The General Assembly — Restaurant in Melbourne

I had an unfortunate experience at this venue that I feel is important to share. While seated near the bar with an active tab, I politely asked one of the bartenders if I could order another drink — it was only my second for the evening. Unexpectedly, another staff member, Luke, who was not directly serving me, abruptly raised his voice and told me I had to order at the bar.

I found the tone unnecessarily aggressive, and I calmly replied that I thought that was “a stupid rule” before walking over to the bar as instructed. Despite following the direction without further comment, Luke then accused me of being aggressive. Now, I understand that perception matters — and perhaps he felt that way — but it’s worth noting that he was the one who initially spoke to me in a confrontational tone.

Wanting to resolve the situation professionally, I asked to speak to a manager, and Paige came over shortly after. Paige was professional in her approach and pulled us aside to hear both sides of the story, which I respected.

During our conversation, I asked Luke directly: “Did you feel intimidated by what I said?” He hesitated and didn’t respond clearly, so I repeated the question. I asked this because if he had said yes, then I could understand his claim of aggression. But the fact that he couldn’t give a clear answer felt telling — a reflection that perhaps I wasn’t actually being aggressive at all.

What really surprised me, however, was that Paige suddenly interjected and said, “Now you’re being aggressive.” I was taken aback. I simply asked someone a question in a calm tone, yet now I was again being accused of aggression? I responded by saying, “I feel like I’m back in high school in the principal’s office — am I cut off or not?” Paige responded with, “Yes, I’m cutting you off.”

At this point, my partner and I were halfway through our meal. I had only had one drink. We decided to close our tab, leave the food, and walk out.

Before leaving, I asked to speak with Paige one last time. I calmly let her know that I’d be leaving a review — not out of spite, but because I’ve worked in customer service myself and I found the handling of the situation extremely disappointing. I suggested that if a staff member (like Luke) is being reactive or overstepping with guests, it’s more appropriate for a manager to step in and de-escalate — not double down.

There was no loud group, no bad behaviour — just my partner and I sitting down to dinner, asking for a second drink, and somehow ending up in a confrontation that could’ve easily been avoided.

Strangely, it felt like the principle of “the customer is always right” had been completely dismissed. And while I don’t believe that phrase always applies, in this situation, it’s hard to see how the customer (me) could be considered wrong.

To be fair, one of the other bartenders (I wish I caught his name) was fantastic — five stars to him. But this overall experience has really turned me off the venue, and unfortunately, I won’t be returning.

If I were the owner, I’d want to know. This isn’t how you treat paying guests. It’s a missed opportunity for a much...

After seeing on the 'What's On Melbourne' website that this place had live music on a Saturday, I thought it would be a good place to take my 15 year old sister to as a treat. That website advertised that it was suitable for all ages, and I can't see anything contrary to this on the business website. We arrived at about 2pm, where we were greeted by a staff member who asked if we were over 18. I said that my sister wasn't but I was, and I confirmed that it was for all ages, based on the information I read online before visiting. She said underage people could attend, but only if they were with an adult. After I reiterated that I was over 18 and accompanying her, she seemed satisfied and we took our seats.

About 20 minutes later, after I had already ordered and paid, and we were drinking our (non-alcoholic) drinks, we were approached by another staff member who asked for our IDs. Again, I explained that my sister was underage but I was overage (26), and happily gave her my ID. She asked if I was the legal guardian, to which I replied no, and she said that minors weren't supposed to be in there without a legal guardian. A bit late after I'd already read misleading information online, been given the all clear by another staff member when we first arrived, and handed over my money!

This second staff member did handle the situation with grace, but the whole thing really made us feel unwelcome and it put a dampener on a rare day out. It's not as though I was trying to sneak a minor into a bar at midnight - this was lunch at what I assumed was a regular restaurant/pub, where we were not even consuming any alcohol.

I'm assuming you must be required by law to have these strict rules, but if that's the case you need to make it clear to your potential patrons. Can you please update your online information to accurately reflect your rules around underage visitors and ask your staff to be clear from the outset?

2 stars rather than 1 because the food, drinks and...

Two words to describe The General Assembly? Missed Opportunity. They're right on the corner near the bridge, and the set out is fantastic. Great atmosphere, and great staff, gives it the three stars. The food was SO CLOSE to good... and it's reasonably priced. We ordered the buttermilk chicken popcorn and the crumbed boneless lamb ribs with a side of chips. Sounded great, on the menu.

The buttermilk chicken popcorn was... meh. If you're going to take on KFC and make popcorn chicken? Make sure it's not bland. There was little to no flavour at all. They relied on the sauce to give flavour, and nerfed the popcorn chicken until it was just bite-sized schnitzel pieces, with tempura instead of breadcrumbs.

Chips, with everyone getting on the awesomeness that is triple cooked, beer-battered steak or seasoned felt like the cast offs from a batch of Hungry Jacks fryers. No salt on them, either and nothing on the tables or nearby to show any kind of condiment options.

Crumbed Boneless Lamb Ribs sound fantastic, and definitely something I want to try at home. First thing to do is get some decent lamb. Not sure how they did it, but they managed to turn the most appetizing thing on the menu into the most disappointing. The crumb was bland, with no discernible seasonings, and the lamb itself was cooked well enough but could just as well have been watered chicken or beef for all the flavour it held. I was really disappointed in this, expecting a lot from it, I guess. Again, nerfed dish that relied on a mint sauce that I'll cordially describe as pungent as opposed to aromatic. It didn't compliment the flavour of the lamb so much as substitute it.

Sadly, I've spoken to a few people who talked of how good they were a few years ago. Hopefully they can move back in that...