The Commons Collective — Restaurant in Melbourne

We booked a table of 14 in the outdoor space. The location is the winner and during the day it's essential to be outside. Umbrellas were provided for those in direct sun and the decor and floral arrangements contribute to the venue's garden-party ambiance. You come for the setting but perhaps not for the food, which is routine pub fare – fish'n'chips, parmas and burgers executed no better or worse than any other venue serving the same. Meals arrived hot and the food was edible but there's nothing special about the dishes and the menu is no selling point. I suggest the Big Group knows this as prices are reasonable. In this sense, the venue understands what it is and (thankfully) doesn't try to overprice itself.

Service is a common theme throughout the reviews and our experience was no different. Our assigned server simply wasn't available enough and service was difficult to find when we needed it. Large tables benefit from the flow that a server/host provides to guide them through the experience but it was 30 minutes before the table ordered drinks. Regretfully, this pattern continued throughout the day. The wait for mains was long and it was so difficult to replenish drinks that we took to ordering at the bar inside because no staff could be found. Small touches that I would consider tenets of food service were missing, which shows that the thought just wasn't there – dishes were not cleared; we served birthday cake for which the server provided a lighter but plates and forks had to be requested; we ran out of wine and no one noticed. These are missed opportunities and I'm certain we not only consumed less as a result but also occupied the space for longer than necessary. Better for us, not so great for the establishment. One by one, our guests left and still no one approached until the final two of us requested our bill from a staff member at another table. She apologised. As we paid, I noticed that our server was on break, eating a meal at the end of the bar. He said nothing.

We enjoyed ourselves because we brought our own energy and because the company and weather were both on point. Consistent service would've heightened...

I was recently in the area looking for a good place to eat, and after reading some positive reviews, we decided to give this restaurant a try it.

To begin with, it wasn’t immediately clear whether the place was a public restaurant or a private event venue. The entrance was hard to locate, and we had to ask someone before being seated in the outdoor garden area.

We started with drinks and were looking forward to trying the mocktails, especially given the impressive-looking bar. However, we were disappointed to see that the mocktails and orange juices were poured directly from store-bought bottles, with just a mint leaf added for presentation. At over $10 per drink, this felt overpriced and underwhelming.

On a more positive note, the cheeseburger (the dish of the day) was excellent — cooked perfectly with melted cheese, served on toasted brioche buns alongside thick-cut fries. We really enjoyed it.

We also tried the calamari and mozzarella sticks. The calamari had potential, but the batter could use more seasoning and flavor. The mozzarella sticks were average and had a slight fishy taste, possibly due to being cooked in the same oil as the seafood.

We ordered the kids’ penne pasta, but unfortunately, it wasn’t a hit with my children. The sauce was overly acidic and lacked depth of flavor — it felt like too much tomato without balance.

For dessert, we had the sticky date pudding along with some tea and coffee. The pudding fell short of expectations and didn’t quite deliver the rich, comforting flavor we were hoping for.

Service-wise, things felt a bit disorganized. Aside from the initial food drop-off, we didn’t see much of the staff and struggled to get attention when needed. It seemed the team was focused on larger groups and private parties, which is understandable — but it did leave us feeling overlooked. Oddly, the indoor dining space was nearly empty, which added to the mixed signals about the venue’s operations and priorities.

Overall, this visit was a bit of a rollercoaster — some good moments, but too many letdowns for the price point. I’m not sure I’d return, but I hope others have a...

Came here for bottomless pasta and the food was good but had to say the organisation really ruined it. It took forever to get our first orders initially started. They close the kitchen for pastas 1.5h in except they don’t tell you when they’re closing. Had a couple of people with dietaries which we were told before that they can cater to. We tried to put in orders before the closing time, yet were told later that the kitchen has closed before they were able to put the order so we can’t get our food. So they were only able to eat a couple of plates the entire time due to slow service despite us making sure to call waiters and place orders well before closing time. I doubt the waitresses are at fault as they seemed very under staffed. Drinks took very long to arrive. Every time we attempted to call the server they were unable to help us as only one waitress is allowed to serve us, who seemed very over worked. She was very friendly and seemed to be trying her best despite how much she had on her plate. Over all we left extremely frustrated trying to find waiters that are allowed to serve us and trying to get orders out through on the time slots that we were allowed. We were constantly saying where is our waiter and sighing the whole reservation. Management in black were also rude when we were trying to ask questions to clarify how we can get our orders through. I dont want to place any blame on the wait staff as she really did her best. I also remember that when we tried to order what we wanted the waitress told us that she’ll put in dietaries later because sometimes the kitchen gets annoyed. Girl what??? So I’m just meant to sit there until the kitchen isn’t annoyed anymore??? Why am I sitting here paying $80 so the chefs can do me the favour of not being annoyed? The more I think about it the experience really was a fever dream. Stay away...