Siglo — Restaurant in Melbourne

On Friday the 14th I happened to walk in with a drinking companion and ordered a bottle of bubbles. At point of entry no one asked if they could find a seat for my bottom. Plenty of unfilled chairs about, and the rather camp chap who ignored me at the entrance stayed put in his place and busied his eyeballs in the inane manner spaniels are wont to! I didn’t mind this, but I am befuddled as to how waiting staff develop an attitude. Nothing in their lives is remarkable enough to have an air about themselves. Nevertheless, having seated myself and my beautiful friend, the evening progressed rather pleasantly until it was time to leave. I walked up to the bar and requested for the damage .

A young girl from the mainland produced a bill which had doubled up my bubbles and on bringing it to her notice, there was visible displeasure that filled her space. I wondered if it was disbelief at the mistake, or perhaps she thought I had forgotten my cups. I proceeded to hang around the cashier’s section of the internal bar with my friend by my side, and then was given the corrected bill. The error on the part of Siglo not acknowledged, I asked perhaps quite impertinently if an apology would be a good thing. With no apology forthcoming, I persisted as manners must be taught if it hasn't. When an apology was delivered by the now expressionless and vastly diminished figure, the camp and slight chap took charge of the terminal that pays his wages , and proceeded to run my card. I might add, all done ever so rudely . I then asked for my invoice to be stapled to the receipt and found that a fine establishment such as yours did not invest in staplers. Nor it would seem polite staff. I am quite aware of the pains of being young and youthful and I am also cognizant that mistakes are made by us all, but I do hope you will let the young un' know that it costs nothing to be polite and well mannered. I love my bubbles and I am extremely fond of your establishment we’d both do rather well if we continued our...

I’ve travelled the world and seen a number of places like this. Firstly you have to have the nouse to find it because there is no sign, no street number, just an innocuous door. This can be somewhat embarrassing to ask people dining outside “do you know where Siglo’s is?” Of course once inside, you’re not part of the smug group that is in on the secret of this place. We walked up 3 flights of stairs to the rooftop bar. Here on an autumnal evening the spite of St Paul’s Cathedral and the lights of the theatre below give a somewhat haunting but pleasant ambience to this space. I was surrounded by the ‘beautiful people’ of Melbourne who come here looking dashing and stunning either from work or going out to dinner or even the theatre. Around me is a haven of tables and chairs but also lounges where people laid back relaxed Ike they were at home. The lighting is dim really only lit by the gas upright heaters that keep the nip in the air away. We had two gin and tonics and frankly they were weak and too much ice. Found the staff very helpful and service was fast. Sometimes a little too fast as they whisked away my drink before I’d finished. If you don’t like cigarettes and cigars - don’t come. Siglo is known for its cigar menu and although at first the smell had me back in Havana alas it became overwhelming so we left. On our way down I noticed how lovely the other floors are with big red couches and clever lighting. All filled with more beautiful people. There is tasty food I believe but we didn’t get to try it. Perhaps another day on another level. This place is not wheelchair friendly, kid friendly, pram friendly or stroller friendly. Parking is atrocious just because it’s Melbourne. However public transport is excellent. Toilets could do with a more regular clean during busy periods. Summary: well worth a visit if. I thing more than to remember what a cigar smells like and to watch the type of people that come here. Only took one photo- too intimidated to...

I have been contemplating this review since last Thursday (8 Sep) when we tried to go to Siglo but were denied entry by the door person/ security guard. We had been out at dinner with friends and 3 of us decided to have a night cap before heading home. We made our way up the stairs to be greeted (I use that term lightly) by the door person. When we reached him he looked me up and down and immediately said “How many drinks have you had?”. I was by no means even slightly intoxicated, having shared 2 bottles of wine between 4 people over a 3 hour dinner. I responded “Oh, we shared a couple of bottles of wine over dinner”. He then looked at my partner, who happens to work in healthcare and had been working since 6am that morning, and said “Well you’re not coming in, he’s drunk”. I was very shocked and said “Excuse me? My fiancé. He has barely had anything to drink”. The rude door man then responded with a sarcastic tone “Yeah not tonight”. I was blown away. This door man, who hadn’t even spoken to my partner, who happened to be standing on the stairs 2 metres away, made an assessment within 5 seconds of seeing my partner without even saying a word to him. I believe the real reason we were refused entry was because my partner is Asian! We left stunned and went downstairs to the Wine Bar without an issue.

We have been to the Siglo on numerous occasions and we often bring out of town friends and family to experience the venue because it’s usually so fantastic. I don’t know if it’s a new security company they are using, or a new hire, but the experience we had with the door man has left such a bitter taste in my mouth that I don’t think we will be returning to Siglo again. Perhaps some diversity training, customer service, and proper staff would entice us back, but we won’t be returning anytime soon and will spend our money elsewhere.

Not good...