Smile Buffalo Yarraville — Restaurant in Melbourne

On Sunday, September 15, 2024, I had organised a reservation with the intention to celebrate my birthday which I mentioned to the maitre d upon organising my reservation at Smile Buffalo Yarraville. I had booked a table for four for 6:00 pm a few days ago, but one additional guest wanted to join. I called the restaurant that morning, and the maître d' initially said they couldn't accommodate the extra person at the original time and suggested I move the reservation to 5:30 pm

Upon arrival, the maître d' loudly criticized me in a condescending manner, which was extremely embarrassing as soon as I arrived so impolite and shockingly overwhelmed. When my friends arrived and as they were taking a seat , the maître d' rudely arrived the table and informed them they had only 10 minutes to order when they were just about to take a seat and were settling down on our table . Her impolite and dismissive behavior made my friends feel unwelcomed and uncomfortable, ruining the birthday celebration and left me in tears on how she made me feel and my guests feel so not hospitable was her behaviour.

My friends and I were so displeased that we decided to leave.

This was the worst customer service I've ever experienced. I hope the management takes this feedback seriously and addresses these issues to improve customer interactions and clearly can be polite ways and making one feel welcomed and it was a perfect disaster and disappointment to choose Smile Buffalo Yarraville for how I...

I had been really looking forward to dining at this Thai restaurant—the atmosphere was lovely, and I’d been waiting for some time to try it. Unfortunately, my experience didn’t quite meet my expectations. The food was okay, but the service was disappointing. From the start, we didn’t feel very welcome when asking for a table without a reservation. While dining, one of the waitresses (Film, if I’m not mistaken) asked us to move our pram because it was blocking the walkway. While we understood the situation, the way she approached us felt discourteous—there was no proper apology, and it disrupted our meal. Later, when we needed assistance, she was busy arranging cutlery and said “one minute” without even looking at us, so we couldn’t hear her clearly. When we asked again, she turned to us and said strongly, “I said one minute, let me finish clear up”—which came across as rude and impatient. Even when we tried to remain calm and polite by saying thank you, she never acknowledged it. That said, some of the other staff were very warm—checking on our food and asking if we were enjoying ourselves—which we truly appreciated. Overall, the restaurant has a beautiful atmosphere and decent food, but the service felt inconsistent. A little more courtesy and attentiveness would have made a...

ORDERED: 🦀 Soft shell crab salad ($32.90) 🐄 Beef Massaman curry ($32.90) 🐔 Smoked chicken breast green curry ($28.90) 🐷 Crispy pork with chinese broccoli - Kana Moo Grob ($31.90) 🍚 Spicy pork fried rice ($25.90)

🍚 Steamed rice ($5.00) 🌯 Roti with stay sauce ($11.00) +1.99% credit card surcharge

It was $44.98pp between 5 people, which included a drink each.

REVIEW: 5 mains for 5 people was perfect portions, along with some carbs. 💚 Our favourites were: Smoked chicken breast green curry. It was so creamy and light. Presentation was great too - the brown grill marks on the chicken really added some colour. Crispy pork with chinese broccoli. The pork was notably crispy, and the heavy hitting oyster sauce brought in some soy caramel depth that wasn't present from other dishes.

🌞 We booked our seats outside, which was perfect for the end of Melbourne summer. The tables were made out of the rattan-type material, with no real strong support in the centre. Water glasses: beware!

🤔 Our soft shell crab salad wasn't delivered in time with our other dishes. When I prompted the waitress, she was able to get the kitchen to rush the order (and apologised). Minor inconvenience, but sorted itself out quickly...