BKK Boy Thai Street Kitchen (Newtown) — Restaurant in Victoria

1st review

Extremely small place for a restaurant. Met with very rude people in this restaurant. It felt like they had no manners at all...

"Second follow-up review in response to the restaurant’s

I just read your response, and it does not reflect the reality of what happened. As delivery drivers, we represent the customers who order from your restaurant. If no drivers were available, customers would have to come in themselves—would you ask them to wait outside as well?

Your reply on Google Reviews is polite, but unfortunately, your behaviour in the restaurant was not. We come to pick up orders from inside the restaurant, not from the street. Asking drivers to wait outside, even if done politely (which, to be clear, was not the case), is disrespectful. It makes us feel unwelcome, even though we are an essential part of the process.

If space is a concern, I suggest setting up a designated pickup stall outside specifically for delivery drivers. That way, we wouldn’t have to enter, and you wouldn’t have to ask us to wait outside. My main concern is that the restaurant was not even that busy at the time, yet we were still told to leave. I ultimately chose to cancel the order because I refuse to make money at the expense of my self-respect.

I also read other low-rated reviews and noticed a pattern—you rarely acknowledge mistakes and always seem to defend yourself, as if everything is perfect on your end. If a driver comes inside and the food isn’t ready, are they supposed to keep coming back in just to check? This approach is neither practical nor respectful.

I hope you reconsider your stance and find a better way to manage delivery pickups—one that respects both customers and the drivers who serve them.

"Third follow-up review in response to the restaurant’s reply."

I appreciate the delivery drivers who tolerate rude behaviour and don’t speak up—I respect their patience. However, I choose not to stay silent. In my initial response, I didn’t even mention that I was a delivery driver, yet you recognized me instantly. That tells me you knew who I was and, deep down, understood that you were in the wrong.

My recommendation remains: Assign a staff member to handle delivery orders, ensuring they are placed in designated bags for drivers. Alternatively, install a bell outside with a clear and visible sign (not a tiny one in the corner) so drivers can notify staff of their arrival—just like Malee Thai in Highton has done. But since you claim to have already implemented all necessary suggestions, I suppose there's no point in offering more, as you seem to believe everything is already perfect.

However, this review is not for you. It’s for the delivery drivers who are mistreated. I encourage them to share their experiences by leaving reviews. This will bring awareness to the issue and, hopefully, push the restaurant to address its behaviour toward drivers.

Regarding your mention of Uber Eats commissions: Yes, you pay a percentage to Uber Eats, but you don’t pay drivers directly. That commission isn’t a favour; it comes from customers who enable your business to operate. Meanwhile, we invest our own time, fuel, and effort—just like you do in your restaurant—to make a living. Your response came off as arrogant, as if you're personally funding our earnings, which is far from reality.

To clarify, I refused to compromise my self-respect for money.

You also didn’t answer my question: Would you ask customers to wait outside the way you do with delivery drivers? The answer is obvious—you wouldn’t. You take delivery drivers for granted because customers pay you directly, and you fear upsetting them, whereas you see drivers as dispensable.

It’s not about your restaurant’s rules; it’s about Australian values—treating everyone with fairness and respect. Reporting me won’t affect a driver with six years of good track record, so don’t think that will scare me.

To all delivery drivers: Leave honest reviews of your experiences at this restaurant. Doing so can help correct unfair treatment and encourage...

(NOTE: If there is a reply to this review, I'm almost certain this restaurant will not accept responsibility) As a long time local, we can remember when this restaurant opened. It was amazing. You can see how good the older reviews are. Now days? - It's not even a shadow of it's former self. I don't know whether management has changed, it has new owners or if the excitement of opening a restaurant has simply worn off and the proprietors and staff have stopped caring. We ordered takeaway, it was very late and arrived cold. The meals themselves had obviously been rushed in preparation. We contacted the restaurant to let them know of our disappointment and was told "it was out of their hands and their was nothing they could do to help" - They blamed the cold meal on the delivery driver for picking up the order 20 minutes late. THEY left our meal just sitting out on the counter for over 20 minutes AND was surprised it arrived cold? (even if the meal had been on time and at an acceptable temperature, it was still sub par) Look after your customers and take some pride in your food. Refuse to allow a driver to deliver cold food, It only reflects badly on you. There are numerous Thai restaurants in Geelong, please try another - BKK Boy will...

We order very regularly from this restaurant and have always highlighted the quality and service.

On Saturday though we were a bit disappointed. We arrived around 8pm and although the waiting time on our ticket said 15 minutes, we had to wait a bit over 30 minutes to receive our food. On the second bite, we found a hair in our fried rice. We told the staff about it and they replaced our food.

As frequent customers we were disappointed by the way the staff handled the situation. We were not expecting anything, but a gesture due to the delay and the hair would’ve been nice. Also when leaving, no one noticed us, which made the whole situation feel a bit worse.

We will still go back, but thought we’d raise...