The York Collective — Restaurant in Melbourne

We had tickets for Nats What I Reckon last night and decided to make it into a date night as between the both of us working 2 jobs nights out are a rare occasion and we hadn't eaten at the Collective before so thought we'd give it a go. We walked in and there was nobody greeting anyone and not even a sign directing you where to go for checking in for your reservation. I approached the bar which had 2 younger males behind it who both had looks like they were hoping I wouldn't come up to them. I asked where you go to if you have a booking. To which he said oh i can do that and looked the booking up on the computer. He told us the table number and then walked off. Unbeknownst to us we grabbed a couple of menu's and walked around the bar to our table which I had no idea he was doing as he didn't say to follow him or anything. We ordered a Souvalaki Pizza and asked to add Olives to, and the Prawns from the "to share" menu. When the food came out which took almost 30 minutes to come out there were no olives and instead of Prawns were given a small bowl of what appeared to be salt & pepper calamari which consisted of about 6 pieces sitting on top of a mix of various lettuce leaves which made it look like there was more than there actually was, and also came with a small amount of warm paprika mayo which was not nice at all. As we had tickets to the show and it was after 6:30 we didn't have the time to sit back and wait for them to correct the order. The Lamb pieces on the Pizza were hard and dry and the topping itself also slid off as soon as you picked up each piece which didn't make for pleasant eating so ended up using a knife and fork. These things are not major and if we didn't have to get to the show I am sure they would have fixed it all, however it is these details that when you get right just make for a more enjoyable experience. We'll more than likely give it another go as the atmosphere was quite pleasant, but on this occasion unfortunately the negatives outweighed...

Our group of ~30 booked a post-wedding breakfast, and unfortunately, the experience was extremely disappointing. Despite having ample notice of our booking, the business was clearly unprepared to handle a group of this size. There were not enough front-of-house staff, leading to long delays, and the kitchen seemed overwhelmed.

Many menu items were unavailable, including shakshuka, pulled pork for the benedict (cold bacon was offered as a replacement), vanilla for milkshakes, and even tomato juice. We thought we would wait until 11am for the breakfast menu to end and lunch to start however, lunch didn’t actually start until 12pm as the chefs need an hour to change menu- which is ridiculous as the kitchen should be adequately set up and another example of lack of planning. This lack of preparation significantly impacted our experience, as it felt like the restaurant hadn’t planned adequately to accommodate a larger group, missing an opportunity to maximise both service quality and revenue. Coffees and teas took over 30 minutes to arrive, and the food itself was substandard.

The only redeeming quality was the staff, who were apologetic and friendly throughout the experience. However, their efforts couldn’t make up for the significant issues caused by the lack of preparation and poor execution.

Overall, the lack of preparation, slow service, and disappointing food left a terrible impression. If the restaurant isn’t accustomed to handling larger bookings, it would benefit from better planning, staffing, and inventory management to avoid situations like this...

Nice local place. They just can't seem to get the menu right. The pulled pork from the "Smokehouse" menu was definitely not anywhere near a smoker. It had a ring of tomato sauce around the edge of the plate like something from 2006, had no gravy or flavour whatsoever, and was the consistency of canned tuna. It was served on flavourless slaw and spinach - but perhaps my fault for giving something different a try. The snack plate was fine, but an odd combo of deep fried prawns, calamari and chorizo. Sweet potato chips were great. Parmas are usually great, so I would recommend sticking to the classics. My GF freinds have said they really need another GG menu oprion other than the "bowl" as its all they can order. Any drink order other than basic beer, wine, spirits is a gamble. We have been told on occasion they can't make cocktails that night for instance and an Aperol Spritz is a little different everytime for example so not the most consistent service, but the staff are nice and the younger workers are definitely an improvement on service over the past few years. The venue itself is stunning and despite the ups and downs of the menu, we do keep...