Doncaster Hotel — Restaurant in Melbourne

2 part review: We had lunch here on 29th December 2022. As I made the booking I was emailed a request for a review afterwards. I decided to email the hotel directly (sadly with no acknowledgement at all) and this is what I wrote:

Hi Team,

Rather than post a less than favourable review publicly, I thought I'd let you know how I found our visit.

Parts of our experience were good, other parts were quite disappointing.

The size of the meals were generous, both adult and kids meals.  My partners side salad was delivered without dressing. Maybe that's how you serve them but it looked as though it had started to dry out a little.  The kitchen staff did well getting our meals out at roughly the same time even though there were several orders from our table at the same time.

The toilets were clean.

What was disappointing was that at least 3 water glasses that we helped ourselves to weren't clean. I had to go back and ask for clean glasses as the rack hadn't been topped up. The house Sauv Blanc was not as cold as it could've been. I did go back to the bar and asked for a glass of ice. I was disappointed that the bar staff on several occasions were less than attentive when I was at the bar for service. I realise that some staff were assisting other customers and one staff member was making coffees, but the staff members who clearly weren't assisting anyone seemed oblivious to me standing waiting to be served (this happened more than once), to the point that one staff member who was making a drink for another customer was using her eyes/head to try to indicate to a fellow staff member that I was waiting to be served.

No empty glasses were cleared from our table in the whole time we were seated. Once we had all finished our meals our plates remained on the table for close to an hour. There were very few customers left in the dining room during this time.  Even when the children collected their ice creams they had to move their plates to have their dessert.

This was the first time I'd been to your venue. It was recommended by my cousin as it is family friendly with the  children able to enjoy the play centre.

Further staff training would improve the whole experience.

Dinner on 29th December 2023

We had a group of 9 adults and 3 children and several people in our group ordered separately.

Our main courses were delivered to our table reasonably quickly, but at no time during our visit were glasses, the wine bottle or plates removed by the wait staff. After about an hour of finishing our main courses we moved empty glasses, plates and cutlery to the empty table next to us.

The bistro was not what I'd call busy, with about half the tables vacant. Wait staff delivered food to the table but went back to the kitchen empty handed. This same pattern was repeated for all customers that I could see.

We ordered dessert and after some time my partner went to check on our order. He was advised the desserts would only be a few more minutes.

The desserts served warm had been heated on the same plates that they were served on, so the ice cream was either half melted or partly melted and very soft when it was delivered to the table.

This was really disappointing as the sticky date and chocolate brownie (to replace the creme brulee that was ordered, that we found was unavailable as the desserts were delivered to our table) could easily have been heated on a separate plate then placed on to a chilled or room temperature plate with the ice cream.

It is really disappointing that the service has not improved in 12 months. Not sure if...

I am eager for the Australian community to be properly informed about the actions of your hotel.

Contrary to the principles upheld by the aware community and human rights advocates, on 28/06/2014, the managers of this hotel provided their facilities to the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran, a regime that has consistently supported terrorism and the massacre of innocent people in the Middle East, particularly in Iran.

Despite numerous requests and efforts from the Australian and Iranian-Australian communities to prevent this collaboration, the hotel managers did not comply. Not only did they cooperate with this terrorist regime, but they also obstructed the peaceful gathering of human rights supporters and advocates for freedom and democracy. This gathering, previously authorized by the Australian police, aimed to protest against the presence of one of the world's most dangerous governments in a country with a proud history of democracy and anti-terrorism. This incident has tarnished the hotel's management record.

I want the cultured and aware Australian community, true champions of democracy, to know that the hotel managers, under the guise of business interests, ignored the Australian values and the cries of brave young men and women in Iran. Not only did they fail to prevent this agreement, but they also actively sought to suppress and eliminate human rights and democracy advocates.

I hope that the Australian community, particularly in Melbourne, will not remain indifferent...

Unfortunately Doncaster Hotel has gone downhill, since my previous visits. We arrived on Saturday before 6pm, and they were sold out of a lot of dishes: chicken nuggets for the kids, sweet potato fries, seafood basket and tandoori chicken. On a positive note the staff were friendly and paitient, they provided us with other options. The food was average, my cousin's steak was overcooked he asked for medium rare and got well done. I ordered some Moroccan cauliflower bites to share and what we thought would be baked and flavoursome with spices (see comparison below)…. we were served mushy cauliflower that was over battered and fried. The main disappointment started before our meal, as our elderly frail mother who has a 4 wheel walker refused to go up the ramp to the restaurant. The ramp which is under an awning has a sign that says no smoking. However there were 3 patrons smoking right outside the door obstructing the ramp entrance. We therefore had to help her up the stairs and carry her walker up. The no smoking should be more closely monitored. When we entered everyone looked busy, and there was not an opportunity to let anyone know. As mentioned the staff provided great service, though the food and atmosphere was a...