The Larder Kitchen — Restaurant in Victor Harbor

The honest traveller! I arrived in victor harbour starving and after googling seafood restaurants only found the ones with high enough reviews for me to try. I called up and understand ot they were booked out at 8pm but they fit us in outside which was perfect as we had a balmy summers night 27 degrees so this worked for me. For some reason I expected to see some high end restaurant overlooking the water but instead was greeted with a humble little establishment that fit right into the surroundings. We were greeted by their lovely wait staff and after taking a look at their simple but straight to the point menue which covered everything from sides, mains (seafood, pasta and meat/vege) selection) cocktails, regional wines and amazing deserts we placed our orders in. Our cocktails arrived and the sour monkey is to die for 5 stars to the mixologist. Mains arrived shortly after and wow i was taken aback, the serving size was perfect for me I ordered the seafood platter for one and there was just enough food to keep me full (I’m 100kg and hit the gym so food portions are important to me) flavours were on point and presentation was great. Fresh seafood, crab scallops fish of the day with side salad and garlic sauce, amazing ! My wife ordered linguini and I had to finish it for her as it was too much for her and I did gladly it was delicious. Topped Off with the lemon/honey panacotta and choc brownie the night was complete. Thank you to this little establishment for making our memory of victor harbour a good one and I’m glad we listened to our gut feel and chose to dine here. Thank you and your amazing wait staff for a great night!...

was keen on trying something new as me nor my family have ever been, it was my sisters birthday and the second we walked through the door, we immediately received horrible service. i work in hospitality and have seen some bad service, but this was something else. after waiting at the door for 5 minutes until someone finally came over to seat us, we found that they had taken the wrong name for the booking, and we had booked for 6 people, but they tried only seating 4 of us. there were only 4 other customers in the entire restaurant he said “i’ll will see if i can fit you in”. the tone and attitude of the staff member who “greeted” us immediately made us re think the visit, before we even seated to look at the menu. it seemed that this staff member was also not in an appropriate or safe state for work, which also made us feel uncomfortable. once we sat down, we organised to go to another restaurant for dinner, as we got up to leave, the same server said “happy birthday” very sarcastically, and i explained that this is not what we were expecting and that we were going to find some place else. as we were walking out the door, we look behind us to see the entire kitchen staff watching us through the window and the server obnoxiously and arrogantly laughed us out. edit : i have no idea who any of the workers are and i would love to keep it that way, i am just giving a review on my personal experience. also, how am i supposed to give a review on my experience without mentioning the service? i was just stating what was clear as day...

We visited The Larder Kitchen in Victor Harbor for lunch and were shocked by the experience. There was plenty of space inside, but as soon as staff noticed we had a baby in a pram, we were told they were "fully booked" and refused entry. It felt like an excuse and came across as very unprofessional and unwelcoming. Extremely disappointing, especially for a family-friendly tourist spot.

Update: Thank you for your response, Aimee. We want to support local businesses, which is exactly why we chose your restaurant. Your attending staff initially said yes to a table, but as soon as we mentioned we had a baby in a pram, the availability suddenly changed and we were told you were "fully booked." If the restaurant was not taking any more customers, it should have been a clear “no, we’re full” from the start – not an excuse afterwards.

We can understand if you don’t want to accommodate little ones, but the way it was handled came across as dismissive and unwelcoming. The attending even suggested we try the restaurant next door serving noodles, which felt highly unprofessional. A little training for the staff and some empathy towards customers would go a long way.

As a small business owner myself, I believe this platform should reflect both great service and highlight poor practices and attitudes...