Pineapples — Restaurant in Melbourne

Last night we visited Pineapple’s in Melbourne hoping for the same pleasant experience we had during our one visit prior but sadly we were met with terrible service. I’d like to include that although all tables were sat, there was a plethora of employees standing around and talking the entire time we were there. Upon arrival to the upstairs dining floor we were greeted by a hostess who was sweet but we could hardly hear her over the blaring music playing over the sound system. Once we were sat we waited approx 5 min to be greeted. Our server appeared rushed and disheveled, she had a careless attitude and wrote our order on a coaster(?), no proper materials in sight. We were able to order 2 waters “for now” while we browsed the cocktail menu, and an appetizer, the waters taking an additional 4-5 minutes to arrive. When two waters finally made it to our table she simply set them down and walked away. No inquiry about dinner, if we had any questions, or if we wanted to order anything else to drink. Our appetizer of wings arrived in a timely manner, delivered by another employee with a seemingly careless attitude. The wings, Parmesan garlic flavor, were sub par. We were left without appetizer plates and napkins, not ideal to eat chicken wings. At this point it had been about 15 minutes since we had last seen our server when she delivered our two waters. We never had the opportunity to ask for plates or napkins before we finished the wings. We were looking around the entire time, still hoping to order cocktails and dinner, but she never returned until it was too late. Don’t be mistaken, she was NOT busy, we observed her standing around talking to other employees as we looked around time and time again never to be met with any eye contact or attention from her. We would have made an effort to ask someone else, but it seemed that no employees even passed our table. By the time she returned it was 35 minutes since we had received our waters. She said, and I quote, “You guys feel like ordering dinner?” 🤮 We told her that we’d prefer to just take the check. After waiting 10 minutes to receive our bill so we could just get the hell out of there and eat somewhere else at this point, we took some cash to the bar to try to pay for the wings. We found our server at the servers station chatting it up with another employee. We handed her enough cash to cover the bill, to which she said nothing at all. We headed downstairs to hopefully find a manager to enlighten about our experience, which was just another wait. When we spoke to the MOD Gary, he seemed apologetic and assured us that this was NOT the norm and that he would work on things and asked us to visit again soon. Two other tables around us seemed to be having the same experience, one of which brought their drinks back up to the bar and walked out. She was “serving” both of these tables as well.  Please don’t comment about being short staffed. There were so so so many employees with obviously no work ethic as they stood around the servers stations and the bar chatting. We finished our night in a high note at Smokey Bones, where we were able to get tasty drinks, dinner, dessert, and outstanding service even though it was late into the night...

Was very excited to finally be dining at Pineapples as we have been anticipating it ever since we saw the beautiful building going up. We stopped in about three weeks after their grand opening for a late lunch. We were seated on the ground floor at one of the high tops by the window. The view was great and the atmosphere was light. Our waiter was young and laid back and was very familiar with the menu and made lots of recommendations. We started with the lettuce wraps which were delicious but ill conceived in their plating/presentation. Three lettuce leaves were on the platter with heaping helpings of delicious chicken salad on top. The challenge was eating them. The ratio of chicken to lettuce wrap was excessive. We struggled to pick up the wrap let alone fold it to eat. I will say it was delicious but more of the chicken ended up on my pants and face then I wanted. I should have just gone right to the fork. The three wraps could have easily been turned into six reasonably sized wraps and would have been more pleasant to eat and easier to share amongst a large party. Of secondary note, the appetizer runner dropped the plate and ran off without providing appetizer dishes. It took a little bit of hunting to scare somebody up to get some plates.

