Bar Holiday — Restaurant in Melbourne

came to bar holiday for a lovely dinner during the exhausting heat of melbourne!

snacking ——————— bread and butter, $4, 8/10 bread was really nice like idk how people rate bread but it was just good, so much better than regular white toast from groceries the butter was yum and i liked how they sprinkled some salt flakes on top

mixed pickled vegetables, $12, 8/10 really liked the assortment and how it just wasn’t one vegetable the cucumber was a bit too vinegary like i choked on that

white anchovy toast, $18, 7/10 really nice flavours although i couldn’t exactly taste the anchovy much? there was a bit too much oil for my liking

fennel salami, $16, 8/10 really enjoyed this little snacking dish and it came with bread too more mustard tho, that was so good

fries + mayo, $15, 7/10 nice short string fries and it was crispy which i love mayo was okay like it’s just mayo

sharing ——————— baked barramundi, $30, 8/10 surprisingly, i really enjoyed this dish the fish was cooked nice and had a nice ‘sea’ flavour to it the potatoes were lovely but i think it could be better if it was pan fried or had some crisp to it

ragu pasta, $26, 9/10 best dish of the night lots of big meat pieces that had so much flavour too pasta shape was interesting like i never seen pasta look like that but it was cooked well

drinks ——————— lemon lime bitters, $5, 6/10 there was no bitters taste it was just citrusy and lemony which like it was refreshing but no…...

ORDERED: 🍞 Bread & butter ($4.00) 🐟 White anchovy toast (4 pieces) ($18.00) 🍟 Fries & mayo ($10.00)

🦪 Braised clams and chorizo, white wine & paprika broth ($24.00) 🍝 Casarecce, pork & fennel ragu ($26.00) 🍝 Linguine with prawns, mussels, tomato & dill ($30.00)

It was roughly $30.00pp between four people. This didn't include drinks!

REVIEW: ✔ The chips really stood out for me. The kitchen team ain't shy with the salt, so the savoury notes hit me in all the right places. The mayo was an interesting take, but it was a perfect portion & sharing piece between friends. 🤝

➖ The food otherwise was decent. I enjoyed what I had, but it's not a place where the food is the main focus - it's definitely more about the social vibes. Nonetheless, the broth within the braised clams and chorizo was delicious but the clams themselves weren't notable. 🥣 Linguine with prawns was ordered later, and was a mild way to end the dinner. No offensive flavours, but the dill was a great herb that added impact and enjoyment. 🌿

🔊 Seated at the back of the restaurant and the speaker above our heads, you couldn't deny the power of their bass. It was a little hard to speak between our friends at times (limited to a table of 4). However, it did seem like we were forgotten about when our water carafe wasn't filled and empty plates were being slowly picked up. Nonetheless ambiance was perfect for parties looking to drink and chill. Candles were lit when it got dark which also added to the...

As we arrived atmosphere seemed lovely as did the staff. I was attending a birthday drink and dinner. Myself and my partner (pregnant) were quite hungry so we ordered some food early separate from the main group. We Stated that we wanted the food to arrive separately from the rest of the table. Our entrees arrived and then it was a wait ( 45 mins) until the mains arrived (the venue was practically empty for people ordering food). The rest of the table ordered food and received there mains before us. We asked the waitress what happened and it seemed she forgot our mains. Amongst this they Brought food to the table we did not order as well as drinks. After this we sat and ate despite having a sour taste in our mouths already. I ordered some dessert to top the night off and a similar thing happened. I ordered and waited for 25 minutes before checking and it seemed they had forgotten again. I ordered an affogato and it was literally liquid, the ice cream had melted. All in all I wanted to enjoy this venue but the service is abysmal. Saw the staff obviously drinking behind the bar and wonder if this had something...