Bank St + Co — Restaurant in Victoria

The is just my experience and yours may differ, but we were not at all impressed. TLDR: Poor service, food tastes good, but it might not be totally hygienic. There's no way we would go back.

First up, we were there on Monday 28 December around 1.40pm. It was relatively busy, but no so busy that there were queues for tables, with a tables becoming vacant very quickly and not necessarily being filled. We ordered the Seared Scallops with roasted carrot puree, chorizo, nuts and dukkah ($22), and a Pumpkin, spinach and fetta tart with beetroot and spinach salad ($12), off the specials board. I enjoyed my dish, but... We also ordered two smoothies from the menu. Little did we know these are pre bottled, commercial Noah branded "smoothies" made with fruit juice only. We were expecting a house made smoothie, maybe with milk and yoghurt; unaware that Noah is a brand of manufactured drink. This was a very disappointing start and could be easily prevented by putting on the menu, something like, "pre-bottled". Our order of food appeared, but with one of the dishes wrong, they brought out fish cakes instead of the pumpkin and fetta tart. When I told them we ordered the tart, the staff member decided it might be for another table. After a few minutes of the staff asking other tables she went back to the kitchen, then came back out with just the scallops and told us the tart would be a few minutes. My scallops looked good, but were going cold, so I started eating my dish. It was good. The positives - good flavour to the roasted carrot puree, the scallops were perfectly cooked, it came with roasted carrot slices too. Negatives - no nuts, but it was on the menu! The source scallops were frozen. Five minutes later, my partner's tart arrived and the staff member gave me $5 in cash, explaining that they had overcharged me and the tart was $5 cheaper. I asked about the public holiday surcharge and the credit card surcharge that I had also been charged. The staff member told me that it was not worth her time. Admittedly this is only 55c, but this was my money that I was missing out on. I kindly explained this and told her not to worry about it. A few minutes later the staff person came back, put $2 on the table, and said something very much like, "There you go, there's two dollars," and walked off. I felt they clearly understood they were in the wrong, and only offered me this because it was obvious I wasn't happy with them ripping me off, and they were concerned about the outcome of a bad review (well it's here anyway). My partner's year had a plastic like thread (somewhat like fishing line) in the pastry. She started pulling it out, but I told her to stop and took it in to the staff. One of the staff looked at it, started pulling out the thread from the pastry and then decided to show the chef. They offered a replacement, but my partner wasn't interested at this stage and I asked for my my money back. I was told to line up at the counter and they would sort it...

Bank St + Co, Port Fairy

If you’re wandering through the charming streets of Port Fairy, Bank St + Co is where your taste buds should make a pit stop. I dove into their Eggs Benedict with bacon, and let me tell you, it was nothing short of culinary perfection.

The eggs were poached to that magical place between soft and jammy, the hollandaise was silky and tangy without being overpowering, and the bacon? Smoky, crispy, and just begging for a return visit. But let’s talk about the portion size — huge. Think multiple slices of perfectly toasted sourdough with the ideal crunch-to-chew ratio, all stacked high with toppings that could satisfy even the hungriest brunch enthusiast.

The vibe is warm, modern, and unpretentious — a place where you could just as easily enjoy a quick coffee or settle in for a leisurely feast. The staff? Effortlessly friendly, making you feel right at home.

Bank St + Co is proof that a small-town café can play in the big leagues. Eggs Benedict lovers: you’ve met your match, and you’ll leave more...

When I was at a charity function bidding on a meal voucher from this establishment I did not even imagine how much pleasure I was going to get from dining there. The presentation of the meals is magnificent and my choice of ’Five Spice Otway Pork Belly with Chili Jam, Apple Slaw & Crispy Shallots” created a medley of different tastes in my mouth that was a delightful surprise as I tried to identify the specific tastes. It was not only a culinary delight it was a mental exercise with “What is that flavour” and “Ah! I know” repeatedly flashing through my mind. The Bubble & Squeak with Poached Eggs, Otway Bacon, Brussel Sprout, Baby Local Potatoes & Shaw River Annie Baxter Cheese, ordered by my companion apparently created a similar experience and was so much more elegant than I imagined...