Somerville Hotel — Restaurant in Melbourne

I have tried repeatedly to contact management of this establishment so this was not publicly published but I never received a response. Dear Sir/Madam We as a large group dined in your bistro prior to attending a private function at your venue Saturday 11/5/24 diner booking for 6pm . The gentleman on the front desk was very polite and professional. However the lady who was apparently titled manager was a total disgrace with little or no ability to fulfill her title. Unable to represent the hotel with dignity or professionalism. My husband and his friends ordered drinks from the bar , she was rude , angry and clearly out of her depth with her responsibilities . We then ordered our meals , I personally ordered , mushroom risotto with bacon , no chicken ,as I am highly allergic to chicken and it will result in hospitalisation if I consume. Your very sweet employee who carried out her instructions precisely.(who unfortunately did give me a filthy look as I left,I can only assume her so called manager had misled her ,this action was noted by many friends). After a couple of mouthfuls it was apparent it contained chicken . I approached the under skilled manager only to be told that , they are so busy and I’ll be waiting a long while for a replacement meal in fact I may not even get one at all . I simply said that will not suit as we would be required in the function room and thank you for nothing as that is what she informed me I would have to except…nothing . It turns out one of my friends on our table had been given my meal and had only eaten half of it . I chose to eat the remainder and forget it ..until your rude manager approaches our table and loudly remarked to me in front of many patrons, that she will not except her staff being spoken to as I did . I asked her to please come back to me as I would have explained to her I was not talking to any staff member apart from her and it would be beneath me to be disrespectful . She stormed off still carrying on . So in closing It was an experience I will never subject myself or anyone else to engage in again . Your manager needs to rethink her customer service abilities perhaps selecting a career more suited to her personality. Thankfully the reaction to the chicken was mild...

We have been coming almost every Saturday night this year to enjoy a family meal together and the past three weeks have been a nightmare. The week before last, we were subjected to two patrons about to start a brawl in the dining area of the restaurant. To add to this horrible, unchecked atmosphere, when I approached the staff to see where the remaining meal was for our table I was told “yeah it’s coming now”. Four of us were almost finished our meals before my partner got his parma. Last week the food was dry and again, slow but we persevered in the hope to support local establishments and contribute to our community. This week we were again bitterly disappointed with how unprofessional the restaurant now is. Five adults who ordered at the same time. Two mains come out. Then another two when we were half way through our meals. We were waiting almost 30mins for the final meal with no communication from staff. I went up to a staff member and asked where the final meal was for our table and tried to explain that my guest was understandably upset and was greeted with “its being cooked now”. With years of experience with restaurants and kitchens, it is standard etiquette for main meals to be brought to the patrons at the same time. Had we of uphold basic manners and waited for everyone to have their meals prior to starting, our food would have been cold This is unacceptable and I cannot imagine this behaviour being left unchecked while Jo was managing...

If I could give this place 0 stars I would. Went in last night for a little family dinner before Christmas. Out of the 6 main meals and 2 entrees, I mean was actually edible. After waiting almost 2 hours for all of us to receive meals, the chips were absolutely gross and tasted stale and were cold, the steak so tough it couldn't be cut with a steak knife, the chicken schnitzel was undercooked and tasted off, the pumpkin was so hard you couldn't even put a fork in it. While we were there, 6 other tables had sent their food back and were demanding refunds. We literally couldn't eat the food and ended up having to go to McDonalds on the way home for dinner because by now it was nearly 9pm. We spoke with the Manager at the time and he advised us that there was no-way he was going to tell the Chef because he'd likely walk out and was flustered because the other '20' groups that had had issues had upset him?? So $180 spent on meals we couldn't even eat. I was advised to speak with the Manager who was in the next day, which I did and his excuse was they were understaffed and he knew there was an issue with the chips. The chips weren't the only thing that had an issue - nothing on the plate was actually edible. He then offered a 'round of drinks' next time we were in. Gee thanks - a whole 6 drinks makes up for $180 in food we couldn't eat, no thanks. Don't waste your time going...