Hophaus Bar — Restaurant in Melbourne

Such a great idea for a restaurant, and in a great location too. This restaurant was one of the main things we were looking forward to when we travelled interstate to Melbourne, having eaten there before last year.

Unfortunately when we arrived at 7.50pm for our booking at 8pm, they couldn't find it. We were hurriedly placed at a table (which was in a lovely area overlooking the river). The waitress tried to get our order twice within the first few minutes, giving us the impression they wanted us out quickly.

When we ordered drinks, they arrived and my $20 cocktail (which was very nice) was only 2/3 full and essentially just tasted like juice. I noticed the same with other tables- their beer tasting platters were not consistently full.

I ordered the Weinerschnitzel after checking that the cabbage listed was traditional cooked red cabbage, which I was told it was. It came out as essentially a cold crunchy slaw mix from Coles. So we ordered a bowl of traditional cabbage (which they nicely brought our quite quickly), which was good but I'm disappointed they weren't upfront about it when I asked, which meant we had to pay extra for something we thought we'd ordered.

My partner ordered the pork knuckle, which was listed as coming with pork crisps. The knuckle itself was quite small for the price and the crisps didn't arrive with them- the waitress was very nice when she brought them out, but it's a shame we had to remind them at all.

There was also a large party of men and a second large party of women there- both of which were being overly loud and disruptive. However, we only witnessed staff asking the male party to quieten down.

Overall, it was very disappointing and we won't be coming back. We spent close to $150 and were treated like a burden and rushed the whole time. On our next visit to Melbourne, we'll find a different...

We arrived about 8:30 pm and I walked in and stood at the bar for about five minutes to ask if we could get a table. The male waiter was on the phone and looked at me, and I had no worries waiting until he was off the phone. The blonde waitress walked past me 2-3 times and didn't acknowledge me once. When the man was off the phone, he took his time making his way over and made it seem like such a hassle that I was requesting service. There was a only handful of other tables in the venue and the first comment I made was the service is quite horrible. The table we sat at was in an area with a lot of guttering and hence there was mice running around our feet. The brunette waitress was very lovely and moved us and was extremely apologetic and accommodating. We then ordered dinner and soft drinks with the blonde waitress at around 9:00 pm, and the drinks never arrived. We finally received our starters half an hour later, and asked the brunette waitress if we could please have our drinks as they did not arrive. Again, she was very apologetic and lovely. We finally got our drinks at around 9:45 pm, only to have the waiter come past and tell us that the bar closed at 10:00 pm so we needed to order last drinks. Just after 10:00 pm we finally received our meal and it was beautiful, but we was quite salty, which would have been fine if we were able to have a drink a long side it. At this stage we were also a bit and couldn't enjoy it as much as we would have liked and unfortunately didn't finish our meals. In summary, the food is great but the service is horrible, with exception to the brunette waitress. I hope back of house are receiving majority of the tips. Unsure if I will return to give them another chance as I would like to try more of the menu, but the experience was thoroughly unenjoyable and the worst night out I have had in...

Hophaus is a German inspired bar and eatery situated at the mezzanine level of the Southgate Restaurant Precinct on Southbank Promenade. With a more contemporary take on European Beer Halls, it features a large outdoor heated terrace with views overlooking the Yarra River to the the city.

The bar offers 14 draught taps with a rotation of some of Europe’s best beers – Czech, Spanish, German, Scottish, Irish and Dutch beers and of course a few Australian brews. The menu consists of a few sharing dishes including some German favourites and on Sundays you can enjoy their Rotisserie of the Day with all of the trimmings for $30.

You can’t not start with a Bretzel, it was crunchy yet fluffy inside and just the right amount of salt. It came with regular butter instead of whipped which didn’t bother us. I didn’t get the cheese or the bacon flavour from the Croquettes but it was definitely nice and creamy.

My favourite dish to order at a German restaurant has to be the simple Chicken Schnitzel. This one was satisfyingly crispy, served with a deep jus and fresh house slaw. The Pork Knuckle also had a super crisp outer with the meat moist and falling off the bone. Both dishes could have done with more flavour and seasoning - but neither were disappointing.

For dessert we ordered the Apple Strudel, it was sadly served luke-warm and again lacked flavour, mostly tasting like plain stewed apples. They are currently experiencing some supplier issues and trying to find the best ones for their cuisine.

Hophaus is a perfect spot for after work drinks or a casual dinner. A reliable spot for a simple feed with a view and friendly service.

⭐️...