Waurn Ponds Hotel — Restaurant in Victoria

My fiancée and I were unfortunately “dragged “ to the Waurn Ponds Hotel bistro, which a drab camp-cooking hall of a place. The service was apathetic. That, we could live with….but then came the food….😫 In a nutshell , substandard; and some elements of our meals were disgusting ! I had the slow roasted pork belly with “Asian greens “ mushrooms and rice. When at home, I slow cook meat, I find that the fat “melts” away. But not this slab of gelatinous lard !! Finding any meat on this inch layer adipose tissue was like for a proverbial needle in the haystack. It was sickening. A slab of wobbling gelatinous lard ! The Asian style sauce was like a bottle of cheap plum sauce from a grocer. Really poor ! No flavour apart from sweet. Really sweet. Lard and sugar ! Oh boy ! My fiancé had a lamb shoulder, a Greek salad and charred broccolini. This was also disgusting! The “Greek salad “ was a little smattering of finely diced ingredients, which had the appearance of being left in a tub, in a hot kitchen for the whole day. They were but a portend for what the rest of the meal would bring. So after the old fermenting “Greek salad “ was scraped off, the slow cooked lamb shoulder caused more revulsion. This fatty overly gamey slab of mutton was like cooking and eating a bit of carrion which was past its “due date “. Gag ! The piece of charred broccolini, lived up to the description of charred ! Possibly, twice or thrice charred (cooked ) with oil or the like, so all that you tasted was carbon and oil…..it may have possibly been sump oil . Lol. This meal went largely untouched. We didn’t bother to try anything else. My fiancée felt nauseous. I felt irritated that I allowed myself to be dragged into this backwater. Poor service, poor atmosphere, poor venue, and disgusting food....

Went for dinner here recently while COVID19 restrictions were in place. The staff were so accommodating and welcomed the very few guests they could have in the venue.

Upon entering the waitress took down our names and numbers for tracing and instructed hand sanitation upon entry. The machine had to be whacked by another worker to dispense soap and we were brought into the large dining hall where there were five other tables and only one other had patrons on it.

Despite lacking in ambience brought by other patrons (at no fault of the venue) the quality of the food and timeliness of service turned the experience around quite quickly.

Chicken schnitzel was enjoyed by the three of us at the table and the waitress was helpful and kind. The only negative was that due to lack of activity in the restaurant I felt like we were being watched by a cluster of wait staff who waited for duties to come up at the main bar.

I would give five stars for my experience given the unique circumstances but I am giving four as I requested a coffee upon finishing my main and the waitress politely mentioned that they weren’t serving coffee - usually a norm when the restaurant is operating at full capacity. I believe the hotel should close off the coffee machine after final rounds have been done or ask the small amount of patrons they have if they want hot drinks.

I would recommend Waurn Ponds hotel to friends and family - I have only attended during a state of emergency and would hope they’re just as good in “normal”...

My wife and I had our evening meal at the hotel last Wednesday 8th February. She ordered Vegetarian Tagine. The menu said it came with “...garlic herb yoghurt (GFO) (V) (VEO)”. When it arrived, there was no yoghurt. She asked the waitress where it was, and after her advocating with the chef for my wife on three occasions, we were informed that “...the hotel does not offer that type of yoghurt“ and “...that it should not have been on the menu”.

Instead, the Chef (Mark) offered my wife CREAM (on her main course) as an alternative!!

Given that my wife is dairy intolerant, this was totally unacceptable. Eventually, the management offered her a substitute meal to which she was grateful.

When my wife purchased our drinks, she asked for a Rose’ but was given a Chardonnay. When I asked for a “Cab Sav” I was informed there was none available. I had to accept a Chardonnay as an alternative.

I want to thank “Mary” for advocating for my wife regarding the meal matter. She knows how to deliver customer service as a professional, whereas the barman should be severely disciplined for failing to supply a “Cab Sav” as requested, and forcing me to have HIS ALTERNATIVE DRINK.

As for the chef, it seems he doesn’t know anything about dietary matters. To offer “cream” as a substitute in a Vegan meal is an insult, and shows his ignorance in these vital dietary matters. We won’t be going back to this hotel...