The Shared Table — Restaurant in Victoria

I never expected to be eating with my hands, but we have done just that tonight. We went in for the local night special to try something different, and yep .. it was definitely different! The main meal was one small (20cm) pita bread toasted and cut unevenly into one third/two third halves. We ordered a second lot and it came out the same way AGAIN. There was also a small share salad, and a stew consistency 'braised goat' (some of what was left is in the picture below). We had to ask for plates and tried to figure out how to make the dish work ... we ended up eating it with our hands Indian/African style - small handfuls of inflexible bread to scoop.the stew and eating the salad on the side. We were given no spoons, entree sized plates (when we were able to grab someone after the food had arrived and simply sat there). All of this after ordering a grazing platter that came with a pot of sauce on it that we couldn't see what to use it on. Asking, we were told by the chef we could use it "on whatever you like'. SERIOUSLY?

The menu has been recently changed. The Chef's special is now 6 instead of 9 small dishes. The wine list is still local but more pricey. There's is also a very big difference in the experience you get when the owner is there versus what we had tonight. We will definitely think twice before heading back ... flavour is one thing ... having staff who can't explain what you're eating, who don't dress rhe table for the dishes being delivered and preparing dishes with little care or attention to detail ... well that's something altogether different. This was a mish mash of flavoursome individual dishes with no cohesion, coupled with a poor dining...

I had booked a surprise dinner for my fiancé and I to celebrate our anniversary and babymoon

The restaurant is beautiful however our overall experience was underwhelming and service extremely haphazard.

On arrival we were seated at our table which was dirty with old wax and food stuck to the table.. We were not offered water or drinks until about 15 mins into our seating. The first snack arrived before our drinks or water. Having worked and dined at numerous fine dining restaurants we had higher expectations from the moment we began our experience at The Shared Table.

There was no explanation or introduction to the set menu by the staff, drink orders through the evening were being taken twice but still took a long time to arrive. There was a gap of approximately 50 mins between the snacks and mains; we think it would have been a more seamless experience if there was a steady flow between the snacks/entrees and mains. The mains of the lamb with the pearl barley was delicious however the lamb was cold and extremely overcooked.

At the end of the meal no digestifs, tea or coffee or petit fours were offered. We left to pay and no one bothered to even ask about our dining experience.

Overall the service dampened the entire experience and was a massive let down.

I provided this feedback to Dianne and her team a few days later and the response received was very disappointing, no responsibility for the issues were taken or...

We booked here for my birthday as we were visiting the area for the weekend. Unfortunately the day of my birthday, I was unwell, so we ended up calling to see if we could do takeaway so they would not "lose the table." They agreed. When my husband was waiting for the food in the restaurant (which he said was very beautiful) someone in the kitchen made it known that they were not happy they were doing a takeaway option. Which I thought was incriedbly rude. The portions were small, but it was tasty, I will give them that. Unfortunately my barramundi was raw and inedible ($30 + btw for a tiny piece). I even reached out to The Shared Table by email, thanking them for offering takeaway but pointing out that the barramundi was raw (pic attached) and never heard back from them. After this experience, we won't recommend this place to any of our friends, colleagues, or...