Third Wave BBQ - Albert Park — Restaurant in Melbourne

A worthy special, occasional treat for everyone! Outstanding timing with service and advice, atmosphere for great friends or family and food to drool over. So, let’s break it down…

CAUTION* There are +10% surcharges on weekends and public holidays! General reviews state to not order a cooked steak…so i didn’t!

Atmosphere: ** It was really hard to pull the atmosphere down to 4 stars. The place was clean & well presented, intimate & warm, inviting & friendly; And, bright & engaging. Everything you could want but there were 2 things that irked me and it didn’t really dawn on me until I had eaten. The self-promotion is a little self-indulging and it detracts from the experience, especially with a full belly-full of what you ordered. 😉 I also wouldn’t advise this place for an intimate date, for the same reason; plus the seating for couples is limited and not very appealing. Enjoy this experience with Family and/or friends and feast without care.

Customer Service: () Impeccable Timing! There is a $25 per person retainer if you cancel, a 90 minute sit down time with a +/- 15 minute buffer on arrival time. We arrived 10 minutes early, were greeted and seated immediately, water and glasses pre-prepared, online ordering through QR code, drinks provided within in 1-2 minutes of submission, food provided within 8 minutes of ordering, bussing of the table within 3 minutes of us finishing. They have this down to a fine art – the detraction () was that no one checked on our satisfaction of the dinner during, nor asked after the dinner when bussing the table. However, the recommendation, helpfulness and experience from the waiter earnt this back. Outstanding work!

Food: ** Cost $150 – 3 People + 1.75% Visa Surcharge ($2.63) – [$152.63] - 3 Non-Alcoholic Drinks, 3 Mains & 1 side. Crispy Coleslaw (small) $9.80 – Very refreshing with the inclusion of Apple, which was a surprise but matched well. Brisket Loaded Fries $29.40 – Beef Brisket probably a little too salty but loaded with flavour, accompanying cheesy smoky sauce and chips were excellent. Chicken (Half Chicken) $32.90 – Chicken was cook to perfection, amazing sweet honey-soy glaze; great choice of additional compliments for dynamic flavouring and crispy potatoes. Ribovlaki & mini HSP $56.90 – A big eat but absolutely delicious meat. The bone just slides out, the sauces are well weighted, unique and flavourful. My only critique would be to include some iceberg lettuce (or baby spinach) “on the side” with a vinaigrette to refresh the palette cause the tomato is not enough to cut the eventual, overwhelming, continual, thick burden of this dish.

Overall: ** It is expensive but it is understandable considering the quality in the preparation of the food that is provided and the quality you would expect for the price. I would definitely recommend this restaurant for a flashy start to big night on the town, a laughable friends challenge of shared eating, or a fancy family celebration. I will say, that I will definitely be back with some buddies to attack Thor’s Hammer or a platter for 6. Thank you...

Worst experience. We went on a Saturday for a birthday dinner with 6 people. Ordered via their app. Drinks came within 15 mins. 1 hr passed and a staff member noticed our order hadn’t arrived yet, apologised and said they will get our order expedited. We watched as ~5 tables who came after us get their orders first (similar items to what we ordered), ate their food and left. All the while we were still waiting. We weren’t the only ones waiting though, it looked like another large table was also waiting on their food for much longer than us. We wanted to leave but as we paid on the app, we were pretty much stuck. Food eventually arrived luke warm over 1.5hrs later.

Reading other reviews, it seems like a regular occurrence. Fix your internet or get better a system.

Ordered: [Ribeye steak $129.90] 70% was ok, the other 30% was raw. Oink balls $13.60 - Ordered this because of the raving reviews. It was so gross, we ended up leaving this. The meatball inside was oily and mushy. [Pork ribs - small $42.90] Tasted ok but the sauce completely hid any meat taste. [Dinosaur ribs $79.90] So salty, even the cornbread could not save it. Didn’t finish it. [Spicy beer battered chips $11.80] Nice [Sweet potato wedges $12.40] Nice [Bacon candy $13.60] Never arrived [Beef brisket - Free birthday meal] Ok. [Mac n cheese - Free birthday meal] Nope, couldn’t finish. [Oink balls] Free birthday meal

Price: Overpriced. Plates are big but the proportions are smaller than other places. Chips provided so you can fill your stomach and little sides are put on smaller dishes to help make your plate look “full”. We were compensated $100 for the mixup which was appreciated but the damage had already been done. We were so over it by the end of the night.

Service: Our main server was lovely, although there was one where our guest had asked if our food would be much longer. Our guest overheard that staff tell another staff that they did not care if we had to wait. We don’t blame the staff though, they were doing the best they can with what they have. Can’t imagine the flack they get from other tables throughout the night.

Venue: We were seated upstairs. Ambience wasn’t very nice. When you walk in, it’s silent and everyone stares at you. There’s no music, only two giant screens repeatedly showing the food that you may eventually eat.

Was I full? From the chips, yes.

Good to know: 3% surcharge if your order is taken by a staff member 10% surcharge on Saturdays 12.5% surcharge on Sundays 17.5% surcharge on public holidays Free birthday meal is a seperate meal. Selection is pretty much the same as the regular excluding some items. If you order the birthday meal, keep an eye on your actual order because you might end up like us waiting forever...

2.4/5*

@Feedpunchers on Instagram

-The Feed Punchers visited the notorious - Third Wave Cafe, located in Melbourne, known for their large meat platters. This place represents ‘Instagram Food’. Looks can be very deceiving. -The Mac n cheese was appreciated for the unique nutmeg taste, although there was a minimal amount of cheese and an excessive amount of flour. -The Brisket had a nice amount of fat, which obviously resulted in some flavour, but the brisket was overcooked, dry and wasn’t melting in the mouth like other briskets we’ve experienced. -The pork ribs were cooked nicely, falling off the bone, soft in the mouth but were coated in an overpoweringly sweet bbq sauce. -The wings were too, coated in this overpowering bbq sauce, overly sweet, we couldn’t even analyse any other components. -The beef ribs were incredibly fatty, lacking flavour, inconsistent, as some parts were dry/ chewy and others were delicate and moist. -The pork balls were offensive to the Feed Puncher’s palates, they consisted of pork mince wrapped in bacon. They were so poorly seasoned that even a dabble of salt and pepper would have been more welcomed. -The whole chicken seemed out of place on the platter, it was coated in the sickly excessive bbq sauce, perhaps to disguise a bland truth. Despite of the flavour, the chicken was still tender and quite juicy. -The cheese kransky’s were great. It’s hard to do a sausage wrong, it was a positive contribution to the platter. -The corn bread was fluffy but dry, it would have been a perfect compliment to soak in the sauces, if the sauces weren’t sickly. -The condiments were appreciated, a strong horseradish white sauce, a powerful mustard with a spicy kick and a medium heated, vinegary chilli sauce. The pickles and sauerkraut were a great thought, but tasted overly processed and lacking of flavour. -Overall, this wasn’t even an average feed and the Feed Punchers can only offer very simple advice - There needs to be more attention payed to the cooking process of the meat and more love put into the sauces. However, the presentation is beautiful...