The Union Bank Orange — Restaurant in Orange

Okay. This review is based purely on the set menu option that is reserved for groups.

The food available to our group was predetermined so there was no menu to choose from on the night, but we were expecting great things since this restaurant had a good reputation.

Unfortunately I have to say the food was ordinary at best. Our starters were underwhelming and set the tone for what was to come. First to arrive was some fish. Whiting I think. It was cured and had a zesty topping that covered the blandness of the fish, which itself tasted like it was from the freezer rather than fresh. Next came some shrimps, not prawns, deep fried in their exoskeletons and accompanied by a meagre helping of dipping sauce. The shrimps were insipid and lacked that distinctive prawn flavour. Also, chewing through a crunchy exoskeleton isn't a pleasurable experience when the tougher parts constantly get stuck between your teeth. It was a really lazy starter. There was no imagination in its presentation either. Just dumped in a bowl with the dressing in a ramekin dish placed on top.

On to the mains, and they were no better. The beef / steak strip I had was at least one third fat / gristle; that was nicely disguised by a spicy coating of some description. Nothing worse than biting into a piece of beef then realising you've got to discretely get rid of it into a napkin. The rest of the dishes weren't much better either. All just ordinary. Even the simple dishes like chips had no flair to them. How hard is it to do twice cooked chips, beer battered chips, chunky chips or crinkle cut chips? The only dish of note that looked like it had been shown some love was the simplest dish on the table: a large leaf salad. Not the memory you want when you're paying $65 a head.

If you have a group of people to feed, and you want fine dining go check out Whitney's...

We had such a beautiful experience at The Union Bank in December 2019 - in the 'fancier' side of the venue. We had a Christmas lunch with 6 of my family, including a 2 year old and my Dad with an array of allergies including nuts, mustards, mayonnaise, tomato sauce, the list goes on! It could not have been more perfect.

The waiter was unbelievably attentive to Dad's allergies and made amendments wherever the chef could. We ordered to share; starters and mains including the specials of the day and the waiter (I can not remember his name) gave suggestions as to what we should add / alter for a more balanced meal. The food was exceptional, we all agreed one of the best meals we have ever had and we eat out a lot in Melbourne, Sydney and internationally.

The wine list is great, room to move if you want to spoil yourselves, we had one bottle of more expensive champagne and then stepped it down a notch and it was perfect, a good mix of local produce and wine and imports.

The service was fantastic, room was nice and cool given it was so hot outside and chairs are incredibly comfortable. Waiter, a lovely guy and manager, Sarah were very aware of allergies and extremely accommodating of 2 year old with highchair at table when we arrived. Both checked in with us, even though the restaurant was full, but also provided discrete service and left us to have a good catch up.

Couldn't recommend the experience more highly, even for just a drink in the wine room / bar is a treat, the venue is beautiful. Orange is lucky to have such an incredible restaurant at such a reasonable price. If it were in Sydney it would be $$$$$. Won't be surprised if they're soon to receive a hat.

Can't wait to come back to Orange and come...

We had a 8.00 PM booking for 6 and arrived at the restaurant on time, but our table wasn’t ready. This was a sign of what was to come.

Firstly the positives. Nice ambience and friendly floor staff.

After being asked to wait while the staff cleared and set our table we were seated. Water offered, menu explained, orders in for food and wine, all good. Then the wait. Our starters arrived in piecemeal, we asked for our bread and word back from the kitchen was they were holding it back for our dips and pate - odd given that when said items arrived we received extra bread. The remainder of our share plates arrived together. It was then we felt we’d over ordered based on the waiter’s recommendation.

After clearing the plates we waited another hour for our mains. By the time they arrived it was 10.00PM. No apologies, no one checking to see if there was anything we needed (other than more wine, which we declined), or an offer of something to soften the wait. No management presence. A table adjacent that was seated around the same time as ours received their main courses well before us. Clearly the kitchen was overwhelmed, disorganised and unable to produce dishes within the normal sequence of service expected from a highly regarded restaurant.

Due to the delays our party had no interest in dessert (loss of revenue for the restaurant), we asked for the bill, paid and left. By now it was 10.45 PM. We weren’t asked when leaving if we enjoyed the experience, I suspect they were afraid to. What a shame.

The quality of the food was good but the overall experience...