Baro — Restaurant in Melbourne

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Hi everyone,

I’d like to share my recent experience at Baros, Rosebud.

On my birthday, I went there for a dinner celebration. I ordered chicken skewers, but when they arrived, they were raw and half-cooked—absolutely pink in the middle. I pointed this out to the waitress, who took the plate back. A few minutes later, she returned with the same chicken after it had been handled by both her and the chef.

I reluctantly ate a little but left most of it on the plate. The food had no taste or flavour. At the end of the meal, the waitress mentioned the chef had “almost burned” the food, to which I replied that the chicken was still undercooked inside.

When I got home, I became very unwell—severe stomach cramps, vomiting, chills—and spent the entire night in the bathroom. The next day, I went to the doctor. After blood tests, I was told I had salmonella poisoning and a bowel infection. I’m now on two different antibiotics and also undergoing a CT scan.

Today, I received a call from the manager/chef, who claimed the food was cooked properly and that my illness did not come from their food. There was no apology, no concern—just arrogance.

I honestly don’t understand how anyone in the food and hospitality industry can be so dismissive and aggressive when it comes to customer health.

My birthday dinner was ruined, and I’m still recovering from eating undercooked chicken.

My advice: if you’re ever served chicken that looks even slightly raw, do not eat it.

Having said that it was best place on peninsula to eat I had absolutely loved it But it has dropped standards and quality of food and...

Not sure if Covid has had an impact on service/food/atmosphere but we had read mixed reviews, heard from friends and decided to give this a try.

For those new to middle eastern/Turkish food I can understand the high rating but must say we were very disappointed in all of the above.

We had an entree of Taboulleh and Vine Leaves - the vine leaves were very cold (usually served mildly warm), bland and lacked the standard accompaniment of yoghurt or similar (not sure that they’re homemade) and the taboulleh was dry without any dressing/seasoning at all.

Adana Kebab was flavourful (hence 2 ⭐️) but came with only one skewer accompanied by some bread and a very small tasteless salad and was the same price as the mixed grill (2 skewers - lamb and chicken) which were lacking in flavour.

We were seated in front of the impressive kitchen which was nice to see but the 2 males cooking didn’t talk to each and were very solemn - it was awkward to watch. The 3 casual staff also lacked basic wait skills.

Not sure what Turkish influenced restaurant doesn’t have a rice/pilaf dish on the menu🤔?

Kebab house across the road is tastier and better value for money if you’re after flavourful meat though they don’t sell the $18 cocktails.

Baro is a nice venue in a nice location and the kitchen is clean and impressive despite the fact they were working in the dark sans lights but for the glow of the heat beads.

We found Baro to be “bizarro” on multiple fronts but perhaps we just picked...

I regret to share that our recent experience at Baro Mediterranean Restaurant was a disappointing one. The Turkish cuisine, usually known for its rich flavors, missed the mark on authenticity at this establishment. The Adana, which should have been fresh and succulent, tasted alarmingly aged and was suggestive of a week-old dish. Its unpleasant odor was akin to meat that should have been discarded, not served to customers.

Further aggravating the situation was a disturbing incident with my daughter. She unfortunately had a mishap involving a glass cup, resulting in her hand being cut open. While we understand that accidents happen, the response from the staff left a lot to be desired. They simply cleared up the shattered glass and carried on with their work, displaying a disheartening lack of concern.

Despite the visible glass in my daughter's hand and our clear distress, they offered no help nor any first aid assistance. Forced to address the situation myself, I had to run nearly 300 meters to fetch my personal first aid kit, all while the restaurant staff seemingly ignored our predicament.

To add insult to injury, the service was painfully slow, further diminishing the overall dining experience. While we had anticipated a pleasant meal at Baro Mediterranean Restaurant, we left feeling disregarded and unsatisfied. It's disheartening to write this, but I feel future patrons should be aware of...