Junction Inn Hotel — Restaurant in Newcastle-Maitland

The Junction Inn has been an old favourite for dinner, so I was keen to visit following a recent renovation. (In fairness, the renovation seems unfinished, so perhaps some of the following review only applies temporarily.) The JI is one of the oldest building in Raymond Terrace with heritage, charm, and a commanding river view. Unfortunately the recent renovation has turned its back on all of that, with an interior fresh out of the “2010 Outer Suburban RSL Awards”. You have no sensation you’re in a building older than the all of the Rolling Stones added together.

First up, although we had a booking, we couldn’t find a table - it’s apparently your duty to evict people sitting on reserved tables, not the staff’s, and if those people say “oh well finish our meal and then go”, your choices are to stand awkwardly for 15 minutes or go take a different reserved table, perpetuating the problem all night. Mostly this is because the number of tables is less than half what it used to be, and wholly inadequate for the size of the pub.

Secondly, parking is a nightmare. Always has been here but given the coin spent on this reno, failing to improve the car park capacity or layout is mad.

Thirdly, although we had a “reserved” table (with people eating on it), it was a high table with stools directly in front of the wall-to-wall TAB screens. No issue with the TAB but elderly people (we had some with us) and young kids (had some of them too) don’t want to sit on high stools. Usually at places that take reservations, high tables are either an option if they’re full, or where you seat walk-ins. No one wants to open Nanna’s birthday present 3m off the ground. And the charm of dinner conversation is a bit blunted by tradies after a hard day crowding between the tables shouting “carn ya fuggin nag” at the horses as the missus’ grocery money disappears into the till that you can’t order drinks from.

To be fair, I can’t speak to the food. There were zero menus available, no menu board, and no QR code. After a beer or two from an underwhelming tap range, we relocated to the Spinning Wheel next door, which is a wholly better experience for literally everything except...

I do not recommend this establishment after the poor customer experiences of my lunch with friends yesterday. I booked a table and we did notice they were busy but an hour after we ordered we noticed people who walked in and ordered after us were being served their meals before us! Thinking our order must’ve been missed (we were all on the same docket) we simply asked how much longer our meals would take but the bistro manager/business owner was extremely rude saying, “…it’s coming, can’t you see we’re busy”. She was unapologetic and disrespectful. It took another 25 mins (85 mins in total) before our meals were served and when they came out some orders were wrong, cold and/or overcooked. One meal was burnt. The manager was again unapologetic and disrespectful to our group. When I asked everyone to calm down she walked away, then sent her husband out who aggressively told us to leave.

We’d paid for our meals, up front in good faith and were treated like second class citizens. I’m disgusted and deeply disappointed. I’ll never set foot or spend another cent in this pub, which is located in my hometown!

Update: it’s a total fabrication that members of our table were aggressive. We weren’t upset at the wait, we’d already acknowledged they were busy. It was the way my friends were spoken to, in fact screeched at, when they simply enquired about our meals that started the altercation. A simple apology and reassurance our meals wouldn’t be much longer would have been an...

A Welcoming Night Out at The Junction Inn Hotel

Visited on a Saturday night to check out the late-night entertainment offering. Arrived around 8pm and stayed until just before midnight.

The atmosphere was warm and inviting, with friendly staff who were attentive and really went the extra mile — by the end of the night, they even knew my drink order. Security was present and proactive, giving the venue a sense of safety without being overbearing.

The crowd was a nice mix of ages, with most groups keeping to themselves early on, but by 11pm the dancefloor came alive. The DJ played a solid set of late ’90s and early 2000s RnB and hip hop club bangers — a great fit for Raymond Terrace, which seems to love this genre.

The event space itself is downstairs, which is functional, but I’d love to see the entertainment moved upstairs eventually to take advantage of the stunning river views.

A few suggestions to elevate the experience even more: • Improved social media promotion (Facebook/Instagram) • Keeping the kitchen open later for late-night food options • Tapping more into the town’s clear love for retro RnB/hip hop with themed nights

All up, it was a solid night out and it’s clear the venue has real potential with the right vision behind it. Looking forward to seeing it...