The Provincial Hotel — Restaurant in Melbourne

I generally don't write reviews, however, our experience here was so horrible that I feel I need to. My sister-in-law made a booking for 20 people for her birthday a month in advance, and specifically requested a table on the rooftop. She called two weeks in advance to confirm the booking and then called again on the day to ensure everything was all good, and was told that it was. When we arrived we were told that there was no booking and no table for us. Mistakes and miscommunications happen, completely understandable. However, rather than handle the situation properly, the staff was very rude to us and essentially blamed our group for their screw up. The manager Kylie was incredibly disrespectful and has absolutely zero customer service skills. They then chose to put us in the smoking area in a back corner of the beer garden, and told us we couldn't order food there due to the fact that THEY put us in the smoking area. We chose to let all of this go and try to just enjoy our night. Then later, the staff put cake plates in the middle of the table for a birthday cake which they proceeded to deliver to the wrong table. The other table ate the cake without our knowledge, and when we brought it to the staff's attention, they laughed, shrugged their shoulders, and then cleared the cake plates from our table without ever bringing a cake for the actual birthday girl. I have worked in hospitality for a decade, half of that time in management, and I know how these situations should be handled. This was absolutely unacceptable. We were a group of 20 who wanted to support this business and we spent a lot of money, only to be treated like garbage. There are countless other venues in Melbourne where you are not treated like this - I would recommend any one of...

Very poor service, it's clear the bouncer's cannot differentiate between those who are drunk and those who are having a good time and dancing. This is clearly not the club to have fun at. If you are a foreigner I would advise to stay well away from this club and go to naked for Satan (on the same street) instead or go to the CBD instead, this is not the type of club you will be used to. They actually encouraged me to completely down the drink I just bought within 10 seconds before they kicked us out for vibing at the bar while waiting for our drinks, which actually constitutes irresponsible service of alcohol. We had a group of 12 people and they still kicked all of us out purely for having fun while waiting for drinks. These are not the clubs you want to visit in Melbourne especially if you are not from here they will especially discriminate against you. There are better clubs in the CBD or further down in Fitzroy. After having a rational conversation with the bouncer it was clear they couldn't even validate why they were evicting us, it was clear that they had no idea what was going on. The bouncers and general staff clearly need additional training on general human behaviour in the specific field they operate in and additional training on responsible service of alcohol. Do not trust this club with your duty of care. In short avoid this club altogether.

Ths review was also written in absolute bewilderment shortly after getting evicted as should be evident by the time of posting.

Edit: do not go here for a club night on the weekend, cannot comment on the general service on other occasions it may or may not be good: This review is based only on the nightclub...

As an ex hospitality / events planner I have never left a bad review - however what I experienced last night at the Provincial was the absoulte WORST SERVICE I have EVER experienced. I had made a reservation for 20 people on the rooftop a month in advance. Called the venue two weeks ago to confirm, and even called on the day as I had 2 additional guests coming. When we arrived they told me that they had moved the reservation into the dining area downstairs. The way the Manager Kylie spoke to me was absolutely disgusting. No apology, no effort to even try to resolve the situation. The table they had put for us could only fit 10 people so we were then moved into the back corner of the beer garden, where we were told we weren’t even allowed to order food because it was a smoking area. At around 9:30pm the staff put out plates on the table for my birthday cake, however they then delivered the cake to a big group of men behind us which those men ate the entire cake. The staff then just removed the plates from our table without any word of apology or explanation. If this wasn’t bad enough we went to the dance floor at around 12pm, my brother was next to me, a security guard just pointed at him from the DJ box and said ‘come here’ - he then kicked my brother out because he said he looked like he was too drunk. My brother has a disability and is unable to drink alcohol. We made no trouble, spent lots of money and the way the staff treated us was horrendous. The reason I leave this review is to warn others, this pub will absolutely ruin your night and the staff will have...