
These restaurant gift cards are very convenient! However, I was slightly confused by the Lunar New Year promo $20 bonus value for every $100 purchased. I selected a $500 gift voucher and a $100 voucher but for some reason the lunar new year promo was only automatically applied to the $100. Therefore, instead of receiving $120 bonus value I only… Read more
received $20. Please check your cart before checking out. It was misleading on the website that you had to click on the Lunar New Year promo on the top of the page to redeem the bonus value.
Hi Tan, Thank you for your note.… Read more
Recent reviews
The Best Restaurants gift card is such an easy and thoughtful present. I love that it gives the recipient flexibility to choose where and when they dine, whether it’s a casual lunch or a special night out. Super convenient, simple to redeem, and perfect when you’re not sure what restaurant they’d prefer. A great go-to gift option. Show reply
I ordered the digital card and selected the personalisation option, but the site didn't provide a field to enter the recipient's name or a message. To make matters worse, there was no option to send it via text; the card was just emailed directly to me. Having to manually forward a digital gift to a friend’s mobile felt incredibly awkward and… Read more
ruined the surprise. It’s a clunky process that lacks basic features. My advice? Avoid the headache and just buy a prepaid Visa or Mastercard instead. It’s much more flexible and far less of a hassle.
Hi Tooraj, Thank you for your… Read more
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Thanks for your feedback, Lele,… Read more