Pinnacle Family Hotel — Restaurant in Queensland

Came here a couple of weeks ago with family and friends. Was overall a bad experience. We ordered a crumb steak and a couple of their award winning pies. The crumb steak wasn't good - 2/3rds of it was entirely breadcrumbs and there was very little steak inside, and it came out looking very brown, which means that they used old oil to fry the steak. The accompanying salad had some dressing that was too sweet for our taste. Their pies were nothing special - were slightly larger than normal pies but the flavour profile was about the same as usual pies. What makes this a 2 star review is their extremely high surcharge, which they did not tell us about before we paid. We initially got 2 pies ($9 each) and a bottle of Coke ($6) which was supposed to total to $9 + $9 + $6 = $24. We paid around $29. The surcharge here is $5! And they didn't even tell us that there was a $5 surcharge! I just saw another review about half an year ago saying the surcharge is $4.50, now it seems that it has increased to $5. This surcharge is incredibly deceptive, catching us tourists unawares, so beware. There is one redeeming factor about this place which is why it isn't a one star review - this place has a relatively good location as it is one of the only stops between Mackay and Eungella National Park, which makes it a popular stop for hungry travellers. I guess all the good reviews come from people who are starving or desperate for...

Something's changed here and unfortunately, not for the better. We used to look forward to a drive up the Valley to enjoy a pie and let the kids play at the playground. When we got there it was very quiet. 1 big group and a few others here and there, not like the usual hustle and bustle we see when we come. No music, no atmosphere. Placed our order with ease. 45 mins later the kids were getting hangry so I went to look for our meal, it was just coming out. When it got to our table the chips were stone cold and my pie was soggy. The gravy was way too salty, someone didn't get the proportions right on that. If we weren't so hangry we would have sent it back. Back in the day the place used to be packed and theyd pump the meals out without error and kept a smile on their face. Not sure what's happened but unlikely to return...

Great vibe, Great spot. Great staff. Not so great meals unfortunately. I had a Chicken Burger with overcooked, dry tenders and a bun that had been toasted for so long that when you bite into it, it disintegrated like bread crumbs. Quite unpleasant to eat. Also ordered a 1kg beef schnitzel. Whilst not overcooked, it looked dark and dirty (like cooked in old oil or deep fried in too high of heat) and 500g of the 1kg is the crumb (its thick). The 1kg schnitzel also only comes with a very small amount of gravy (same as you get with the 500g schnitty). Would absolutely go again just for the vibe, however, some improvements need to be done - in particular with food that is deep fried. The Pinnacle is famous for its pies though, so perhaps that's where...