Wheelers Hill Hotel — Restaurant in Melbourne

The Wheelers Hill Hotel Bistro Review update 23/12/2024

After a long hiatus, I decided to revisit The Wheelers Hill Hotel Bistro for a festive Christmas dinner with friends. The spacious venue, complete with a play area for kids, seemed like the perfect spot for a holiday gathering. However, the ambiance was reminiscent of a bustling fish market, with noise levels soaring to new heights that evening.

While the senior meals were once a bargain, they've seen a significant price hike since my last visit. Despite this, the quality and presentation of the dishes remained top-notch. The steak meals, in particular, were cooked to perfection, just as we had requested.

In summary, The Wheelers Hill Hotel Bistro continues to deliver on food quality and presentation, but be prepared for a lively atmosphere and higher prices.

Review 11/12/2020

Good to see that the new normal is here for the the bistro. Consider that restriction is not fully relaxed, the bistro is "fully" booked under such circumstance.

The view is quite specular whether it is day and night. However, I think it is time for the the full length windows to have a good clean, because they do affect my enjoyment looking out to the Mt Dandenong in the distance. Although it is bright day, the sky is not very clear, sort of a bit hazy.

There is ample parking. The bistro is definitely wheel-chair friendly because the dining area can be reached from the main entrance by a ramp, a rather "futuristic" curved design.

At the basement level, there are quite a number of poker machines The level is also connected from the entrance by a ramp.

There is also an internal lift to ferry patrons from the basement to the dining area above.

The dining area is very spacious, and I do not feel boxed in.

I read a number of negative reviews of about this place, but from my past visits, I found some of them rather unreasonable, and prepare to give it another shot.

There are 7 people in our party, and not everyone order the senior meals. The senior meals cost $9.95 each, and the portion size is sufficient for lunch.

I order Striploin Steak with Mushroom Sauce, cooked rear, and my wife orders Grilled (Barramundi) with chips.

The steak is about half the thickness of the standard meal. Although I order rear, it turns out to be more like medium. I should have ordered blue, because after the steak is cooked, the internal heat continues to "cook", and by the time I eat the last few bites, the steak is no longer in "rear" state.

The chips are golden brown and mushroom sauce is flavoursome. I may not give it full marks, but I reckon it is very good, and value for money.

The Barramundi is very thin / flat, and it is not likely a local fish, more like from Taiwan. She also feels that it is alright for the price.

The display of the dessert is worthy of mention. They are colourful, and probably the staff should promote them to improve sale.

The staff serving us, both male and female are friendly.

Overall it is a great afternoon...

Well after 6 years of going to this place today we went for our monthly lunch x 4. food was pretty good. Staffing was poor and not the fault of the individuals just lack of staff and this is not the first time. Had a 12.45 slot till 2.15pm. It was when desert time came around my friend orderd got his within 20 minutes mine never showed after nearly half again not the first time and friends who have experienced in past same. This place has gone through a change of owners in recent years. At the point where time was getting rediculous for waiting on a Pavlova Desert with Berries I decided to get up a lack of staff could not draw anyones attention approached the bar again staff overly busy lack of. So I thought i'll stick my head around the Kitchen swinging door. Well then you see the real behind the scenes. An overly weighty Indian man looked to be a cook or possible Chef and a younger man similar Indian. I politely called to them go there attention asked about a Pavlova desert for table 12. Had to reapet this request twice the older man seemed to be disinterested of my question only to say speak to the gilrs in restraunt. Obviously, I had tried this but being under staffed no one to ask. What really struck me was the mess and disaray of the kitchen not really enthused of what the state of it was. Something from Gordon Ramsay nightmare kitchen. Anyway I left them to it tried again to seek out asssitance stopped one of the girls who in turn went to see where my desert was returned and said there making it now !!!. My friend with me asked about the kitchen to which I said not great food ok but what you see out back you don't want to see. He said time we chnage venue been going there enough years. I'll be passing this onto family and friends who have and do use this restraunt and guessing they my start giving it a miss. In the early years it was very inviting friendly staff engaging nowadays it's more like a a soup kitchen. Order off the table like so many today no one engages, foods delivered and dumped like in front of you. how times have changed and for that you pay a pretty...

Not recommended for families with children

As a family with young children, we were initially delighted to find a restaurant that not only served delicious food but also provided a fun playground for our kids to enjoy. The restaurant has two sections – one on the first floor with the playground, and another on the ground floor with slot machines, which we later discovered was an adults-only area. Our visit started off great, with our meals arriving in a timely manner and everyone enjoying their dishes. Unfortunately, our experience took a turn for the worse on two occasions. First, when we wanted to take our leftovers home, the restaurant informed us that they did not have any containers to provide for takeaway, which was quite disappointing considering the portion sizes and the fact that we had paid for our meals. The second issue occurred when our young child, not knowing the ground floor area was off-limits, ran towards the adults-only section. We followed him, unaware of the restriction, and were looking around when a waitress started screaming at us that we shouldn't be in that area, as it would get them in trouble. Our son was scared and upset by her behavior. Upon leaving the restricted area, we expressed our concerns to another staff member, suggesting a gate to prevent such situations. However, he responded in a rude manner, telling us to read the sign, which was placed at a height that made it difficult to notice. While the food and service in the main dining area were commendable, the lack of takeaway containers, along with the poor handling of the adults-only area and the unpleasant behavior of the staff, left us feeling disappointed and unwelcome. In conclusion, while we appreciate the restaurant's effort to cater to families with its playground, we feel that their policies and staff behavior need improvement. Until these issues are addressed, we cannot wholeheartedly recommend this establishment to...