The Meat & Wine Co Hawthorn East — Restaurant in Melbourne

Some very quick thoughts: Food was quite nice. Very little to complain about. Any Meat & Wine Co. restaurant leans itself towards "fine-dining" so do expect higher prices. Service was punctual, timely and efficient. Manager was nice and so were our servers. A very ambient and dimly lit atmosphere suited for dinners. They have an "outdoor-under-cover" area out the back which is kept suprisingly warm during wintry Mebourne evenings.

Digging deeper: Tasting Plate (Entree) // This was absolutely delicious. Definitely opened up my appetite for the rest of the evening. Nothing to complain about here. Ribs Platter (Main) // The Ribs Platter comes with the customer's choice of two between beef, lamb and pork. We opted for the beef and pork and they were both enjoyable. Again, very little to complain about here. Beef Skewer (Main) // The Beef Skewer is nicely presented with cuts of beef grilled to your liking and skewered hanging from a stand. Comes with either your choice of chips or salad. We ordered the beef medium but I think parts of it came out on the medium-rare side - although this could just be me being very picky. It was decent although nothing spectacular, perhaps it was my expectations of this being a top-tier steakhouse which had let me down. Don't get me wrong, Meat & Wine Co is definitely up there with some of my favourite restaurants, but I think I'll give this dish a miss next time. Onion Rings (Side) // Yep, can't go wrong with onion rings. Sticky Date (Dessert) // Eating this desert was a truly transcendent experience. Everything on the plate was absolute perfection. The creme anglaise made the date sponge cake deliciously moist and the coldness of the ice cream perfectly cut through the richness of everything else. This was by far the most enjoyable item on the menu and I will certainly order this next time I return.

Closing thoughts: Definitely keen to try some of the other more expensive cuts of steak on the menu. Enjoyed a nice dinner with...

Just got home from a terrible dining experience. We had a large group annual Christmas gathering. 6 families, 5 kids, had to go on the $95pp set menu (but extra 10% surcharge because the group is larger than 11 people - seems a bit steep given we are already on set menu). Anyway, restaurant policy, fine. Ordered the first drink of the night, nothing fancy, just a glass of Prosecco. $12, standard price. However, when the drink finally arrived, it was in a standard champagne glass but less than half full (about 40%). I pointed out, perhaps the waiter took it in hurry and it can happen with sparkling drinks. Shocked by the reply I got back, which was. “No, this is how we serve sparkling, we actually measure it and this is it.” Okay, big group gathering didn’t want make a scene. But I’ve lived in 3 countries in 3 continents, had at least a couple hundreds of champagnes in a glass, not once did I see a glass that small. Anyway, to make it worse, 2 mins later, the next waiter brings out an empty wine glass and an open bottle of red, and free pours a glass of Shiraz which was ordered by my friend. It was almost 3/4 to the top, pass the drinks line. Sure, at this point you might say, it’s just one drink. But it’s the rudeness of the reply. On top of that, I asked for a cup for my kid, was not brought out until 2 reminders. Plus no cutlery or plates for kids (and it was a table full of big, sharp steak knife). Starter was cold, tough (pork belly), steak was suppose to be 300g, but was underweight for sure, taste “ok”. Even the kids ice cream, it look like it was done with a teaspoon. Everything about the night felt like the restaurant was cost cutting, and charging customers more than it served. Had you ordered the same food from the A La Carte, you would have paid 10% less and maybe had more choices. Overall, I wouldn't recommend this restaurant to anyone, not for the ambiance, the food, the drinks, families, or functions....

Disappointing.Average food and way below average service.We didn't feel welcomed at all. We were offered the menus and waiter wasn't that friendly or professional. He was just doing his job I guess.I ordered a chicken skewer and it was absolutely delicious. Brown rice pilaf was too sour.I tried a piece of Kangaroo from my husband's plate and it was so chewy. Once we finished our meals no one came to clear the table or to offer us dessert menu. Drinks were ok .My mocktale looked absolutely amazing but tasted like diluted perfume. Sorry. I don't enjoy writing bad reviews. But we went there with high expectations after reading all these reviews and it was a huge shock for us. The best service we got was from the guy who worked behind the bar. After finishing our meal we waited and waited and finally the guy from the reception desk came and cleared the table but still no mention of a dessert menu.We though he would clear it and come back to offer us some. But No. Then this guy who worked at the bar walked passed and my husband asked whether we can have the dessert menus.He was so polite the way he answered with a lovely smile and brought us the menus and he came around the table and offered it to me first then my daughter then the boys.What a gentleman he was. He should be at the customer desk and going around tables chatting to customers. not behind bars :)) His service was 5 star. We picked the dessert plate to share and It was beautiful. I would highly recommend that sweet plate. Finally the waiter remembered to refill our water.Overall I don't think I would be going there again . Mainly because of their service and secondly it wasn't value for money. My 17 yr old was still hungry and we had to drive through maccas on our way home. It was my daughter's birthday. Bit of a disappointing night.Really need to focus on your service guys. Sorry to do...