Black Spur Inn — Restaurant in Victoria

29th October 2013; Maureen and Ken, Mornington Peninsula

A short break at the Black Spur Inn is a "shot in the arm" when a few days away from home is called for. Dianne and her staff provided excellent service during our two night stay in the newly refurbished Premier King room. Excellent sized room with lots of natural light, all the amenities, comfortable king bed, a large screen TV with video, a speaker charging dock for the iPhone and comfy bucket chairs to relax in (unlike many places where one sits in a chair and the other sits on the bed). We also had the option of a front balcony and a rear smaller access balcony. After a fair lunch en-route night one was a relaxed dinner and, following our waitress recommendation it was the homemade Chicken Parma - ripper! Desert? "If possible, may we take a Cheese Board to our room to enjoy with the in room supplied port?" Of course was the reply and off we went with quite a range of cheese, fruit and biscuits.

After a day of travels around the district it was time for our dinner (part of our second night Wine, Dine and Stay a While package. A delightful bottle of Wild Boy - Wood Point Wines was supplied and we settled into a fine meal. We started with the Regional Taste Plate to share and followed with (1) Snapper Fillets with parsley and almond butter, mash and greens and (2) Crunchy Baked Chicken Supreme with a basil parmesan and semi-dried tomato filling, mash and greens. All that was followed by (1) Sorbet Trio and (2) Death by Chocolate - a warm pudding with one of the richest chocolate sauces encountered! A fantastic meal and a great nights sleep in a very comfortable bed.

Both mornings began with a delightfully filling cooked breakfast in a lovely bush setting.

We enjoyed the "Postcards Special Bed and Breakfast on Day 1 and the Wine, Dine and Stay a While package for Day 2.

The Black Spur Inn is a quintessential country pub with well appointed rooms, large dining room (tables not crowded onto each other) and a pleasant sitting area for relaxation. Very friendly staff and a fine chef - what more is required to make for a very pleasant break. Even the checkout process (paying the bill and best wishes for a safe trip home) was a delight.

We thoroughly recommend the...

Very very disappointing experience at this place. It is very kids unfriendly place esp for families with young children who hasnt mastered the skill to sit still at the table. Our son was told off several times for playing and running around even though it wasnt anywhere near where the other diners were.

Food was pricey yet quality was very average. The portion for the fish dish waa very small for a $30 meal. Room was small and poky and very dated. The room was sprayed with some sort of freshener which has really strong smell and hard to deal with. Mosquito netting was dusty.

Lady at the desk spoke rudely when i asked about the special meals for people with allergens despite their menu clearly stating that they will endeavour to cater for special meals.

These negative experiences combined made it such a stressful and unwelcoming stay that we decided to pack up at 730pm and leave without staying and forfeited $205 for the booking.

Upon departure I kindly made a suggestion to the lady af the desk about having a small corner with a few toys so to keep them distracted and entertained (like many other smart restaurants do) but the lady said no, this is a restaurant for eating and for adults not for playing. So if you have a child that cant sit still at the table then this isn't a place for you.

To sum it up, despite having spent over $300 for food and 1 night accommodation (which we didnt end up staying) we were definitely NOT treated as...

Disappointing experience all round. $14 kids meal portion was terrible, very small portion of chips included (photo was before ANY had been eaten). My $25 pumpkin and sweet potato quinoa salad was dry - no salad dressing at all, 5 very small pieces of pumpkin, 4 pieces of sweet potato even smaller in size and a total of 2 mini Roma tomatoes, for $25 I’d expect a much heartier salad with a dressing. The 2 huge lettuce leaves and couple of smaller pieces under the quinoa seemed to be a way of making the salad look bigger than it actually was which didn’t look big to begin with. To top it off my 5 year old accidentally knocked over my pot of beer that I’d had one sip of and rather than waitress coming to clean it up with appropriate absorbent cloths as you’d expect at a restaurant I was handed a chux and tea towel to clean it up myself - we were the only patrons in the place at the time too so not a case of being too busy. I’d say the majority of establishments would also replace the spilt beer since it had just been served but no I was asked if I wanted another as in to purchase. Normally not one to leave negative reviews but given all the above and just feeling like being ripped off hard earned money I felt I had to. Would not recommend and would not...