The Advocate Balwyn — Restaurant in Melbourne

Booked for 4 on a Saturday 8pm. Easy enough to find, easy to park with street, Maccas, and Woolies parking around.

As soon as you walk in the ambience is amazing. Very upscale vibe throughout the whole restaurant. I opted to sit in the library area which was lit up with fairy lights and flowers. There were heaters in the back which was nice given it was a chilly Melbourne evening. In this area some of the chairs are raised so just an FYI in case high tables and chairs aren’t as accessible for you. I’m sure you could make a request for lower seating as there were some tables with lower seats.

Staff and service was great - they were pleasant to speak to, and really friendly. They spoke about the restaurant’s layout and design, and also discussed the recent introduction of live music on (most) Thursday evenings. They offer to collect your email address at the end of the dinner so you can sign up for entertainment updates. Thought it was a nice touch to connect with their community and a smart way of marketing.

We were seated near the entrance of the library which was also near the bathrooms. When it was quiet it was easy to hear one another speak, but the moment the hand dryers went off it was near impossible to hear. Other than this, easy to catch up with mates over dinner.

Food wise - very brief, curated list of meals, but all of the ones we ordered were nothing short of amazing. We had the chicken bites to start, and for mains we had the crispy skin barramundi, lamb rump steak, and beef sirloin steak. I was able to taste all of them - each so well cooked, so well seasoned and their respective condiments went great with the protein too. Pictured is the barramundi and lamb. As a side we had the truffle and Parmesan fries - it was good. You will like it if you like a subtle truffle taste as it was just the right hint of truffle. Often it can be overpowering. For drinks I had the Belle of the Knox mocktail - good mix of citrus and sweet flavours. More sour than sweet as I was expecting a stronger raspberry taste but it was great nonetheless.

4 meals, 2 sides, 4 drinks came to about 225 which is what we’d usually spend going out as a foursome so it was well worth the price. Overall a really great night in terms of atmosphere, service, and food/drinks. I just wish they had more dessert options! I’d definitely come back if there was a menu change (given it was a limited selection - still...

A very disappointing performance from the team at The Advocate. It’s a special occasion for me to feel the need to write a review, however this place deserves people to know the lack of quality before they enter.

Do not waste your time or money here.

A few standouts to note:

Food was terrible. *Menu selection was limited, with unbalanced seemingly erratic menu choices. *Saturday night at 7.30 were out of steak. In place were the lamb ribs. Ribs were absolutely chargrilled to the point of charcoal, that you could most likely write your name with the meat like a pencil. These were served with coleslaw with mayonnaise (apparently Kimchi). *Mussels ordered, served with absolute black bread. So burnt it blended in to the bowl of mussels. When questioned about the bread, the waitress replied with “it is that colour so it is meant to be blend in to the colour of the mussel shells”. *Salad was tasteless and undressed- absolutely no dressing. *Nobody came to ask how meals were, if needed anything.

Lack of Ambience: *Laminated physical menus, otherwise QR codes. *Child and their carer playing loud videos on the phone at a volume so loud, the next tables could hear the video word for word. *Cheap unmatched decor, aiming for luxe but missing the mark with Perspex based tables, bookshelf laminate, black velvet seats, artificial greenery, faux marble, crystal jewelled door handles.

Incredibly poor service even with a 50% filled restaurant. Eg: *Prolonged initial ordering time for both entree, main, and any drinks *Waited until after entire table ordering to let the table know there was no steak available, and this changed the tasting menu. *Not once offered a refill, and glasses not cleared. *Plates never cleared for entree or mains. Same plates used for entree/ mains. *Significant birthday (known by staff), not once a happy birthday offered by staff, or even a candle in dessert.

To exist in hospitality, good service, good product and ambience will create return customers. Unfortunately The Advocate lacks in all areas, and if there was a zero stars rating; I...

So disappointed by this restaurant.

The food was literally served black, the service was very rude - apparently the charcoaled burnt bread was intended to “match the black mussel shells”.

At no point were we asked if we’d like more drinks or if everything was okay, our plates/glasses weren’t cleared when finished with, the same plates were used for the entire night. The service was extremely slow, the staff were very hard to wave down, and when we did get their attention, they seemed rushed and full of menu disappointments. No Campari, no steak (signature main meal on a Saturday night at 730pm).

Five out of six of us ordered the tasting experience, even though the steak was to be replaced with ribs. I was unable to eat a few of the tasting plate dishes due to being pregnant so I opted for a main of ribs - given it was the only remaining substantial dish on the menu now that the steak was apparently sold out. When the mains arrived, a long time after the first course, my 4 little black charcoal sticks of fat on a bone were a huge let down. The charcoal was literally crumbling off the bone. It was disgusting. I compared the meal of mine to that on the website, and was left shocked to think someone could happily serve what they had compared to the fresh meal that is pictured online. The size, quality and presentation all varied to that as advertised online.

We also ordered a chacaturie plate which boasted a selection of cured meats, and again had a nice array of meats photographed online. When this board came for us, there were about 5 olives, one type of meat and some crackers. Another ridiculous disappointment.

Further to the above, we had also told the restaurant prior to coming that it was for a 70th, and yet there was no candle or celebratory mention. We waited for a very long time for any service, and waited a very long time between courses. As mentioned above, the food was poor, the drinks were slow, the service was dismal. This is not a fine dining restaurant. In fact, there is nothing fine...