Grill Steak Seafood — Restaurant in Melbourne

Walked down Hardware Lane looking for a place to eat amongst all of the restaurants that line the street. We got pulled in by their salesmen standing in-front offering a deal such as a free appetizer and drinks. My S.O. and I were pretty skeptical at first but figured we'd just try it out and take-up their offer.

We sat down outside as the weather was nice with the heaters they had.

We ordered Bruschetta as our free appetizer, along with their mussels and Paella to share for two. In addition we got two glasses of white wine, which they recommended. The food was overall, just okay. Out of the three dishes we ordered, their mussels were definitely the best, bruschetta was fairly standard (you can't really mess up a bruschetta), but the Paella was honestly pretty mediocre, probably one of the worst Paellas I've had, but it was still fine.

As for the service, the service was a bit conflicting. Our first waiter came around to take our order, but a few minutes later another waiter (i assume either a manager or more superior waiter judging my how he was dressed) came around to re-take our order because the previous waiter didn't record the order. There were a few other encounters after that where the first waiter would do something, then the second waiter would come around again to remedy or clarify the situation. But after halfway through the meal, the second waiter was the only one serving us, so the service become more smooth. The second waiter was great and gave good recommendations, he was extremely friendly and gave us two shot glasses of port at the end of our meal as a little dessert wine. Overall I would say the service was great once it had transitioned to the second waiter (the one who seemed higher up based on how he dressed).

Overall, would i recommend this place? Maybe. I would assume there are other better restaurants to pick from on the street, but this option isn't bad either. I was neither impressed nor dissatisfied with my...

Located in a cool laneway with loads of hustle and bustle. For entrees we ordered Arancini Balls & Lemon Salt & Pepper Calamari, for mains a Porterhouse steak (Surf& Turf) with the mushroom gravy, Lamb Shank, & Lobster tail Risotto. It all sounded so yummy we waited with anticipation. Entrees came out quick the calamari was intensely flavoured with lemon you HAD to have the aioli to just calm it down a bit, I did enjoy this as it was flavour packed, however my partner did not -Arancini balls were ok a little bland. We waited a little while for mains but eventually they came out and looked amazing-The steak was cooked absolutely perfectly and so was the lamb-falling off the bone however thats where it ended-Every dish lacked seasoning and was terribly bland, the sauces/jus on the lamb shank was watery and had no richness, heartiness or that thick gravy you expect with lamb shank and mash. The mushroom sauce was a watery mess I choose not to put it on the perfectly cooked steak as to ruin it. Finally the risotto, again lacked flavour and needed to be cooked for longer it was way to wet and lacked the 'creaminess' from a great risotto being cooked slowly and just to the point of perfection. Our bill for the above was just over $200AU which would have been reasonable if the food was good but it wasn't. We were asked by our waiter how was our food we did say it was average, but there was no further inquiry from him to ask why it wasn't great and what could be done better. I had read all the reviews which majority of them were great hence the booking however the place fell way short in a city renowned for great food, drinks and service. First...

I rarely leave negative reviews, but this experience was genuinely disappointing.

When we first approached the restaurant, we were greeted by someone at the door who said, “If you’re not happy, don’t pay.” While the tone was quite unfriendly, we initially interpreted it as a sign of confidence — perhaps the food was so good that they didn’t worry about complaints. So, despite the strange first impression, we decided to give the place a chance.

We weren’t very hungry, so we ordered just one meatball pasta. However, we waited over 30 minutes for this single dish. When we politely asked about the delay, the same person responded with a sarcastic “We’re not McDonald’s,” and vaguely told us it would be ready in five minutes. Those five minutes passed, then more.

When the pasta finally arrived, it was underwhelming — the meatballs were sticky and unpleasant in texture, and the pasta was either overcooked or drenched in sauce, making it clumpy and hard to enjoy.

We tried to express our disappointment directly and calmly, but we were completely dismissed with a cold, “You’re table XX, pay there.” No apology, no explanation, just indifference.

We came in with goodwill, even giving the benefit of the doubt after an unfriendly welcome — but what followed was unacceptable on every level: service, attitude, and food quality.

I’m not writing this out of pure frustration, but because I genuinely hope this restaurant can improve. Good food and a warm atmosphere go hand in hand. Without respect for customers, even the best dish will leave a bad taste. I truly hope this feedback helps the restaurant grow into...