The Lilydale International — Restaurant in Melbourne

We were booked in for 6:15pm but we all didn't arrive until about 6:30 to 6:45pm when it was actually a bit quieter.

My brother in law had already purchased his meal at 6:25pm and was waiting for it when we got there. He had ordered a sirloin steak medium rare. He still hadn't received his meal at 7pm so I approached a waitress and kindly asked what the story was with the delay. She came over and said it would be a few minutes. The meal arrived 12 minutes later. I am told it was good but it took nearly an hour for 1 meal, that's just downright pathetic.

The rest of the table ordered all their meals around 7pm. Their were some kids meals and starters. I had the satay chicken starter along with my brother. Absolutely delicious. Well done on this meal, it should sell as a main. Then for my main meal I had the Smokey BBQ pork ribs. Being as it was a Chef's Suggestion how could I go wrong?

Well, if you ask me it shouldn't even be on the menu. It came out over cooked and harder that rubber. Ribs should be tender and practically falling off the bone I shouldn't need a steak knife to get them off, I have had a lot of ribs in my time but never any as bad as these ones. When I told the waitress about my issue with the food she said she will discuss it with her manager to see what could be done. I was expecting her manager to come out but they didn't. She came back to the table and asked me what I wanted to do about the meal. I said she could just bring me the $13 special burger instead. She replied "ah no sorry I cant do that, would you like a free beer instead". Well I am sure you can understand how I felt. I just paid $30 for some hard rubber with BBQ sauce on it and wedges and I am being offered a beer to keep quiet, well done customer service, what an absolute insult. I should have been talking to a manager not an inexperienced staff member who has no clue on how to talk to a customer who's food is terrible and could even get very sick from eating it. In the end I just told her to bring out a kids burger. I guess the only thing the cooks can get right are the chips and the wedges because the burger was terrible also. It was tasteless and rubbery as well. I don't understand how people can eat these types of meals. I have had better and cheaper meals at McDonald's. I will never be returning to the Lilydale International nor will I be recommending it to anyone else either. Bad food, bad service and...

Good Family Bistro Style Pub This is a return visit to this establishment as we were touring in the area and thinking of giving them another try. This is another example of the family style casual bistro pub / hotel, that in this case has not been swallowed up by a big group that is only focus is the share holders. As with this style of establishment you order your drinks at the bar and order you food at the counter near to the kitchen. The dining room is fairly big and we dined at the far end of the dining room to allow us to discuss the days coming events away from the joyful shouts from the children’s play area. The dining room is clean with standard wooden chairs and wooden tables for this style of establishment, except for the plastic style chairs in the area closer to the children’s play area in the dining room. No surprises on this big menu. We started with the Antipasto platter the followed with the Mediterranean Chicken Supreme and the Baked Seafood Paella from the ‘Chef’s Signature Dishes’ on the menu. The antipasto, was a good positive surprise, a good selection of ham, salami, smoked salmon, on the well presented wooden platter with the rosemary sprigs. The disapionments were the lack of the vegetable frittata, the bread was not chiabatta (good bread, but not as stated on the menu), the olives were not marinated and provolone was some type of Australian, not Italian, substitute cheese. On a whole a good start, especially with a glass of wine a good company. The Baked Seafood Paella, was not a high light as the rice was over cooked and there was plenty of it. The seafood consisted of 3 good size prawns, 3 mussels, 3 pieces of calamari (bought in, frozen, with the pineapple cut) and a selection of fried Chorizzo sausage. The Chicken Supreme again was not a highlight, as the ‘Romesco Sauce’ (almonds, roasted capsicum, and olive oil) just too much, as it was covering the rim of the plate and covering the chicken. A spoon over the chicken and a little on the plate would have been sufficient. This was a disappointment as the chicken breast (Kiev cut) was cooked well; still moist just the filling needed a bit more seasoning. The waiters and bar team were polite and at tentative, with the floor team busy setting up for the...

A very disappointing experience. The waitress was rude and verbally abusive towards members of our group. She then made up a lie about what was said to her and so the manager became abusive and aggressive towards us. The manager said the staff member has been here for a long time and that she believed her side of the story and that we were lying.

The food was a mixed bag so I will break it down:

steak - 1/5: this was overcooked and tough (after the debacle with the waitress and manager the recipient was too intimidated to say anything so didn't eat it or return it) chicken kiev- 2/5: this was dry and had no garlic butter inside (which is kind of the point to chicken kiev) sticky chicken- 4/5: this was surprisingly nice given the other meals. Only feedback on this one was that there was a lot of rice and not enough sauce. seniors seafood basket- 1/5: consisted of lots of chips and not much seafood. The seafood was of the heated up frozen variety. Could have done better with products bought from Aldi at home. Pizza- 3/5: Ok but nothing to rave about Aussie Parma- 1/5. Three people ordered this at our table and all agreed it was well below standard and was not nice.

Overall, given the cost of living and what you pay for meals when you go out, this was a disappointment. Patrons should expect that they will be treated respectfully when going to a venue and that they will be given meals that are a quality product. I do not believe either...