Argenton Hotel — Restaurant in Newcastle-Maitland

⭐⭐☆☆☆ From “Premier Destination” to Plan C – A Sad Decline

The Argenton Hotel calls itself “The Premier Destination,” but lately it’s better described as the “Plan C Destination” – or maybe the “Lower House, Backbench Destination.”

Our family has been visiting the Argy for many years, long before the renovations. Whenever we celebrated a graduation, birthday, farewell, or welcomed a new family member, this was the place. But over the past six months, after three separate visits, what was once a solid 4–5 star venue has steadily declined to what now feels like a (generous) 2-star experience.

We understand some things are beyond management’s control – the occasional blaring sirens, screaming unsupervised kids, or a double-booking overflow. But cleaning tables, managing staff, keeping reasonable wait times, and ensuring bookings run smoothly are within management’s control – and this is where the Argy is falling short.

On our most recent visit, Sunday 13th July, our group of 14 waited as meals trickled out in five separate deliveries over a 40-minute stretch. Mine and my father-in-law’s arrived cold (except for the mashed potato) and unappealing. Had we not already waited so long, I’d have sent it back, but instead, I’m leaving this review in the hope it’s constructive.

Nearing an hour after arriving, we ordered coffees – just two coffees and a piece of cake – which then took over 30 minutes to arrive. Perhaps the docket was lost, or the barista was on a break, but it shouldn’t take half an hour for something so simple. Then, to add insult to injury, we were told we had to vacate the table in 15 minutes for the next reservation. Ironically, we wanted to leave 20 minutes earlier but were stuck waiting for those coffees.

Fair to say, the family won’t be back anytime soon. Of the 14 of us (gathered to farewell our family matriarch and patriarch before their caravan trip around Australia), at least eight agreed – this is not the Argy we once loved. Our next gathering will be a picnic at Speers Point.

I do hope the Argy returns to form because it could be the “Premier Destination” it advertises. I’ll give it another chance in summer, hoping the meals match the glossy photos on the website and the service is delivered by happy, motivated staff – not as...

We were keen to try the $15 Chicken Schnitzel Wednesday night special to compare it to our local $15 Chicken Schnitzel at The Empire in Annandale… the verdict: great quality chicken and portion and also the batter to chicken ratio: 5/5. Chips were good too but a bit stingy on the portion: 3/5. Salad and dressing was okay: 3/5 but the $2.50 extra I paid for the traditional gravy (which is free and comes in a gravy boat at The Empire Annandale), is 1/5 at Argenton Hotel! The gravy was watered down and barely gravy but salty water. It came in a tiny pot! You’re better off selecting the free bbq sauce! But other than that, the meal was good. The venue was recently renovated, nice seating and surroundings. Bonus was the kids play area that was undercover. But to get seating you had to booked in advance. The venue would do well to maintain the kids play area - the big yellow slide had a massive crack at the bottom and we worry that kids will slash their legs or hands coming down it. Free parking, $17 cocktails and $10 kids meals that came with free ice cream! Although please do not order the chicken nugget meal for your child! It was horrid! It wasn’t even real chicken! Tasteless! Our son loves chicken nuggets and after I asked him multiple times to eat it, he finally complained saying he didn’t like the taste of it. So I tried it and oh my goodness! It was disgusting! Had no taste! Do not order this for your kids! I fed him my chicken schnitzel instead; at least that was real chicken! Our daughter had the meat balls and spaghetti - that was nice, just lacked seasoning but for kids it’s perfect. In terms of service, we ordered via QR code and got slugged with a 3% service charge! Wait time for food at 6pm on a school holiday was around 10-15 mins (okay), and the venue had trivia night too so that was pretty fast service considering it was a busy night. Probably wouldn’t come here again unless we are staying up the road at the...

We have been going to Argy pub for years but it has gone downhill so much!!! The Food and service upon reopening after the renovations used to be amazing and I wouldn’t hesitate taking visitors there but now it’s almost inedible every time. The Mussels with a delicious red tomato sauce used to be my favourite, they now swim in a tasteless oil that makes them impossible to eat. The barramundi I tried a few weeks ago was also swimming in Oil and didn’t have any taste.When I mean swimming I mean the plate is completely filled with Oil instead of sauce. The chicken parmigiana was amazing a few years ago but even that doesn’t taste like anything. Everything is bland, tasteless, overcooked. The kids had kids burgers last time and the patty wasn’t a patty but some sort of shredded meat that was spicy! How can you serve 5 year old kids spicy butgers🤦🏼‍♀️ I asked a very unfriendly and unapologetic teenager for chicken nuggets as replacement and they never arrived. I asked again after an hour and they still never arrived. After that my Friend went to ask for a refund on the kids burgers which to their credit we got but It just shown no one cares in this place anymore. The Bar service is also terrible. The kid at the bar tried to pour me white wine when I ordered rose and on the second round couldn’t find the house wine I was ordering. The only reason why this place is still busy is the playground. If they didn’t have that no one would go...