Station Hotel — Restaurant in Melbourne

I went as part of a large group, and whilst we have heard from friends and family that Station Hotel had changed hands, we were shocked at how far the quality had dropped off. What was a good value, extremely underrated pub/restaurant with good steak options has now become not just an overpriced pub, but one of those restaurants with the playgrounds that serve average food for extremely high prices due to being "kid friendly".

steaks seemed UNDERWEIGHT from what was listed in the menu. This is actually appalling and prompted me to write the review. For context, a Bavette has always been a single chunk of 200g meat. Tonight, multiple people in my group ordered a Bavette (please refer to picture) and each person was served two thin and already cut slices of steak with no start or end to the slices. Whilst the cooked weight of steaks does shrink from the raw weight, there is no explanation that 200g = 2 thin slices of steak for each person's serve. I suspect that a 600g piece of steak (may have been a Bavette, may have not) was cooked and divided into 3 x 200g "sizes". Not a reasonable representation of a 200g steak that was then cooked.

A 250g Rostbiff turned out like it had a raw weight of 200g - it had shrunken so much that that couldn't be explained by cooking.

I had a scotch 300g. My piece was underweight because it was obvious that it had been TENDERIZED to give it the same visual size, and was extremely thin. As such, I believe it was underweight when raw. For comparison, a 300g Scotch fillet steak bought from the supermarket does not shrink that much when cooked.

portion sizes were much smaller and as a result (could be due to the underweight steak) I left hungry even after sharing some entree dishes.

-steaks were totally underseasoned. My Scotch fillet had a lot of gristle and the texture was ruined by being tenderized.

sauces, whilst complimentary with the steaks, were diluted and especially the peppercorn sauce - watery, with hardly any peppercorns. Chips also were not "hand-cut" - they were the frozen variety, but also underseasoned as well.

service was not attentive and we repeatedly saw multiple staff at the pass talking at any given point.

Whilst there have been changes in creative direction (i.e a sweet tasting chicken liver parfait with milk bread) the response to this is subjective. However, underweight steaks would be inexcusable for any restaurant, and hence why we have had an experience that I cannot refuse to write off, and feel the need to write...

The Station Hotel in Footscray certainly presents itself as a cut above your average suburban pub, but unfortunately, the reality doesn't quite live up to the hype – or the hefty price tag.

Let's start with the elephant in the room: the food is significantly overpriced for what you get. When you're paying restaurant prices in a pub setting, expectations are naturally higher. Sadly, the quality and portions were underwhelming, leaving us feeling shortchanged.

My experience with the French onion soup was particularly disappointing. Served at a volcanic temperature, it burned my tongue despite lengthy attempts to cool it down. By the time it was remotely palatable, we were halfway through our mains. This wasn't just hot, it was dangerously so.

The potato Dauphinoise, a dish that should be comforting and rich, was a major letdown. It tasted stale, dry, and suspiciously like it had been reheated in a microwave. The bizarre addition of a bechamel sauce on top seemed like a desperate attempt to mask the dryness. An overpowering, unpleasant flavour, possibly from excessive thyme or rosemary, further ruined the dish.

The burger fared no better. For the price, it was remarkably ordinary. The beef patties lacked any discernible flavour, the lettuce was wilted and cheap, and the entire thing devolved into a soggy mess by the end. Furthermore, the choice of basic ketchup and mustard as the sole condiments on a $31 burger felt incredibly underwhelming. Aioli or a smoky barbecue sauce, or even a combination of both, would have significantly elevated the flavor profile and felt more appropriate for the price point. You'd get a far superior burger for a fraction of the cost at Royal Stacks.

While the staff were undeniably lovely and friendly, the service fell short of the restaurant-level prices being charged. For a venue that dares to ask up to $80 for a steak, a simple check-in from a staff member to see how our meal was would have been appreciated.

Overall, the Station Hotel feels like a case of trying too hard without achieving genuine excellence. They seem to be aiming for a high-end experience, but the execution is lacking. The food is overpriced, the quality is inconsistent, and the service, while friendly, doesn't justify the premium. Ultimately, it feels like a pub attempting to masquerade as a fine dining establishment, and sadly, it falls short on almost...

I'm not one to write reviews but the appalling service we experienced is definitely one that needs to be called out on and I hope no one will be a victim to the rude female "manager" who had a European accent of some sort.

We had lunch yesterday with our friends as Sunday Family day was advertised.

We booked inside the restaurant which the food and service was amazing. This was the first time my family had eaten here, so we were quite impressed at this point.

Once we had finished our meals and we're advised by the inside wait staff we were more than welcome to sit outside in the beer garden so our children could play. My wife and my friend's wife went outside to take the children to the playground and seated themselves at vacant table, which there was at least 6-7 other vacant tables with no "reserved" signage on them. After paying for our meals inside, my friend and I joined the rest of our families outside. This is where we were immediately and abruptly approached by the "manager" asking if we were going to purchase any food or drink and if not we weren't allowed to sit at the table we were at. We explained we had just had our lunch inside the restaurant and paid. Which she immediately replied, "we have people coming and need the table now". We said we were happy to move to another table and she rudely said no you cannot sit here. We asked where we could sit, whilst we watch our children play and her response was, "your kids can play but you can't sit here". Absolutely taken back by this attitude and her tone, that she wouldn't let us and my pregnant wife sit at a unreserved table whilst we supervise our children.

As mentioned earlier there was multiple vacant tables and there was also no line of customers waiting to be seated. We also purposely avoided any tables that had a "reserve" sign on it. So we were a little confused as to why we weren't allowed to sit there, also being full paying patrons - which obviously meant nothing to the "manager".

We would been happy to order a drink if we weren't so rudely spoken to. We immediately left as she was clearly only targeting our group and our children were getting upset at this...