On the Pier — Local services in Melbourne

Great Venue with a lot to offer however the service is defiantly letting it down. Was there for a Latin Night in which it was great. Lots of Entertainment however I don’t know wether they were short staffed or what was happening but to have to put up your hand to order drinks 20 mins in from being seated is not a great start.

There were 2 waiters on each section. The sections with roughly 10-12 tables each, capacity around 80- 100 guests… so a lot to do for 2 people.

After ordering a round of drinks we ordered pretty much at the time of getting drinks cause we knew we would be waiting a while again before we were able to order. We had the charcuterie board for 4 people at $150 and then we all ordered mains. The board came out with not even enough for 2 crackers each on it. Meat was fresh, but the board was filled with so much lettuce that that is what we felt like we were actually paying for.

After 20 mins the manager comes up to our table to let us know they don’t have a specific cocktail on their list. Instead of being kind and tentative about it, his confronting response “WE DONT HAVE THIS, WHAT DO YOU WANT,” was more than arrogant. As my friend chose another cocktail on the list for it to be sent out and undrinkable due to the amount of lemon juice that was poured in there to the point it burnt your throat, the manager comes back around after us pulling aside a food runner, and response again “SO WHAT DO YOU WANT.”

Mains come out, I ordered the linguini which we all laughed at as we thought it was an entree. Within 4 spoon fools of linguini I had pretty much polished it off as I was hungry, but it was not fresh seafood. The oysters also has a back Oder taste to it too.

I then pulled over the closes staff, the manager, to our table after trying to get our section waiters attention for almost 15 mins to ask for a glass of coke. His response “IM NOT THE WAITER YOULL HAVE TO ORDER WITH SOMEONE ELSE.” My god I don’t know any venue, restaurant, hospitality industry whose manager is being paid to do nothing but be rude to customers. It was a simple glass of coke. I was shocked. After waiting another 15 mins I finally got our waiter and decided to order a jug cause I was sick of waiting for a simple item to order.

We arrived at 6:45pm, ordered first round of drinks by 7:20, and then the jug of coke by 8:40pm after our entrees were served.

I cannot highly recommend this place as the portions are small, the overall service was just plane and simple… lacking, and the manager rude and absolutely should not be on the floor with customers.

Our bill overall: $$620 for 4 of us, we didn’t even drink a lot. A alcoholic drink each and 2 jugs of soft drinks. As we paid, my table told the cashier/waiter if the older guy was the manager, her response yes. We told her everything that...

We read the reviews before coming & we should’ve trusted them! I should’ve seen the warning signs when we were trying to book in somewhere for Christmas lunch & every place was booked out except this place (cue alarm bells). But we were left with no other option.

From the moment we walked in the door we sensed chaos, the staff looked confused & flustered. There was no structure or systems in place. Getting any kind of service was impossible & therefore it was a long wait before we could get a drink. They were catering for over 200 people & I think there was only about 3 bar staff! 🙄

We paid for 2 adults & 1 child but were told there was no kids menu & our daughter had to choose something off the set menu. This seemed strange as it cost us $150 each & she was $25?? We ordered for her, off the menu, & then we saw nuggets & chips being served to kids on other tables? We told about 3 wait staff (when we could summon their attention) that we wanted the nuggets & chips but they brought out the set menu food despite our protests.

The food; oysters, were good. The Barramundi would’ve been delicious, if it hadn’t been stone motherless cold, literally! And we waited nearly 2 hours to get it. Our booking was at 1pm & our daughter got her chicken nuggets at 3pm!

We were talking to the lovely family on the table next to us (the highlight of the day) & they too experienced the same (lack) of service. They got fed up & left, & received a refund.

When we went to pay they deducted the cost of the drinks (2 wines & 2 beers) but we had to pay for the coke! Go figure! 🤷‍♀️

Overall, a very disappointing experience, made worse by the fact it was Christmas. We’ll know next year to book early to avoid eating at a place like this.

Such a shame they can’t get the service right as the venue is positioned in a lovely spot & despite the wait on the food (& it was cold) it wasn’t too bad.

Not a very Merry...

SO I have given 1 star , but I wanted to give zero, and I have my reasons for it. So attended a dear friends wedding on 9/12/2023. Why you should not choose this place four future functions. Few highlights from the venue:

The staff was clueless the entire time. No Duty OF CARE towards the guest. So forget the Quality. No hierachy, you could not differentiate between a manger or wait staff, no clear communication between themselves (forget the communication with the guests). It felt, as if the venue staff were also guests at the venue, and since they were not friends with bride groom they were asked to work.

ENTRE'S - the food was late- entre's were to be served at 7:50 pm, it dint start til 8:13, and last entre's were served well past 8:53 pm. Mind you 35 guests had not received their entre's so we had to ask the venue staff.

MAINS - The chicken Breast was overcooked. Now a days all modern kitchen use sous vied machine to cook thein meats. It is ok if you do not sous vide machine, but it is not ok to boil the chicken breast (we are in 2020's not in 1800's chef), the steak had the same story overcooked. And if you tried to cut it, you were committing to a work out.

DESSERT - disappointing, the chocolate used for the mousse was not callibut (every kitchen uses callibut now a days chef) $180 p/p deserves a good dessert.

CHEESE BOARD - Selection and portion size of the Cheese was disappointing. 1 platter 3 cheese, with 30g Portions, that is ridiculous, the chef needs to sit at a good venue, order a cheese platter, and should feel the brunt of his own cheating with cheese to guests at the wedding.

So to a person who is planning to book this joint in future, close your eyes and listen with full focus "do not make the mistake my friend made". He did it by mistake, you will be committing to a disaster with no disaster relief. And "" DO NOT FORGET, YOU...