Subiaco Hotel — Restaurant in Subiaco

We had an extremely inhospitable experience at the once upon a time local favourite Subiaco Hotel (The Subi to regulars and locals of many years).

We were 3 middle-aged local women who had been at our monthly book club at a smaller restaurant/bar on Hay St that had closed at 11.30pm. The hospitality at that establishment was fabulous, welcoming, professional and the staff were excellent.

We walked down to The Subi and sat at a large table/bench on stools in the corner of the bar next to the traffic light intersection. The vibe was lively, I think live music was playing, and we ordered drinks and chatted happily reflecting on a wonderful evening.

That all changed when our evening was spoilt by aggressive, rude, and ignorant of liquor licensing laws security workers.

11.55pm we were approached and told we had to leave (rudely - no smiles here). Not last drinks but you have to leave. The bar was still filled with other guests. I asked what the time was which is how we knew it was 11.55pm. We all had just bought a drink (so 3 x spirits and mixers in short glasses - 1 each). We said thanks - we understand the bar is closing and did not buy any more drinks.

We were then directly approached by another security worker (again no smile - in fact this man was aggressively scary and intimidating) telling us we had to leave. I said we would finish our drinks and then leave. This was not ok with the security worker. I asked him the time and he said it was 11.58pm and the hotel was closed so we had to leave.

We said no worries - we will just finish our drinks that we had just bought (small drinks - not a pint or anything like that) and then be on our way. We are all educated, professional local women with children and were in no way intoxicated nor doing anything except chatting with our friends.

This security worker literally stood right next to the bench table we were sitting at and stared at us in a menacing, aggressive and very inhospitable manner. I asserted that we had the right under licensing laws to finish the drinks we had just bought and that would likely not even be 3 minutes. He told us actually he could take our drinks away from us and remove us from the premises. The security worker remained standing directly adjacent to us staring aggressively in a threatening manner. I again politely asserted our rights and reminded him that this is a hospitality venue and we are feeling very unwelcome. He said we could make a complaint and just stood there staring. This was really bizarre, and scary. I am sure you can see this on any CCTV you have in your venue from Friday 25 October 2024.

During this time there was a couple (man and woman) still sitting at the bar right near us finishing their drinks with no attention whatsoever from the security worker(s). My instincts told me that this was because the security worker would never behave in such a manner to a male. That is purely conjecture on my part but they were there drinking all at same time as we were and were not being bullied to leave.

Anyhoo - the couple at the bar finally finished their drinks (maybe 2 minutes before we did) and got up to leave. As they walked past the security worker on their way out the door (who was still just standing and staring at us) they fabulously verbally expressed their support of us and how we had handled a situation that was so wrong and good on us for remaining calm and not being bullied out. They both clapped at us before they left the venue and their allyship was lovely. Whoever they are - thank you for being kind and normal humans.

The security worker's aggressive stance softened slightly at this public condemnation of his behaviour by other patrons. We finished our drinks within a minute and left the venue.

It would have only been 12.05am. I have my Uber booking receipt time stamped at 12.06am.

The disrespect and threatening behaviour forced upon us was unacceptable and frankly cowardly and disgusting.

After 200+ visits to the Subi sadly that...

My heart sinks as I recall the terrible time my friend I endured at the Subiaco Hotel. I was so excited to be having a night out as a newcomer to Perth. but as soon as we walked into the restaurant, our hopes somewhat diminished. The waitress was downright unfriendly, and told us that we "literally have just six minutes to order, so she would check with kitchen first" She returned and said that was fine.

We quickly picked our food and decided to sit outside. We were eagerly waiting for our meals, along with a bottle of Margaret River Sav Blanc. We were told everything had to come out at once. We said that would be fine, so after ordering, a dozen oysters, scotch fillet steak and prawn pasta mains, sour dough and a bottle of Margaret River Sav blanc our table was somewhat full. After just five minutes, the waitress came back and told us to pack up our food into take-away boxes as they were now closing, the time being 9.30 on a Saturday night.

Feeling a bit miffed, my friend politely asked for a bit more time to enjoy our dinner and wine. The waitress returned again, insisting on take-away boxes, My friend asked politely to speak to the manager. The water sprinklers were then turned on, we moved our table as our food and my handbag were getting wet. The waitress returned with the manager and a security guard, looking tough in his fluorescent vest. Both the Manager and security guard were extremely rude and even admitted they turned on the sprinklers to get us out faster and of course all of this was taking more time.

And to add insult to injury, the food was pretty disappointing too. The steak might as well have been shoe leather, the prawns in the pasta were like rare jewels, and the oysters were tiny.

I usually like to focus on the positive, especially when it comes to food, wining and dining, but this experience at the Subiaco Hotel was just too much. Getting sprayed with water like we were pests was just plain awful. I can't bring myself to recommend this place to anyone, and certainly...

Well, what a bizarre experience. Over in WA for a holiday. Went last night and enjoyed it so much we came again tonight. It is tough to give it a one star rating, as both nights the food was good and the wait staff great. Tonight though had a completely distressing experience. After a long day at the zoo my son put his head on the table as he was tired. Out of nowhere a staff member came up to our table screaming accusing him of being drunk. I told him he is a 14 year old kid. Not to back down, started saying they could lose their licence if their are drunks in the venue (-Jesus, breathlyse the child! You can't lose your licence as there is a tired child at 6.30pm!). I think as he realised he behaved ridiculously, rather than apologise for traumatising a child, doubled down becoming increasingly hysterical. Not surprisingly, my son was so upset he didn't touch his meal, my other child was equally upset. I complained and asked for the duty manager, who happened to be said hysteric, whose name turned out to be Dave. He flat out again refused to take any accountability or apologise, and even refused to admit he accused my child of being drunk, despite people on the neighbouring tables having heard his bizarre accusations. To their credit, after I said that I wouldn't pay for my son's meal, the decent staff member gave us our meals on the house. I have never had an experience quite like it. Ruined what would have been a good experience. Definitely needs help. On the way out one of the staff members pretty much begged me to put in a complaint against him. And well, if this is the way he behaves to guests, as duty manager, makes...