Gordon Hotel — Restaurant in Portland

This beautiful 19th Century building's exterior never seems to change, but it seems a little dilapidated inside. Great news - it is currently undergoing renovations, so I look forward to seeing the final product.

It's a historic place to be, with Portland being the first European Settlement site in Victoria. It is run by Caleb and Sam and is open seven days a week, including public holidays.

There is a public bar/beer garden/live music area, bistro, and a gaming room. With fairy lights on the trees out front, the venue sparkles and is inviting to enter. I had dined here a few years ago and wanted to see if the standard has remained the same.

The night I went was 'Parma Night', which had some interesting combinations, but I settled for the garlic bread $7.90 and sticky barbeque pork belly with salad $27 instead.

Garlic Bread - arrived on a wooden serving board wafting of garlic [yum], cut into 4 thick slices and tasted divine. These with fries and beer would have been a great way to spend an evening with mates.

The sticky BBQ pork belly with apple slaw, aioli and sweet potato crisps covered with a sweetish vinegarette was a generous serve. The slices of pork belly were chunky and not tough to eat. The slaw was a perfect accompaniment to cut through the heaviness of the pork.

The meals are large portions and have low-medium pricing making it affordable for families, pensioners and travellers who want a hearty meal that tastes great. The highest price on the menu is the $34 Porterhouse Steak.

Great views of the Portland foreshore and bay, if you are lucky to get a window seat. Reservations can be made, but they also accept walk-ins. They follow strict COVID guidelines for patrons and staff.

Gordon Hotel - still kicking goals with the choices/presentation/standards of their bistro menu and looking after locals and visitors to the area -...

It's too bad because the meal started good with some really good cheesy garlic toast, but then went down hill, I called ahead to make sure they had oysters was told yes it was on the special board we were the first ones there, maybe a clue, as to the food, wen we got there, then the lady checked, Said they were out! Apparently they ran out at lunch time? ( Nice lady not her fault) That's why we went there,, in the first place though that's why I called ahead! maybe it's a good thing at $28.00 for 6, then we ordered, my husband steak was TOUGH, HE HAD A very hard time chewing Porterhouse supposedly, was terrible! AWEFUL$50.00, with the side of garlic a prawns, it should have been edible at least, it wasn't! Sadly I had the seafood platter , it was the WORST! out of a box, the fish tasted off, and the calamari was AWEFUL, the rest was worst I ever had, apparently, they ran out of chips in the place so we had sweet potato fries, but they were good, the tartar sauce looked like it was sitting out, discoloration, I would NOT eat there again or recommend, sorry they must do better after paying all they money 💰💰bad food.. in our experience! Too bad wasn't up to a decent standard..maybe a bad day? You decide, we...

The pub is clean, uncrowded and well lit, and the staff were friendly and welcoming. The tables are organised with room to move between them when guests are seated, which is important for anyone with mobility or access issues. Our meals took a fair while to come out, even though the pub was not busy at the time and the lunch crowd had not yet arrived when we ordered.

Two of our group said their meals were great. They ordered the beef burger and really enjoyed their lunch.

The other person in our group and I both ordered the chicken parmigiana which was very nice and well-presented. The staff were quite happy to substitute bacon for ham in my parmi without question, demonstrating a great attitude toward customer preferences and/or sensitivities.

The sweet potato fries were excellent - crispy and perfectly cooked.

However, the salad leaves looked and tasted as though they were at their freshest at some point during last week. Other than my one initial ‘poke and chop’ test to determine whether its appearance belied its quality — it did not— i did not...