Portarlington Kitchen & Bar — Restaurant in Barwon South West

Edited with reply**

My family and I have been left very disappointed by Portarlington Kitchen & Bar, after having been satisfied customers in the past.

We ordered the deluxe seafood platter and a dozen oysters, the oysters were fine other than not matching the website description along with the cold prawns, however unfortunately we found the hot food to be lacking in flavour, it was like nothing had been seasoned, not even with salt, and then we found the flathead and salmon to be rather dry and not enjoyable to eat, and the mussels had a foul flavour, which leads me to believe they were not fresh.

I called and spoke to the manager hoping to remedy our experience with either a partial refund or to have the meal remade, however he only soured things further.

Instead of admitting any fault he chose to blame us! First it was our flavour preferences and then when that didn't work he chose to blame that we only gave him 30 minutes to cook the order. Now I'm no stranger to ordering online, you choose a time you'd like to pick up and if it's going to be longer the business either gives you a call or you just wait a little longer, there's nothing wrong with that. They weren't busy by any means and our order was ready well before the pick up time!

I'm honestly just appalled in the customer service, the way I was spoken to was not okay. You try to support small local businesses but they have no pride, no honour and treat customers poorly when there is an issue.

Reply: Here you go again. Stop blaming us. My husband entered early, he apologised that he was early and said he would wait, it was no bother to him at all. The fact that you continue to put blame on us for the bland food you cooked is just deplorable! Also if you offer takeaway and have something that requires a certain amount of time to cook, it should be stated on the website. But I honestly don't think time was the issue at all, because when I called, you even said that you could cook it again for us and it would taste the same, so you've admitted time is not the issue.

You know you have made an error, whether it be a lack of descriptions on your ordering site to help guide customers or the fact that the food was not seasoned, you are fumbling around to try and save yourself, instead of taking it in your stride to resolve the issue, it's not a good look and without a resolution we most definitely will not be returning. You have lost our patronage.

We will be seeking futher assistance in getting a refund and potentially filing a report against the business, as you have failed to abide by Victorian...

We booked a table at Portarlington Kitchen & Bar expecting a great night out, but unfortunately, the service was incredibly disappointing. We waited 40 minutes just to receive our drinks, followed by an hour and a half for entrées and thenmains.

While we understand that the restaurant was busy, that’s no excuse for such excessive delays—especially when other customers who arrived after us were served before us. We also noticed that several other tables were still waiting an unreasonable amount of time for their meals.

Overall, a frustrating experience. If the restaurant is consistently this overwhelmed, they need to either improve their staffing or better manage their service.

RESPONSE TO MANAGER’S COMMENT BELOW: Thank you for your detailed response. I appreciate you taking the time to outline your perspective, but i would like to clarify a few points from our experience that evening.

Our reservation was for 7:30pm, but we were seated slightly earlier at 7:22pm. Approximately 18 minutes later, we placed our food and drink orders. From that point, it took approximately 35 minutes to receive our drinks, the entrees then followed roughly 20 minutes after this, around 8:30pm. In between receiving the drinks and waiting for our entrees, we had to wave down staff as we had not yet received our entrees. Following this, the staff became accommodating, and management closely followed our table to ensure service improved.

My review reflected an accurate account of our experience, without exaggeration. As a long-term resident to Portarlington and regular diner at local establishments, I am familiar with reasonable waiting times, particularly during peak hours. We never expected instant service, understanding fully that quality meals take time to prepare; however, the delays we experienced were unreasonable.

Regarding the reservation being short-notice, we were not informed at booking or seating that this might impact service times as availability was clear, you were under no obligation to accept our booking well knowing the kitchen was understaffed.

The $270 bill would have been easier to accept had the overall experience matched the price point. Its not unreasonable for diners to expect a balance of quality food and consistent, attentive service.

We are happy to support local businesses and understand the pressure of a fully booked evening, but instead of accusing your customers of exaggeration or suggesting we seek fast food next time, we would ask for a little more acknowledgment of the experience we...

Firstly the food is wonderfully cooked and very well presented, with the correct balance of flavours and with size portions. HOWEVER the restaurant is very noisy, i was un able to hold a conversation as they seemed to follow the Melbourne trend of having hard walls everywhere so that all sound reverberates around the room. As for the service and organisation, there was NONE! We ordered some wine, oh sorry we don’t have that, so we changed, oh sorry we don’t have that’s either. Then the waitress had absolutely NO IDEA of how to serve, she came to the table, didn’t present the wine, opened the bottle without even giving me a chance to look at it, served the male members first then just left. One lady ordered to entree’s one as a main, the waitress bought out both as mains, fumbled around picking up the menu’s like a person with two left feet, dropping the iPad in the process. The food came out in drips and drabs, mine came out well after everyone else had finished and the tables were cleaned up! (About 25-30 minutes after the first meal was served) and then only after three reminders. Personally i think they had forgotten my order. All up the food when received was great but they couldn’t organise a party in a brewery! “We are busy” the waiters said, well thats what you want in a restaurant isn’t it? Bums on seats and to be able to cope with a full house, evidently not this place. I do congratulate the cook on their cooking but as for the rest it would not be hard to do better, as the only way you can go...