Monteiths Brew Bar Alexandra — Restaurant in Vincent Community

Look, honestly—this is pub food, don't expect the world. A lot of it is obviously prepackaged and reheated. Sometimes it can be decent, sometimes it really does miss the mark.

When it's a miss it's disappointing, but what is frustrating is the attitude some of the front of house staff adopt when you raise an issue with them. Two comments stood out to me, and I wouldn't have left this review had they not been made.

In response to a steak being under-seasoned, I was told "there's seasoning there", as this individual gestures towards the dirty salt and pepper shakers sitting idly on the table.

Yes, I guess if I wanted to use iodised table salt to mask an unpleasant and dull cut of steak, then I could do that. But seasoning has a time and place, and any decent institution should make an effort to ensure that what is presented to the customer is seasoned before it is served—prior to and during cooking. Not after the fact. By seasoning earlier, you afford the meal more opportunity to absorb that seasoning, letting it interact with the food while it cooks, creating an overall better experience.

The second statement came in response to my question, "do you use butter?"—"We do not use butter", with a hint of a holier-than-thou attitude permeating the atmosphere around the table. I guess that's probably because everything is shipped to you pre-made and just reheated, so there's no time to use butter, right?

When a reasonable customer politely raises an issue with a meal, tactless remarks are the last thing you want from staff—who almost hint that you're what's wrong with this meal. Disappointing...

The worst food I have ever tried to eat in my entire life. I've only given it one star as there was no minus option. I wouldn't even give it a minus star. Myself and my partner went on 31/01/18. We both ordered steak, medium rare and we both vomited in the car on the way home. True story. The steak was amazing.......not in a good way!! It was amazing how a pink steak medium rare was absolutely bone dry with no drop of juice/blood whatsoever! We were amazed at how it had been cooked? We came up with a few ideas. Was it pulled out of the bag/box and put on the grass outside in the sun for 30 mins? Had it been cooked with a woman's hair dryer? Had it been ironed by mistake with the uniforms? Had it been left on a radiator? Where was the juice? Had it been sucked out with a vacuum cleaner? Was there a vampire in the kitchen drinking all the blood??? Anyway you get the picture. This was the not the only issue. The steak somehow was bone dry but not even cooked. It was a creamy pale brown outer; clearly never seen the inside of a sizzling pan with olive oil a seasoning. I managed one piece on my fork and instantly could taste the texture of a dried out shoe. My partner managed two forks and felt sick. We politely told the waiter, who was pleasant. We didn't end up having to pay for our meals , which was fair seen as we ate nothing (the carrots looked chewed up and reused but don't get me started on that). Needless to say we will never visit there again after spewing up on my car door , window and face whilst driving home extremely...

Not recommended!!! Long story, tl;dr at the bottom.

Visited on 28/12/2022, booked a table at 730pm as we travelled long way from Blenheim to catch up with friends. We arrived there early around 715pm. We placed our order at about 730pm. 3 entrees came at reasonable timing, however the rest of the 4 main courses came at 850pm. That’s ridiculously long waiting time and it wasn’t even a crowded evening. Ordered a medium steak, it came very well over cooked. Slow cooked pork belly was over cooked, tough and dry. Stuffed chicken breast were okay. But all of the main course definitely not worth $37 each. We raised our concern to the staff, requested to speak to manager. He relayed his message through a wait staff said that it’s a busy evening and there’s a broken plate in the kitchen so he can’t speak to us in person even after we waited for him. What a freaking joke. Zero damage control, what a lousy customer service. I would have given 0 star review if I could. Not returning, see you bro.

Tl;dr Waited 80 mins for main courses, manager refused to speak to us to address our concern. Very bad customer service from management. From 4 unsatisfied, angry,...