Basq - Essendon Fields — Restaurant in Melbourne

WARNING: DO NOT EVER BOOK A FUNCTION AT BASQ

If I could give negative stars I would. Unfortunately 1 star is the minimum, but that is far too generous and more than they deserve.

We had a function booked for my mums 60th birthday. Our function was originally meant to start at 6pm. 2 weeks prior to the function, she was called to say that the function before us was going to need the room longer, so our choices were to push our function back to 7:30pm or they would need to cancel our booking. By that stage, our guests had been sent invitations, we had already ordered and booked decorations, balloons, cake etc. So we reluctantly agreed to push it back, rather than cancel all together.

The day of the party comes and we call prior to arriving to confirm that we can come in half an hour early to set up and decorate the room before the guests arrive. They confirmed that this would be fine, and the previous party was meant to be out of the room by 6:30pm.

When we arrived at 7pm the room was still full of guests, decorations and a children’s ball pit from the previous function. When a complaint was made and they were asked to leave the room and clear out so that we could set up, guests of that party became angry and threatening towards my mum, who was in the room on her own at the time. Basq staff did nothing to enforce the finish time of their party and honour our booking and instead of diffusing the situation and advising their party that their time was up, they instead decided that they were cancelling our function and that we had no say in the matter…. 10 minutes before the guests were set to arrive.

Apparently the owner made this final decision, but didn’t have the guts to come and tell this to our face. Instead, sending staff to do the dirty work. Absolutely pathetic, and a very poor example of customer service. If you’re going to cancel at the very last minute, due to factors that THEY should have had control of, then at least deliver the message yourself and explain why you have made the decision.

Fortunately we ended up finding another restaurant on short notice. They were able to fit us in at the last minute, the staff were friendly and accomodating, the food and atmosphere were amazing. It was everything that BASQ is not. The night ended up turning out great, no thanks to the miserable owner at BASQ. Thanks for nothing guys…

Please disregard “CLAIR” and “AARON’s” blatant lies about “what really happened”. What THEY failed to mention, was that 12 men from their party were being abusive and threatening towards my mum. No chairs were thrown, there was no yelling prior to that, no swearing, and no children crying. The only form of abuse came from their guests frustration after being told to leave, but refusing to and overstaying their welcome. The problem would not have escalated if they had left the room when they were supposed to, and if staff had enforced this. Our party was pushed back to accomodate theirs, the very least they could have done in return was clear out when their time was up.

I suppose staff had no choice but to take the side of the 12 angry men, rather than the one 60 year old woman trying to defend herself, as they likely felt just as threatened as she did and clearly didn’t have the guts to stand up for...

So excited to come here to celebrate an early Mother’s Day lunch, but quickly disappointed. Upon entering we were very enticed by the decor, building and design of the restaurant - it’s a gorgeous fit out!

We sat down and were attended to promptly and thought the waitress was helpful. Husband was deciding between Turkish eggs and another egg dish but waitress said “Turkish eggs is one of our popular dishes” it would have been wiser if she asked how hungry he might be as the portion of this dish is for someone after a light meal/snack. Honestly if you’re going there for a meal and you’re hungry don’t bother with the Turkish eggs unless you are reducing carb intake.

He ended up eating my steak sandwich to fulfil his hunger which was ok but honestly, the waitress should of asked how I’d like the steak cooked - it was Rare-Medium - without being checked how I might like the steak cooked. Very disappointing since it seems basq is appealing towards a fine dining experience with the price points.

The steak sandwich was reasonable but flavor lacking, the bread became soggy with the onion and juice from the steak. I’m not sure how the onion was cooked but they were a soggy grey-purple colour and flavourless.

After serving our meals the waitress disappeared and no one else took over. Tried to make eye contact with other staff but they were too busy chatting away with one another - I needed a napkin so ended up just getting it off the table beside us. No one came to see if we’d like anything more and that was the end of our unpleasant lunch.

I’m not sure if I’ll return but if I do it will be on a specials night as I can’t justify paying top price for limited service and bland food.

For these prices I expect a wow factor that is better than my home cooking.

Might be back to try a coffee next time and embrace the gorgeous decor, if you’re after a serene spot to work from...

First up was breakfast at Basq a couple weeks ago. we ordered the Chilli Scrambled Eggs and the eccentric French Toast. The chilli with the croissant and a side of avocado is a go to as well as the French toast with the unique flavours makes it a great combination.

Secondly we had lunch (today haha). For an entree we had the Tabasco chicken ribs that were so good I swear I could eat a whole plate full. There was so much meat on these and would highly recommend a friend to try. For mains we tried the Blue Crab Swimmer Chilli Spaghetti (too spicy for me) which my partner LOVED. Also ordered the chicken burger as well as the Wagyu beef burger which is top tier and the best burger I’ve ever had. Fried chicken burger was good too.

Thirdly, we had dinner here also about two weeks ago. Started off with a crab burger slider and smoked salt-bush lamb ribs. Partner loved the slider and the lamb ribs are mouth watering and very tender. For dinner we went with Seared barramundi and the steak special which was a piece of A8/9 (not too sure) Wagyu eye fillet cooked medium-well. Melt in your mouth steak with a side of chips was well worth the 100$ cut of meat.

In conclusion if you are wanting a unique experience while shopping for cars or a great place to take your partner for either Breakfast/Lunch or Dinner I’d highly recommend this place.

P.S HUGE shout out to Rebecca, she conducts her work to the highest regard and professional standard that all hospitality staff should have. After dinner that night I gave her a huge tip (rare for Australia) for her amazing service. She is a true star for the face of this restaurant if...