Brougham Arms Hotel — Restaurant in Victoria

I sort of wish there was a 2.5 star. I took my 3 teenage+ kids there tonight for a meal after hearing a lot of good things. The decor is clean and inviting and our initial service by the waitress (yes I am using the old fashioned term) was friendly. The waitress quickly took our drinks order which was delivered correctly and quickly. Unfortunately that was the highlight of the night. Our meal order was taken by a waiter who we later deduced misheard something I said and promptly changed from Eric Banner to the Hulk!. He wouldn't make eye contact and I swear began to float a foot or so above the floor. Our food arrived in good time and all together. My steak, ordered as Medium was served with a hand full of over seasoned "chips" and a lump of semi-frozen garlic butter...Salad....Ohh no this is one of those places that have the small print that says if you want a salad after ordering your $30+ steak you need to reach into your pocket again. But I digress. IMHO, medium usually means seared on the outside and pink , but not bleeding, on the inside. Mine was Medium/Well at best. Having said that it was very tender. One of my daughters had the Veggie Risotto which was very nice, the other had the Souse-Vide Lamb which was also very nice. My son, God bless him, ordered a bowl full of chips. These arrived in a small bowl of entree size as best. For a pub the prices were at a premium. IMHO the Brougham Arms is now a restaurant with a bar attached rather than a pub. Would I go back.... No, why? Snooty waiters with Restaurant food when what most expect is a good pub meal for the price. As I said, I wish there was a 2.5. The trick is to know what you are getting yourself in for before you get there. At least then you can choose one of your favorites that will deliver...

This review is on two parts. Food (5 star) Covid-19 safety

Food, service and ambience (4 stars) The slow cooked lamb was incredible. Highly recommend. The service was friendly, though I did have to call to attention several times. But they get points for friendliness and enthusiasm. Ambience was not amazing but what you would expect from a Tavern-type place. I was seated in the back where they would usually have the racing/betting up on screen. They had turned all of those screens off but one. They had repurposed another one to display a fireplace when I arrived (it changed to other pictures later, but I felt this was a nice touch).

Covid-19 this is the first weekend restaurants can have seated customers. There was sanitizer available upon entry (though they had not made sure/insisted I use it like many other places did) and in the bathroom. I was asked to fill in my details for contact tracing. The waiter most of the time didn't stand within 1.5m but did do so when reaching across me to place my glass and also to fill it with wine. I actually asked to move it closer to him which has was fine with. I couldn't tell if menus were cleaned between customers but mine looked quite clean. On the whole I felt they were quite Covid safe. It wasn't crowded and I...

Haven't been to the Broughie for 6 months or so. Very disappointed and won't be going back. The food has slipped considerably (ordered the lamb shoulder and veg but I suspect it was a slow cooked lamb leg pocket roast - certainly not what I've had in the past here or other places ...... edible but not worth going back for - and the mashed potato was very ordinary) and very pricey, but more importantly the "renovations" in the bar are just horrendous. It's just gawdy. Irish bar? Why? Guiness on tap tap doesn't make it an Irish bar or little Irish flags dotted around the place. The old photos, "paintings", and an array of beer signs make the place tacky. The booths - why? The final straw for me was the hideous "giant" sticker that has been placed on the toilet door to give the impression you're in an olde tavern - guess what you're not, you're in a pub that was built in the past 40 years not in the 1600s ........ ooooh the cringeworthiness of it all. Good luck to the new owners but they won't be...