Bad Shepherd Brewing Co. — Restaurant in Melbourne

I came across a recommendation for this venue from an online vegan group. To my surprise, Bad Shepherd have a great selection of vegan meals AND American BBQ. We’re a lover of BBQ, need easy dairy free options and my husband loves craft beer, so it was a perfect fit for us. I was a little sceptical at first, because they did have kid friendly offerings, but did they actually attract families; being a brewery?

We headed in for an early dinner on a Saturday evening (with a booking made) and instantly, we knew we were welcome. We saw several high chairs and prams. During our visit there, we witnessed 4 different groups with either babies or young children come through. There’s no surprise here, given their amenities and yummy food. The welcoming attitude from the owners is reflected with their staff too.

Once you are seated, there is no table service, so you are required to pay and order at the bar. We don’t mind this at all, because in fact, you can order the moment you’re ready to. We had looked at the menu prior and knew we were after their “3 Meat BBQ Combo,” which included 200g pulled pork. 200g pulled chicken, 200g sliced brisket, corn bread plus a choice of 2 sides. We ordered fries and Beer & Bacon Mac & Cheese as our sides.

We had a bit of a play with the blocks with my son and he really enjoyed building on the table, while we waited for our meals. He usually doesn’t have a lot of entertainment that appeals to him at restaurants, so we bring our own. This was a welcomed change for us.

The food was quick and the presentation is great! The kids immediately eyed off the food and were keen to dig in. My son loved the corn bread, chips and mac & cheese. My daughter loved the pulled pork and chips! All of the food was delicious and the pulled pork and mac & cheese were the highlights for me. I definitely wanted more sides, but the large serving of meats was enough to fill us up (which is usually recommended for 3-4 people). If you have bigger eaters or 3 or 4 adults, I would recommend adding more sides.

We definitely want to return again and try more from their menu. They have great hours that suit young families and a great view of the brewery from the restaurant. My husband is keen to try more of...

Can a double cheeseburger be worth $28? Well, the answer is actually a little more nuanced than that—it really depends on who you ask.

A lot of people would say that for $28, it's extremely overpriced. Some would even say it's bordering on robbery for that amount. Others might argue that if you're getting an amazing experience, why should the price not match?

Would you pay $70 for a 150g wagyu steak or premium Angus beef? Me personally? I wouldn't. And a burger like this isn’t something I’d purchase on a regular basis—maybe once every 3 or 4 months. But a double cheeseburger under $20? Probably once a week, or once every two weeks.

My conundrum is that this burger is one of the best cheeseburgers I’ve ever had. But I wouldn’t consistently pay $28 for it. And the question is, why?

Well, first of all, it's about $8 more than I think it should be. Because, the fact is, it's a simple cheeseburger. It didn’t have many extras beyond beef, pickles, onions, cheese, and sauce. No sliced tomatoes, as far as I can remember. No lettuce. But, as Samuel L. Jackson would put it, it was still a tasty cheeseburger!

It tasted like the most deluxe version of a Big Mac I’ve ever had. It was amazing. The sauce tasted like it had chives or something similar, while also reminding me of the classic Big Mac sauce. And to top it off, fresh-tasting ingredients: a crumbly, moist beef patty, perfectly melted cheese, diced onions, and tangy, sweet pickles.

The sauce alone? Top quality. Even if it had just the beef patty and this sauce, it would probably still be great.

But the fact remains: it’s $28. It’s expensive. And I don’t make top dollar. So, I’d still stop by every now and then, but not once every two weeks, and definitely not...

I recently hosted my daughters 1st Birthday here and I do event planning as part of my day job so my standards are pretty high. I can not fault the venue and the team at Bad Shepherd. I would highly recommend this venue for functions. Working with Diti to plan the event and then on the day, Pablo, this was a seamless process. I felt confident in the team at all times and nothing was too much trouble. The venue itself won me over as there is a dedicated kids corner. This was super important given my guest list which included kids aged 1 through to 11. All of them loved the kids corner and were immersed in play for the majority of the event. I didnt need to bring in any outside vendors for kids "stuff". The food is beyond good! My guests made numerous comments on the quality and quantity of the food. I feel the food is very reasonably priced and my guests all left feeling well fed and not like they needed to do a maccas drive through run on the way home. My event was out on the deck, the weather was absolute perfection and the atmosphere was second to none. Yes we got lucky with the weather but even if it wasnt on our side, the deck space would still allow for an outdoor event. Highly, highly, highly recommend Bad Shepherd for a function or just a sit down meal. I can't...