Mr Hobson — Restaurant in Melbourne

It was a beautiful day by the sea, and the best thing without a doubt about Mr Hobson restaurant is the way the windows open to allow the seabreeze in.

There was a vague post apocalyptic sense about the place when we arrived at midday. Empty tables left unwiped and a shell shocked vibe that could not be explained by busyness. The toilets were also out of order, a scrappy handwritten sign next to the unattended maitre d’s lectern announced.

Due to a communications malfunction across the country, along with hospitals and banks, this venue had no electronic systems, and we were thus required to place orders up at the counter. Perfectly understandable.

We ordered a dozen oysters to share for entrée, two serves of Fish & Chips (one fish grilled) and two salmon poke bowls that sounded sensational on paper.

Drinks were; a lychee mocktail so sickly sweet it would curl the toe, and two Coopers Pale Ales straight from the bottle so no nasty surprises there.

The skeleton staff were unavailable and generally invisible although on the odd occasion when they appeared they were polite and apologetic (for example to explain that there was no table service, the kitchen couldn’t manage to grill fish, and to be embarrassed that all the tables were dirty.) They didn’t apologize for bringing the entrée after the mains, making us locate and obtain our cutlery or indeed clear the table after we ate.

All things would’ve seemed brighter if the food hadn’t been so sad: why was the salmon in the poke bowls cut into little cubes like cat food and everything else therein just kinda mushy. I didn’t have the fish and chips but no one commented on it being nice.

It really was the most unexciting dining experience. And definitely not value for money.

I’m just glad that our family reunion made up for the lack of everything good .. oh, except those windows....

1 star seems generous. Today my family and I dined at Mr Hobson for lunch, it was categorically the worst dining experience I've ever had in my life. Abysmal service and terrible food.

The waiter kept asking to take our order without providing drink or food menus. The waiter brought over a glass of prosecco instead of a bottle that was ordered, and then spilled it all over my father and onto the table. She didn't apologise or offer to help clean up and we had to ask for additonal napkins and clean it all up ourselves.

When entrees arrived we had to ask for small plates. The waiter came back with a pile of plates that we had to hand out ourselves.

The mains took incredibly long to come out and when it finally arrived, one dish was missing and the child's meal ordered for a toddler was incorrect.

When they brought out the "correct" child's meal- which was meant to be napoli penne, they brought out piping hot spaghetti, literally steaming in a deep chip bowl. When the toddler went to eat the pasta it was so hot, she burnt herself and tipped the bowl onto herself. We had to act immediately and remove her pants to prevent her legs from being burned. The toddler was extremely distressed and the response from the waiter was pathetic. No concern and no apology. A small plastic bag filled with water was offered, and they sheepishly disappeared.

I had to ask the waiter to help clean up the mess on the floor, and we had to go and change over the high chair ourselves. At this stage there were very few other diners in the restaurant, perhaps only one or two other tables.

The lamb shanks were terrible and so was my husband's chicken and chorizo linguini. Management should really take a look at the service they provide and quality of food being served. It's no wonder there were very few people in...

On Saturday the 12th of February 2022, I had my son's Baptism organised at Mr Hobson's. Due to COVID I had organised my son's Baptism with 2-3 weeks notice and popped in to talk to someone about having a function at Mr Hobson's. Dallia who is the Event Manager spoke to me on the day I was enquiring, showed me the function room and helped me with organising a minimium spend and a catering option which worked well with not only my budget but also ensuring a descent feed would be provided to my guests. Dallia was so helpful, accommodating, generous and kind throughout the entire process that I locked in the date and everything turned out even better then what was planned. Dallia was so amazing that she not only offered to help me set up my decorations the day before the event but she was present throughout the entire function. Anything I needed on the day of the baptism lunch she was approachable and efficient with what I had asked for. The food was amazing, the function room was stunning and all the staff were kind and vigilant to what was needed for my guests. All my guests had stated that the day couldn't have been more perfect!! Dallia is an extremely kind-hearted person and if it wasn't for her, I wouldn't have had the function I did! I will definitely be organising my next function at Mr Hobson's and am so grateful for their amazing hospitality and service!! Thank you so much again to all of you, you truly are amazing people and made my son's baptism event a day I truly will never forget!! Warmest...