Prince of Wales Hotel — Restaurant in Brisbane City

This is our Review of our dining experience at the Bistro

Overview The P.O.W., located on Buckland Road in Nundah, Brisbane, is a great dining choice for seniors and members of Monty's rewards program. The hotel is part of the A.L.H. Hotels group and offers great value for money.

Food Being just my wife and I, we stuck to a fairly simple ordering protocol of a few drinks, followed by a calamari starter and for mains, two items off the seniors menu: my fave lamb rissoles and the fish and chips for my wife. The calamari starter was so fresh it tasted like it had just been plucked from the ocean. It was nicely crumbed in a crispy batter, the serving size was modest but it was the perfect way to start the meal. The rissole dish I’ve had many times at different A.L.H. hotels and they seem to have hit a winning formula because they’re always delicious. The patties were firm and well cooked just the way I like them, drenched in a rich and hearty gravy sauce and accompanied by a dollop of creamy mash and crispy garden peas. My wife's fish and chips was a decent portion of tender, succulent Whiting fillets accompanied by crunchy chips, a small serve of salad, and with a garlic dressing. The presentation was neat on stylish white crockery and we both enjoyed our meals.

Service As with all A.L.H. hotels that we’ve visited, service was absolutely spot on. There were three female waitresses/bartenders on duty. They were all friendly, polite and helpful. I especially like the way they were neatly turned out in smart black uniforms with the P.O.W. logo on their shirts. We ordered our drinks and food at the bar, although one can also use the app ordering. My wife ordered the Martini espresso cocktail which was brought to the table. The food didn’t take long to arrive, just about 15 minutes from ordering. I appreciate that kind of efficient, no-nonsense service. No long waiting, everything comes out in the correct order and with a nice smile.

Atmosphere I love the charming, retro interior with its comfy wooden furniture, low mood lighting, tiled columns and colourful carpets. It’s a homely and welcoming place, with a relaxed and casual vibe. Even though it was mid-winter, the interior was warm and comfy and I didn’t feel cold at all. Being midweek, it was fairly quiet with just a smattering of other diners, so the acoustics were fine and we were easily able to converse.

Cost This is where these guys really stand out from the rest because despite Australia experiencing the worst hyperinflationary crisis that I can ever remember, one can still enjoy a few drinks and first class meals at A.L.H. Hotels, at affordable prices. Seniors and Monty’s Rewards Club members get even better deals. To illustrate, we paid just a tad over 70 pesos for a cocktail, two beers, an entrée and two mains. That’s outstanding value for money, so thanks to these guys for providing venues that struggling seniors and self funded retirees can still afford to go to.

Toilets There’s a unisex toilet in the main bistro area and a few more up a short flight of stairs, in the gaming lounge. They’re all easy to find, clean and well provisioned.

Parking Across the road from the P.O.W. is the Nundah Village shopping centre so we just parked there. Apparently, you can get three hours free, but we didn’t see any enforcement and there are no tickets or number plate scanning. It is a busy little centre with a popular Woolies supermarket and B.W.S. liquor store and it does get quite full, so finding a park may not always be easy. Street parking may be another option. Perhaps management should put some info about parking on their website.

Summary We had a super pleasant evening at the P.O.W. on the night of the winter solstice. As with all A.L.H. hotels, we found the food to be fresh and tasty and served in generous portions. Service was friendly, polite and efficient and prices were modest. Add to that clean toilets and free parking nearby and you have all the ingredients for a pleasant and fun night out with...

Walked in for dinner but felt like I walked into a room full of Satan worship connoisseurs.

Stumped with slight fear after walking into a room full of deafening, mentally disabling decibels coming from the speakers of a well put together garage band, I began gritting my teeth and clenching my fists to worked up the courage to walk though the crowd of the underworld. Only to then what felt like walking down through the inner layers of earth, down the stairs and into Satan’s dinning room to were I then ordered a $21 disappointment infused chicken parmigiana.

Before I start, I was once dared to eat a Bri cheese, tomato and a, 2 inch still flickering for life, juvenile baby fish stuffed together between 2 seaweed flavoured sakatas to form a carefully integrated cracker sandwich at a BBQ for a laugh.

Now let me tell you, this was MUCH easier to get down then the cheap, overpriced, processed recycled slab of slightly burnt, fried heart shaped, cardboard “chicken breast” with some dehydrated withering lifeless salad with dressing only to be left for the imagination that was served to me here.

With the salsa that was smeared under my cheese and weirdly added ham was the equivalent to a charcoal powdered 80year old Central American nursing home resident, put through an incinerator and mixed with a bit of water and tomato to make a paste like “salsa”.

There were 2mm by 1.5 inch strands of “grated joy” I’m lead to believe were carrots in a salad that I honestly found to be the most important part of this dish. The salad contained a lack-there-of moisture that was left for the heart to desire on this plate. Unfortunately these strands, as important as they were to the moisture of the dish, were scarce in dwindling numbers forcing me to take a sip of schooner of xxxx gold with each mouthful.

Besides the very kind staff, the most best part of my experience here was noticing the light flicking off a shiny gold dollar coin. Wedged into the crack of the baby-poo brown pleather lounge that a past patron had left for the next poor soul to discover, I clawed at the dollar coin to retrieve to which I then fed to a poker machine on my way out, only to add to my thinly worn stretch of disappointment.

Won’t be going back anytime soon. Very...

The only reason that this place gets bookings is due to the glossy and persuasive photos that they have online. Note - not one photo of the bathrooms! Now I know why. ||Factor in that this is a $60 return trip in a taxi (UBER was no cheaper) Making the room, with no breakfast $169 a night. Not good value - a total rip off. Whoever has reviewed this property in the past, I hate to see where you normally stay if you give this hovel any more than 1 star. ||Check-in - is at the Pokie counter, yes. Stinky, smelly, smoke-filled pokie counter. Gross. ||Rooms - the only nice thing is that the bed has clean linen. The bathrooms - if you can call them that! haven't been updated since the 60s and resemble something out of a prison, rather than a 'hotel' (I use that term lightly) ||The 'hotel' claims to have private bathrooms, however, my first room, had a door on the other side with key access? Private bathroom - NO! The carpet is disgusting and the rooms smell like a cross between a bad retirement home. I had zero sleep as they ran the dryer all night - and it sounded as though it was coming through my wall. Worst hotel I have stayed in for a long time. ||Access is difficult, with the stairs literally starting at the door - so it is dangerous dragging your case up and down the stairs. ||Deceptive marketing and descriptions - I would never recommend anyone to stay at this 'hotel' it is a joke and more overpriced hostel / backpacker accommodation. Oh and BTW there is no actual way to secure the door to your room, the only lock is the key on the outside of the door. Not very reassuring, nor safe. They should not be able to claim they are a hotel on Booking . com - they are a...