Ruby Riviera Taberna Mediterraneo — Restaurant in Melbourne

Lovely location, great service but food could be so much better.

We were sat right by the river, which was obviously very enjoyable.

We received something complimentary for celebrating something special, but I’m actively choosing to hide the event and what we actually received so that nobody reads this and lies about a special occasion to get stuff for free. I appreciated this token of kindness, and it certainly kicked our experience off to a good start.

You can order via QR code or waitstaff here, and you know I’m a sucker for minimising talk and being able to order through a link instead lol. That being said, the staff here are warm and inviting, so don’t be scared of chatting to them either way (:

We ordered two pizzas (one margherita and one garlic), as well as a swordfish souvlaki.

The pizzas are nine inches, and quite nice for how simple they are. The margherita came with a beautiful drizzle of basil oil, which really elevated it. Nothing to particularly write home about, but good enough for $18. The garlic pizza was great to have in between bites of the margherita, and tasted quite garlicky which was delicious. I will say that - across both pizzas - there was an excess of crust, which to me indicates some stinginess regarding the topping. While the bread was nice and chewy, I didn’t need that much of it. I’m also quite keen on pizza dough with a bit of char, which these ones unfortunately didn’t have.

The souvlaki is a no-go. It is extremely small for $22, and doesn’t even come with chips. The swordfish was cooked ok but bland, and the pickled onions were a nice addition. Nonetheless, the rude amount of rocket within the wrap was so off-putting, and the lack of sauce won’t make up for its bitter taste. I wouldn’t pay more than $10 for a wrap so small and unappealing, and it’s unfortunately what brings the rating down quite a bit for this place.

None of the food here tastes as if a lot care or love is put into it, and this is a far cry from authentic, moreish Italian food. What I will say is that it is an easy choice for a quick bite or a drink, all of which is priced reasonably.

The location is hard to rival, and I’d still recommend this place after a shop at DFO to wind down for a snack or a bevvie.

I hope they don’t change the high standard of customer service they have here, and don’t disregard their efforts in the slightest. I hope this feedback helps them refine their menu further to provide food that is just as pleasant as their service, and hope I can return one day to try something new that will...

The Meat Market has a great view and has great placement in the city, and while the restaurant itself and its surroundings are beautiful; the food and majority of the staff certainly were not.

My family and I, knowing that The Meat Market is a higher class restaurant and that we had an event to get to afterwards (mind you, the event was a five minute walk from the restaurant), decided to book for 5:30. We arrived 5 minutes later but were promptly attended to and sat at a table that was wobbly from the screws being loose, a theme among every other table. The restaurant was empty bar three tables of two.

Our drink orders were taken, but arrived about ten to fifteen minutes later; our order consisting of a bottle of wine, a cider and a cocktail. Sometime after we had to ask our waitress to take our food order, which we learnt was a common theme for the restaurant.

Many of the waitstaff didn't seem properly trained, uninterested and often gathered in groups away from the tables, making it near impossible to get their attention.

We asked for a round of bread for the table, as well as the premium set course ($75 A head for 4 people). Firstly; we only recieved one serving of bread and had to ask two different waitstaff for another serving. Our entrees took twenty minutes to come out too.

The haloumi was served cold, lacking any flavour due to the fact that it was past the point of warm. The olives were okay, but certainly not as amazing as olives that are lightly warmed before being served and the cured fish was okay too. Thankfully the calamari was still warm and was quite enjoyable.

What wasn't was the fact that we were left dissatisfied from the lacklustre entrees and wondering where our mains were. With the chefs conversing, doing no cooking whatsoever and the time ticking, we had to ask, who we think, was the manager about our food. We recieved our food at 7:00pm.

The only thing warm with our mains was the cauliflower. All of our meats were luke warm to cold depending on if they were at the bottom of the pile or the top. And while the manager had apologised and said it was their fault for overlooking us, it certainly didn't remove the sour taste of cold staff and cold meat.

At the end of the night, we still ate the food since there was no alternative since our event was about to start, and we finished all we wanted in less than fifteen minutes.

TLDR; Disappointingly cold food, less than caring staff and a waste of time and money. Wouldn't...

Our recent visit to this restaurant was, unfortunately, far from enjoyable. From the moment we walked in, the service left much to be desired. Despite our attempts to signal the waitress multiple times, she either glanced our way and ignored us or didn’t notice us at all. There was no full table service as advertised, and any questions about the menu or ordering required us to actively wave someone down.

One of the most frustrating aspects was the discrepancy between their online ordering system and the in-person menu prices. We were forced to order in person, even though it was more expensive, with the promise of “full table service” that never materialized. This felt misleading and added to the overall disappointment.

The food itself was underwhelming. While the pizza dough had a nice texture, the pizza as a whole was nearly tasteless. The garlic pizza, which should have been a highlight, was on the burnt side, leaving a noticeable taste of charred bread. The chips were another letdown—stale and lacking any crispness, though the stale texture was somewhat masked by the cheese.

To top off an already poor experience, there was a loud argument between the chef and a member of the staff. Given the open kitchen setup, this was impossible to ignore and only added to the discomfort of our meal.

Overall, this was a pretty bad dining experience. We went in expecting full table service and decent food, but left feeling disappointed on both fronts. I would struggle to recommend this restaurant to anyone looking for a pleasant...