For our mains, my wife got the warm spinach salad and I got the hog fish sandwich. Both were well prepared and delicious. But once again, poor decisions were made to sacrifice the enjoyment of the food over the plating/presentation. My wife's salad was in a steep funnel shaped bowl with the top rim at a tilt. It was certainly lovely for presentation but the narrow bowl base almost caused the whole thing to flip on multiple occasions when she tried to cut the contents of the bowl. Additionally, the slanted rim eventually resulted in her fork rolling down the edge and flipping into her lap while getting a drink. My hogfish sandwich (picture attached) was delicious - first time having hog fish. However, the ridiculously oversized portion of hogfish was a logistical nightmare. I had to resect the ends of the fish that were sticking out off of the bun, You could have made three sandwiches with this thing. Then having cut the breaded filet open on both ends for the sandwich - every bite consisted of the meat sliding out of the breading and onto the plate (thankfully not on my pants again). The only negative comment on the preparation was that the tempura was a little soggy and contributed to the mess. It would have been better with a properly sized filet for the sandwich that was perhaps a little thicker. If I order this again, I will simply discard the bun and go straight into fish & chips mode.

As to drinks, my wife had the Island Taxi and it was very well done. The drink was delicious and the presentation was on point.

Overall we were pleased with the food quality but the plating choices made the experience far less pleasant then it should have been. Factoring in the newness of the restaurant and that there will be adjustments over time, we will be dining there again. I would expect some of these issues to be worked out over time as the owners refine...

Very bizarre experience. We pulled up to Pineapples last night with a bachelorette party around 9 pm, trickling in since we were making multiple stops. Everyone headed to the rooftop bar.

Now, I’ve been here plenty of times. I love the Tuesday comedy show, the monthly salsa class—vibes are usually decent. I’ve never been wowed by the service, but it’s never been so bad I had to say something… until now.

Enter: Christopher Cruz. Not sure if that’s a real name or the stage name of someone whose parents had big dreams—but the bitterness this man carries? Wild. I have zero tolerance for poor customer service, especially in the service industry. This man’s behavior was embarrassingly childish. He acted as though our presence (15 paying adults with actual money) was an inconvenience.

We had to set up our own tables. Most of us went to the bar to get drinks ourselves because… the wait staff clearly wasn’t interested in making money. The groom’s mother, the only one who needed table service, politely waited. After the bride requested someone check on us, Christopher finally dragged himself over, took her order, returned with her Vodka Cran, and handed it to her like it physically hurt him. Then he turned around and made faces at coworkers like a sulking teenager.

When she asked for her check, he had the audacity to say, “I didn’t serve anyone, so I don’t know who got what.” Sir—you served her. Just her. The mental gymnastics were unreal. She’s a sweet woman in her 70s. Treating her like a nuisance? Absolutely not. I won't stand for it.

If management is reading this, please check your cameras from Thursday night around 9 pm. Watch how we handled everything ourselves while your staff ignored us. And really pay attention to Christopher’s behavior. The eye rolls, the faces, the performance—it was so cringe. I think he was trying to impress the younger servers by acting too cool to work. Yuck.

But let me shout out the ONE bright light of the night: Abby. Youngest one on shift, but had the best work ethic. While everyone avoided eye contact so they wouldn’t have to take a large table, Abby asked if we needed help. She helped us arrange the tables, brought us menus, and was genuinely kind. She was cleaning other tables like a machine and still made time for us. She was the sweetest thing. Absolutely incredible. And you know what she did? Her job. Nothing too insane. Just friendly and helpful. That's all.

Honestly, most of the staff didn’t earn a tip. Which is a shame because we would have had significantly more drinks if the service didn't upset the bride so much that she wanted to leave after one. And funny enough? The majority of our group works in the service industry—servers, bartenders, stylists. We know how to tip, and we tip accordingly.

So: To Christopher— if working your shift is too much, maybe rethink your profession. How about something where you don't have to interact with paying customers? To management— fix this. And to Abby— OKAY ABBY! WE SEE YOU GIRL. INCREDIBLE WORK ETHIC. INCREDIBLY KIND. INCREDIBLY HELPFUL. YOU ARE APPRECIATED! WE LOVE YOU OVER HERE ON THIS SIDE!!! 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽 YOU'RE GOING TO DO...