Club Ringwood — Restaurant in Melbourne

Went for lunch today. Been many times over the years. Love it. However today I apparently walked into restaurant thru incorrect door. I walked directly to desk where an old lady was about to seat a couple. She turned to me and in a very angry voice pointed to a spot on the carpet for me to stand on and chastised me in front of the other customers for coming thru wrong door and waiting in incorrect spot. I did as told and waited on my spot on the carpet for her to return. On her return she angrily asked if I had reservation. I stated no and she stated that i should have made reservation. I said ok but the club dining room was only quarter full and no reserve signs on tables. She very unhappily showed us to a table. A very loud man was waiting on next table making jokes noone was amused by. I assumed he was manager. As he walked past our table I stated the old grumpy waitres had been very obnoxious and rude to us. Well. He let go with a mouthful of abuse and told us to leave and never come back. Followed us to door yelling abuse all the way. It was all very weird. We have been going to Ringwood club since it opened. Always a lovely meal and friendly staff. Ok so I must have walked in wrong doorway, honestly didnt see sign that said exit. Would have apologised if they had of pointed out my mistake nicely and not angrily told me to stand on the special spot to wait for service. It was all very weird and if not so mean it would have been funny. No excuse to treat people like that. Shame, but wont be returning. Horrible manager and horrid old...

Typical pokies venue when it comes to food. The food is reasonable and generous portions, but that’s about it for positives.

We were told there was table service but it was so hard to get a staff member’s attention I almost had to call reception to tell them we were ready to order (seriously, let us order at the counter again).

Wait staff didn’t seem to understand the basics of delivering food and beverages and passed them in front of other people (transferring a large, hot plate of food or a hot beverage in front of another person is not only unprofessional, but also increases risk to patrons). When my mother ordered a second glass of wine the waiter went to take her first glass, she said she hadn’t finished, so he poured the remainder of her first glass into her second one.

The wait staff also didn’t seem to know the basics of alcoholic beverages. I’m a tee-totaller, yet I know that Cointreau is not a coffee, it is a liqueur. And back to wait staff skills; listening and also knowing how to use the search function on your iPad ordering system are both important skills.

Finally, when my mother realised that even the seniors meal was too big for her they refused to supply a container for her to put the excess food in. The excuse of “we aren’t licensed for takeaway” doesn’t work when there is no such permit structure in this area.

I won’t be returning unless it’s because someone else has chosen...

My visit was just before eight pm on a Friday night, with the intention to join up as a member. The receptionist was finishing up soon so she didn't have time to sign me up. There went my discounted drinks. But thank you for returning my driving licence that I left behind. :-) The bistro was just closing too, so I didn't visit that. A pity. There were very few people in the lounge bar and even less in the sports bar. I wandered around the gaming area, as there was nothing else to see or do. I even joined the lost souls in there for a while and fed a pokie machine and stared at a screen. My next stop was the sports bar. There was no one in there at all. I marvelled at the six or so big screens, all showing something different, but without any accompanying sound. Next stop the lounge bar, there was now only one occupied table. Time had moved on, it was nearly 10.00pm and no more drinks were being served in there. Just time for one more pint and back into the gaming room. A quick visit to the sports bar that now had TWO other occupants and then home. The Beechworth beer was lovely, but a bit overpriced. The venue is smartly decorated, it is spotless, the staff friendly and attentive - but is was almost deserted. No atmosphere whatsoever, such as shame as I was looking forward to my visit. Maybe I was unlucky. At least I saved $10...