Anglers Tavern — Restaurant in Melbourne

It’s 0 out of 5.

My husband and I went to Angler’s Tavern because he saw it on his feed and wanted us to try it. I reserved a table for us in the outdoor area. We placed our order at 1:50 PM, but after 30 minutes, we still hadn’t received anything—not even water. I understand they were busy and there were a lot of customers eating, but they should’ve added more staff. It felt like the staff-to-customer ratio was 1:30.

After 30 minutes, we followed up with one of the staff. She said our order was already in the queue, so we waited and also asked for at least some water. Even our table hadn’t been wiped and was still dirty.

Another 15 minutes passed, and still nothing. The people next to us, who arrived later than we did, were already enjoying their meals. Actually, the couple across from us also complained to the staff about how long their order was taking. The guy went up to complain because they were already starving, and their food arrived 5 minutes later—but ours still hadn’t.

They even told us, “They should be giving you the food for free by now—you’ve been waiting an hour and your order was placed earlier than ours.” They also said the food wasn’t even good, so they probably wouldn’t come back.

To make things worse, two different staff members approached us thinking the food they were carrying was for our table—but it wasn’t. They didn’t even know which table the food belonged to. Omg! It was a mess. No organization at all.

Almost an hour had passed and we still hadn’t received our food. We called another staff member to follow up because my husband and I were already starving. I told the female staff member, “We’ve been here almost an hour and still no food. The other tables are already eating and we ordered before them.” She said she’d follow up, then came back and asked for our receipt. She said she needed to see what we ordered.

That made me think: does the kitchen not even know what food goes to which table?? It was really bad. A few minutes later, I told my husband to go follow up in person again—because I didn’t want to wait and end up with nothing again. I stayed at the table alone and waited another 8 minutes before following him.

When I got there, I told him, “Let’s just get a refund. This isn’t right—we’ve been here for an hour and still haven’t received our order. Either it was given to someone else or it was never made.” I waited another 2 minutes because yes, they were busy—but that’s not an excuse to just ignore us. You get what I mean?

So I approached the female staff we spoke to earlier. When she came up to us, she was holding our order—but I told her I didn’t want it anymore, I just wanted a refund. She then called what I assume was the manager and explained. The manager apologized and told me the delay was because they were busy, pointing to the long food queue. I told him, “I understand you’re busy, but we waited an hour, and that’s not an excuse to disregard us—especially since we already paid for the food.”

So I just said I wanted a refund so we could leave. He processed the refund and said I’d be notified, and that I’d receive the full amount. He did apologize, but at that point my mind was clouded from the hunger and long wait, so I didn’t say anything else. After saying “Okay” regarding the refund, I turned my back on him to avoid saying anything I might regret.

This is the first time in my life I’ve asked for a refund at a restaurant due to poor service, long wait times, and understaffing despite having so many diners. We will never go back or recommend this...

I highly recommend Anglers for hosting any type of function/event. Both function rooms are aesthetically pleasing and especially the River Room which is the larger room with views of the Maribyrnong river.

I had my baby shower in the River Room with a total of 40 guests. The staff did an amazing job setting up the room so nicely I had tables and chairs along the windows and cocktail tables spread out across the floor, with plenty of room for guests to roam around. The candles and signage provided by Anglers was a really nice touch. The food was all very delicious and generous portions too, I cannot fault it and the guests enjoyed it too. I had the grazing table, canapés, pizza station and dessert station.

The beautiful functions manager Hayley was absolutely phenomenal from the beginning and such a pleasure to liaise with. Hayley’s expertise in events management made the entire process so smooth, having a good eye to detail and helping me to formulate a plan for my baby shower from the time/running sheet to the setup of the room and making suggestions along the way to adhere to my requests/vision. A seperate setup for a tea and coffee station suggested by Hayley worked really well on the day too. In addition, Hayley is very approachable, organised and professional, responds to emails quickly and always available to answer any questions or queries. Hayley went above and beyond to ensure I was happy with all the finer details of the event and the coordination of the time sheet on the day. The entire event ran smoothly and I cannot thank Hayley enough for that!

Also a huge thank you to all the staff who worked at my baby shower they were all so nice and professional. I love how the private function rooms have their own entrance via Anglers way, and each room with their own private bar and bathrooms. Also there is no hire fee for the rooms just a minimum spend I was so surprised by this given the size of the rooms. Anglers was also very accommodating with dietary modifications and also bump in times for the props. Thank you Anglers for hosting such a wonderful and...

Decent Experience at Angler Tavern!

My friends and I recently had dinner at Angler Tavern, and overall, it was a decent experience with some highlights.

For starters, we shared a few dishes. The Pumpkin arancini were decent, with the sour cream providing a nice counterpoint. The Wood-fired flatbread was a hit, especially with the delicious capsicum hummus and pesto dips. The tzatziki was also enjoyable. The Grilled leek with nori crisp was an okay option, and it's good to see a vegan choice on the menu.

Moving on to the mains, the Pan-Roasted Barramundi and the fish of the day (trout) were both cooked well, boasting a lovely crispy top and delicious flavour. However, the trout had noticeable salt crystals on top, which I found made it too salty for my liking. At the price point, I would have expected it to be perfectly seasoned. That being said, the accompanying bean base was delicious. The Seafood Spaghetti was a winner, with yummy and well-balanced flavours. Unfortunately, the Eggplant Parma wasn't a favourite at our table. While the exterior was nicely crispy, the eggplant itself tasted dull and had some bitter spots.

We ended our meal with the Sticky Toffee Pudding, which was a highlight – soft and melting in the mouth.

The atmosphere of the Angler Tavern is nice and cozy, making it suitable for both friends and families. A significant advantage for those with young children is the dedicated parents' room and children's room.

Overall, Angler Tavern is a decent place, and I'd be happy to visit again to explore more...