Rubens @ Hepburn — Restaurant in Northern Victoria Region

Families with young children - NOT WELCOME by the LADY BOSS. We went there Friday night and had a wonderful experience: the food was just unequalled and of such high standard, staff were excellent and very friendly, service was extremely fast as we got there late just before the kitchen closed but wasn't an issue for staff who accommodated us so warmly... clearly the owner wasn't there that night! We went back last night as the magic of the previous night was something not to miss but unfortunately the owner's rudeness and OPEN DISCRIMINATION towards customers with young children completely spoiled our dining experience. First, after asking for a high chair for my baby, she came around to our table as I was putting the chair tray together and grabbed it off my hands to rush me to sit down. Then as I was feeding my baby, who was making baby noises - MASKED by the noise of other customers and loud music going on - she came to our table and banged a rattle on the table without a word... for us to keep him quiet despite all the noise around. This was followed by ongoing looks from her as she was on the phone to other customers. We found that behaviour completely inappropriate as did some staff members who apologised for it and fearfully mentioned she was the owner and therefore could not argue with her (look out for the fat pony tailed woman in case you make the mistake of going there with kids!!!). This experience was so disappointing for us as we've been going out with our baby to many restaurants since he's been born and NEVER have we been received poorly by anyone as we always make sure his behaviour at the table is appropriate for other customers around. Our baby is very easy going and we would never sit in a restaurant if he gets overly noisy. In the end we got so upset for being treated like the "outcast" of the restaurant we lost all appetite and could clearly tell we were welcome to leave ASAP... Absolutely no enjoyment for us last night despite the really good efforts of the staff to provide excellent service. My hats off to them for being so professional with such a ruthless and...

Really really enjoyed our dinner at Rubens! Wow! After struggling to get a last minute booking for dinner in the area during Easter. Another restaurant rudely ask for my credit card details for the reservation, whereas Rubens were MORE than happy to take my booking. Being our last night in the area before heading back to Melbourne we wanted to eat somewhere nice and a bit special. Staff were great! Friendly, warm, welcoming and efficient!

Considering the reasonable price we paid, the food was AMAZING! I wish there were somewhere like Rubens in Melbourne that we could go to on the regular! The local bruschetta was a great choice which my partner chose and the locally sourced goats cheese from Meredith was to die for! So smooth and creamy! My partner ordered the spaghetti marina for her main and again, top notch! Tasty, fresh and a big portion too! Normally I don't tend to order chicken when I go out for dinner but the Dijon Chicken caught my eye and I am so glad it did! Grilled to perfection, not dry at all, smothered in a lush, velvety creamy white wine sauce with melted Camembert and tasty, crispy bacon to boot! If I could find somewhere locally in Melbourne for these sorts of prices, I'd probably be eating there every weekend. Well done Rubens, top notch fare, friendly, competent, warm and professional staff.

To top it off, we bumped into the chef as she was leaving for the night so we got to give our compliments to the chef. She took a moment to have a chat and even asked us what we ordered! Great experience and the perfect way to finish our stay in Daylesford before heading back to Melbourne. Will definitely go back there next time we're...

We absolutely loved our experience at Ruben's. We first stumbled across this restaurant a year ago and it left such an impression that we came back to hepburn springs to try it again. We had a 2 night stay and ate there both nights, and lunch also. Our first visit we ordered the steak and seafood marinara. Both meals were absolutely perfect. This visit we really wanted to try more of the menu but didn't want to miss out on the delicious food we ate the first time. We started with the chilli mussels and bruschetta and the marinara again as well as Sicilian spaghetti. We were not wrong about this place, everything was as amazing as the first visit. The bruschetta was rustic and a perfect start to our meal. The mussels were a great size and couldn't get enough on soaking up the sauce with the sourdough bread. The mains were also amazing. We had read previous reviews and thought we must try the sticky date pudding for dessert. Natalie our waitress suggested an extra scoop of ice cream and was spot on. Every mouthful was simply perfect. The following day we went back for lunch to try the pizza. Dollar the staff member that greeted us remembered us and gave us the same table in front of the fire place. The pizzas came out so quickly and were also very enjoyable. The staff were super friendly and work together like a well oiled machine. The kitchen staff are super efficient and we were blown away by how quickly and fresh everything was. We will definitely be coming back to Ruben's again and we thank all the staff especially Natalie for making the experience amazing not only because...