Third Wave BBQ Officer — Restaurant in Melbourne

We went here for my friend's birthday after seeing ads plastered all over social media. We were eager as we both enjoy BBQ. This however was a massive disappointment. They definitely over hype themselves alot. When our food came out alot of it was dry and cold. The meat is all seasoned with the same sauce, which isn't pleasant. It is overly sweet and sickly. The meats are extremely fatty and hard to eat. If there were more variety in seasoning it would go a long way in terms of improvement. It is pretty bad when you go into a place that highlights their meat as their best asset and you leave considering the side salad and pickled vegetables as the table favourite. Service was slow. I'm not talking food to table. I'm talking taking orders. We were sat for at least 30-40 minutes before our orders were taken. The food came out quickly, however this isn't a brag because as I mentioned before the food was not good.

Unfortunately, for us, this establishment is over hyped and overpriced. We were charged a Sunday surcharge too, which typically I have no issue with, as generally you are informed before hand if you will incur this charge. This was not the case for us. We were not made aware at booking nor at the til. I had asked for the receipt because I knew the pricing was off, which is when I saw we were charged $20 more for it being a Sunday. This was insult to injury at this point, we left feeling as we wasted our time and money.

I am uncertain if these issues are within this particular chain of Third Wave Cafes or if this is how they all are but, from our experience I could not recommend going...

First time visit, honestly I was expecting oversize meals as its based on American dinning, overall I was very disappointed the overall service was basic. Staff were more interested in clearing tables of patrons that had left that attending to seated patrons as there was NO checking in by staff to see if everything was ok, or if we wanted additional drinks, plates were not cleared promptly. Everyone was ready to leave and I had not received my desert, I was so looking forward to the Key Lime Pie Dessert the waitress said oh you can take it home. upon getting home they had dished up the Nuttella & Peanut Butter - serious error if someone has a nut allergy.

I suggest the store manager ensure the waiting staff pay more attention to patrons.

I was fortunate enough to take advantage of the birthday free meal.

Meals: Entree: Spicy Chicken Wings Not spicy at all and defiantly not grilled - skin was soft and lacked flavour tasted like they were just microwaved. The chicken wings were very disappointing the

Main - slow smoked BBQ The menu notes ribs with and "s" which implies multiple I opted for upgrading expecting minimum 3 pieces, however keeping in mind its based on kg's upgrade is cost is 19.90 + GST The smell of the pickled onion, cucumbers and red cabbage was overpowering.

Desert: Key Lime Pie Dessert - not received!

My party were not overly impressed with their meals overpriced for what they received meat rib was tender but lacked the flavour punch and defiantly not value...

Dropped into this BBQ joint for a bite and left with a full belly, a big grin and a newfound appreciation for smoky meat magic. We were looked after by Bella, who was an absolute legend, friendly, switched-on, and more accommodating than a country B&B. She made us feel right at home, like we were long-lost mates who'd just wandered in from the paddock.

Now, the food. Think juicy, smoky, fall-off-the-bone goodness that made us consider ditching cutlery altogether and going full caveman. Everything had that proper BBQ flavour, not that fake “liquid smoke” nonsense, but the real deal. The sides were top-notch too, not just an afterthought. Whoever's in the kitchen clearly knows their way around a pit.

The lunch deal? Bloody ripper. You'd be hard-pressed to find better value unless you're raiding your nan's fridge. For what we paid, we expected decent, what we got was “start planning your next visit before you've finished your first plate” kind of good.

In short: great feed, cracking service, decent prices. Bella deserves a raise, the kitchen deserves a cold one, and we'll be back before the...