The Metropolitan Hotel — Restaurant in Melbourne

✔️ Chicken Parma ✔️ Mushroom Pan Fried Gnocchi ➖ Pepperoni Pizza ➖ S+P Calamari ➖ Crispy Potatoes

The Metropolitan Hotel, a Melbourne CBD icon with a rich history dating back 170 years, has undergone a remarkable restoration. This multi-level venue offers a unique experience that covers all bases.

On Level 1, you'll find the contemporary Restaurant/ Sports Bar, featuring a stunning Rone mural. While the art may have found a better home on the rooftop, this level is your best option for having a bite, as the others can get pretty loud. 🏈

Up to Level 2, you'll discover the elegant, plush Cocktail Bar and Dance Lounge, featuring a new DJ every 2 hours, a dance floor and VIP booths. Although was quiet due to being so new, the music was great! 🎶

Level 3, the Rooftop, offers a bustling atmosphere. Whilst it's more like a balcony than a traditional rooftop, it's a popular spot especially on the warmer nights. Reservations are recommended due to limited seating and can be done via phone.

The food was okay, the best dish being the Chicken Parma, paired with a nicely dressed salad and chips. The Crispy Potatoes weren’t crispy but had a nice flavour. The S+P Calamari was tasty but arrived in a smallish portion for the price, and the whole cloves of roasted garlic were a puzzling addition. The Pizza was woodfired and rustic, their dough is not made in house, we found it oily. The Pan-Fried Mushroom Gnocchi was tasty and moreish, although the butter didn’t not reach the "burnt” stage. 🫣

As for the signature cocktails, they could use some improvement. They appear to be spins on classics, but the execution seems off, often missing key ingredients and resulting in a watery taste.

The rating for The Metropolitan Hotel encompasses the entertainment venue as a whole. While it aims to cater to a wide demographic, we felt it could benefit from a more specific focus. Nevertheless, it shows promise as a spot for after-work drinks, sports-watching, and potentially, once the word...

The beef cheek pie made me sick. I have emailed the hotel with the information below, but was told it is a busy time of year and to allow a reasonable time for the manager to respond - after I followed up. It's been more than a couple of weeks now, so I am leaving this review to warn other customers to be careful, as I don't want anyone else to have the same horrible experience as me:

I hope this email finds you well. I wanted to provide some feedback about my experience at the Metropolitan Hotel’s trivia night last Wednesday, 20th November.

My friends and I thoroughly enjoyed the quiz, and we’ve always appreciated the great atmosphere at your venue. However, I wanted to raise a concern about the pie I ordered that evening. The meat inside tasted unusual and was gristly, tough, and fatty, seemingly undercooked (please see photos attached for reference). I mentioned this to the waitress at the time, who kindly offered me a free drink as compensation.

Later that night, I unfortunately became unwell and vomited. After continuing to feel unwell, I saw my doctor on Saturday. Test results showed that I had E. coli, and I’m currently recovering with antibiotics.

I am not writing to complain, but rather to inform you so that you can take any necessary precautions to ensure other patrons can avoid a similar experience.

Thank you for your attention to this matter. Please let me know if you’d like me to provide any further details.

*Of course, there is no way to definitively prove the pie caused this, but I feel confident it was the source based on my timeline of symptoms. I hope this feedback helps the venue take any necessary precautions to ensure the safety of their food for...

I went to the Metropolitan Hotel last night (Thursday) and there was a good mix of quiet, music and chatter. The staff were friendly enough and I liked the extra level layout upstairs with the balcony.

In saying that, there was a $35 per person booking fee to be able to reserve a table on a night where they did not have many people. The QR code at the table failed and food had to be ordered at the bar. There was no drinks menu to see any prices and I asked for a pint of beer to be given and charged for a schooner without being told they don’t serve pints. The staff were very bored and it represented the feeling of the place, mostly just being a lack of organisation. I also hate being charged a credit card surcharge fee illegally without any notice. If I pay for a meal priced at $22, I expect to pay $22 under there’s a written condition.

So there was nothing wrong with it. My chicken schnitzel special tasted good, staff were friendly and it was well presented. There just needs to be some improved ownership/management...