Church St Hotel Wodonga — Restaurant in Victoria

I have been to Church St Hotel about 5 times, all in the past couple months and each time the experience has been sub par.

The service is not the greatest. The wait staff (those clearing plates etc) were kind, but one lady in particular who I believe may have been the owner, was who we experienced our service with most of the time. It felt as though you/the interaction(s) were trying to be rushed along, and like you were an inconvenience no matter what you did or asked. This attitude was particularly strange whenever we asked about sauces, whether it was if a dish came with any sauce, or if we could get extra sauce etc. We were met with defensive responses almost any time sauces were mentioned and it was just odd.

When ordering the Korean Popcorn Chicken, we asked about getting extra sauce with it to which we were met with yet another defensive response of 'it doesn't need any sauce because it comes with this beautiful sauce..' and went on to explain the sauce which we thought okay cool. However when it came out there was barely any sauce to be seen! And the chicken itself was tasteless.

Salt and Pepper Squid, while a great amount of squid for the price, came with about an 1/8 of a lemon that barely covered all of the squid, which might've been okay however on it's own the squid was quite bland. And there was barely any of the mayo that came on the side as well, only just being two dollops the size of 10c pieces.

The Warm Brownie with Ice Cream was barely warm and tasted like air, or stale, and had two small scoops of ice cream which for $15 is ridiculous.

A glass of wine, was missed at our table for about 30 mins and was only rectified when we mentioned it to the presumed owner, of which we were actually anxious to even ask considering how all other interactions had been, but she was apologetic and kind about it. This could've been fine as I understand mistakes happen, but this on top of the sloppy service and other issues was just a cherry on top really.

Waits in general each time we've been have felt too long. Understandable when it is busy (which it was the night the wine was missed, again understandable), but most of the times we have come there has only been 1-3 of us and maybe 2-3 other tables when we ordered and yet orders still came out in 45 mins+.

Even when viewing service around us we witnessed the owner getting frustrated with a table when she called out their dish, which she then repeated the name this time almost shouting with an angry tone and had quite obvious annoyed body language. I understand it can be frustrating when people don't listen to you which it felt like this table was doing, but it was just very unprofessional.

These things alone can be excused when it's a one off or the one thing alone, but when it's every time you go somewhere, and all of the things combined, it makes for a disappointing experience. Especially when you keep coming back to give them a second, third, fourth chance!

The appearance of the venue seems to be 'upperclass'-esque which can be great, but when paired with the bland food that costs way too much for how it tastes most of the time and the passive aggressive attitude of the presumed owner who meets you with defensive, annoyed responses when merely asking valid questions, leaving you to feel anxious when needing to ask another or thinking "oh gosh should I not have asked that?" after most interactions, it's quite disappointing. If the manager was just a bit more hospitable + approachable, and actioned the meals having more seasoning and better sized condiment accompaniment for each dish this place could be a...

Alright spot for a small group however strap in to still wait atleast 30+ mins for a margarita.

Have previously attended this establishment as a couple on a quiet night and was quite an enjoyable experience, however after coming back as a group it was less than pleasant. The staff were immediately overwhelmed requiring atleast 30mins to serve cocktails, 5+ mins for beers/basics and the food took atleast an hour to arrive at the table.

By then end of our experience the Laksa that I ordered had no soup and the seafood was overdone to the stage you couldn't peel the shell off, the staff had lost track of who had ordered what and were very clearly overwhelmed (props to them for keeping their cool) and our entrée's had come out as deserts and ended up having to get them changed to take aways as we had waited closer to 2 hours for them to arrive which wouldn't have been an issue except for their high prices being up to $20+ for some entrée.

Additionally to speak to a person at the other end of the table you had to play chinese whispers.

Overall I would recommend if you're dining as a couple and arriving on a Tuesday night at an early time the experience is great. Otherwise give this place a dodge and go to a...

Avoid. The owner of this place is a thief. Makes up his own prices that are not reflective of the actual price displayed on the menu. Paid $48 for a bottle of wine only to be charged $52.60 for the same bottle some 30 mins later. When I queried the price discrepancy, he advised it was a “Sunday surcharge” when I asked why I was being charged the Sunday surcharge on a Saturday he said it’s a card fee, I then asked why I was getting a card fee when I was paying cash he told me he’d meet me in the middle and charge me $50 like it was some sort of favour. Our large group quickly finished the wine and headed for the Goods Shed down the road where they were completely transparent with their prices and the service was brilliant.

This is not the first instance of bill issues I’ve had at Church St and it’s a real shame that this is continuing. The owner seems to always add on a service charge at his leisure without any transparency and just hopes no one picks up on it. He then gets defensive when you query and usually comes up with some preposterous reason for additional charges. This is not America, your prices reflect service. You’re defrauding your customers with petty theft and it’s frankly,...