Stanley Hotel Bistro — Restaurant in Tasmania

All in all the food was good but the portion sizes need reviewing as well as the customer service maybe a bit more attention to detail, off table service and going back to basics would benefit this place hugely.

I came here tonight with my boyfriend and a friend as we were traveling around Tasmania for 2 weeks. Being out last night we decided to treat ourselves to dinner. We spotted the local bistro the serves locally caught seafood, bingo there is dinner. We had a round in the public bar, which had a great vibe and got chatting to a few locals i had high hopes for the bistro because of how friendly the staff and locals were, unfortunately it wasn't. There was a sign hidden around the corner " please go to the bar before being seated" impossible to see before we had already sat down the waitress asking did we have a booking ? Tuesday night with only 4 tables full and just traveling though, um no ... Oh I guess I can fit you in, her tone was very undermining and condescending to be honestly blatantly rude. Which was not the best start to a country bistro. Firstly there was no table service for drinks you had to go to the bar to order odd when there were 4 waitresses and only 4 tables, anyho we had the garlic and herd bread to start that was beautiful soft and the butter was melt in your mouth. Both me and my friend order the salt and pepper squid as a main, it was cooked perfect very moist and juicy, but for the price of $26 it was 7 pieces of squid and a small garden salad, I'm not a huge eater but even I thought the portion size was small, my friend agreed with me and was tempted with desert because of the size but again the price stopped us. $14 for a pudding . my partner had the chicken snitzel with the pepper sauce, he says I was pretty stock standard but ok the serving size again was small. Our second waitress was lovely but there is that lack of attention to detail you expect from any bistro. I myself work in the hospitality industry and these are basic things we get picked up on . Waitress at the bar was lovely though knowledgeable of wine and food. We spent $170 all up and to be honestly I will be trying somewhere else when I come past again X

All in all the food was good but the portions need reviewing as well as the customer service maybe a bit more attention to detail, off table service...

STEAK.

I'm hoping this constructive feedback is seen by the owner of the business and forewarning other potential diners on ordering a steak.

We ordered the beautiful Cape Grim steak medium rare, which came out medium well done. My husband is never one to make a fuss, but when we're paying over $50. We assumed the chef was just having a bad night. So we sincerely apologised to our waitstaff and kindly asked if the steak could be cooked to again to our order of medium rare. The steak was cooked again, hoping the experience would turn around.

Unfortunately, to our dismay, the steak was almost blue, and if the restaurant was quiet enough, could potentially hear it moo too.

We didn't dare to ask the chef to throw the steak on for another minute or two for the sake of ruining the steak again.

We should have stopped at the mains and left. Still feeling hungry after a half eaten meal, we decided to order dessert. Pavlova roulade... we thought this ought to be made in-house and fresh. Once again. It failed miserably. The pav had an awful texture and felt like it had been made a week ago. No crispy texture on the outside, except a weird eggy texture. Cream Chantilly, probably wasn't necessary as there was nothing Chantilly about it. Lemon curd was like a punch in the face. Again, the flavour pairing on this dessert should have been the easiest to create.

Rather disappointing experience, as it's only 1 of 2 restaurants in the area. We spent $180 for 2 people...

Our visit to Stanley hotel yesterday was faultless. We checked in for our accomodation, Abbeys on the Terrace, and was met with a knowledgeable woman, who made us feel welcome the moment we stepped into reception. We booked in for dinner whilst there, luckily we did as there was only a few tables left as they were quite heavily booked. We came back at 5:20 for our 5:30 reservation, and was met by another knowledgeable woman (I’m sorry I didn’t catch your name!) We were taken to our table, shown the menu and drinks menu, was told about all the specials for the night (luckily as I didn’t wear my glasses so couldn’t read the board!) Ordered our drinks and meals at the same time, drinks served promptly to us, even though the dining room was filling fast. Waited only 20mins for our mains to arrive, and was very impressed.. X1 Beer Battered Flake and Chips, crunchy well cooked tasty chips, and some of the best flake I have seen in a long time.. Batter was light, crispy and cooked to perfection, x1 Pork Cutlet - Perfectly seasoned and tender Pork, Veggies cooked perfectly, and some of the creamiest mash potato I’ve had in a long time! The meal sizes were fantastic, so then ordered dessert and it didn’t disappoint either! The White Choc and Raspberry Cheesecake was Devine! and the Pavlova was well received as well. Definitely value for money and delicious quality meals served...