Motor — Restaurant in Melbourne

A masterclass in how not to run a restaurant.

We arrived at Motor Wine Bar at 8pm with high hopes and hungry stomachs, lured in by glowing reviews and a lovely ambiance. We ordered two starters, which came promptly and were genuinely delicious—so far, so good. The wine? Excellent. The venue? Lovely. Things were looking up.

Then the mains happened—or rather, didn’t.

At 8:35pm, with no sign of our burger and roast chicken, we politely asked our waitress how much longer it would be. “Five minutes,” she said. Ten minutes later, she returned with an update: still a while to go. At 8:50pm, now borderline feral with hunger and needing to leave for another event, we let her know we couldn’t wait any longer.

She was gracious and apologetic—truly the only professional in the building. But then, in a dramatic twist worthy of a low-budget soap opera, the floor manager swooped in to deliver a TED Talk on woodfired cooking. Apparently, their burger patties—meticulously crafted from chopped brisket and short rib—require a post-cook “sitting period” of 20 minutes. (So… they serve it cold?) He insisted this wasn’t fast food, and reminded us that cooking chips and lettuce apparently also requires artisan patience and woodfire finesse.

We tried to explain that a 50-minute wait for a burger and chicken (with no communication) isn’t acceptable anywhere—woodfire or otherwise. His response? Deflection, sarcasm, and a bizarre line of questioning better suited for a culinary court trial than a dinner table. We told him we’d lost our appetite. He told us our meals were “just a few minutes away”—again.

Plot twist: As we were paying, we saw another waitress deliver our three plates to another table. So yes, the floor manager lied straight to our faces.

To summarise:

The waitress: an absolute gem. A+ in hospitality.

The manager: if there were Oscars for passive aggression and gaslighting, he’d sweep the awards season.

The food (what we did get): genuinely good.

The service experience: something between a dark comedy and a failed PR stunt.

We genuinely feel for the staff working under such a delusional manager, and send our condolences to the owners—unless, of course, he is one of them, in which case... good luck.

P.S. If he ever wants a career change, might I suggest competitive debating or fiction writing?

P.S., we sat for 50 minutes to have one short bread for each person, this is a good weight...

Motor Bistro and Wine Bar is definitely one of my favorite in Melbourne ! Very warm welcoming in this great atmosphere, I like the open central bar for having a nice glass of wine or a cocktail on the top chairs. The round tables with booth, perfect for Three or four people. The private dinning room offers a quiet comfort space, perfect for a birthday or a business dinner. The wine bar / Bistro gives you the possibility to have your drinks, lunch, dinner outside in the courtyard, very cosy with nice fourniture and plants. The food is just very good, fresh products, well dressed, good quantities and special admiration for the sauces.. And as a wine connoisseur, I am very impressed about the wine list.. a deep choice for every tastes ! You can find very nice small local producers, some very rare bottles from Burgundy and overseas. Amazing selection of French, Italian, Spanish white and red wines. The place to be in Melbourne...

Very good experience at the Motor, a great discovery for me. We were seated in the booths section, the atmosphere is really comfy, warm and employees are very helpful. They took our coats when we arrived and provided us with good advice for the wine selection (if you're a wine amateur like me, you'll fit in perfectly and make great discoveries) + they explained us how the menu works, kind of share what you want and order for your own if you prefer. The food was also extremely good. We decided to share the entries (the chef puts some real work on it) and to take our own mains. Perfectly cooked meat for me. For the dessert, we shared a woodfired cookie that was trully stunning. As we finished our wine bottle, we were suggested a glass of wine for the dessert that fitted pretty well. I definetly recommend this restaurant, the owners did a great job with that place! You'll see me...