Hotel Metropolitan

10 Highly Recommended

Food  10      Drinks  10      Ambience  10      Service  10      Value  10     

My partner and I were lucky enough to eat at the Metropolitan Hotel on Saturday night. We had purchased a voucher and in the past have noticed they were not always successful and sometimes you certainly didn't get what you paid for. In the case of the Metropolitan you couldn't have been further from this, the staff, food, ambience was excellent. We shall most definitely return and I would rate them an 11 star out of 10.

Well done, congratulations Jeff and staff thanks for a terrific night with wonderful hospitality!

Jul 11, 2011 

8.5 Highly Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  9      Service  7      Value  9     

A multi roomed hotel, with a good old fairdinkum bar on one side of the foyer and a dim lit dining room to the other. The open fire warmed the room just as well as it perfumed it with the burning fire smell that can never be imitated. The restaurant has a real style to it, a style that celebrates the old, with pictures in gold wooden frames lining its perimetre.

The service was a true example of contrast, with one waiter slick in style and the other a tradie in black shirt and pants. The service was generally inattentive and only one of them had any knowledge of the menu and for that matter the art of table service.

We skipped entrees and jumped straight into a hardy main with a char grilled Black Angus sirloin, potato fondant, braised and baked beef riblette, confit shallot and red wine jus. Now this is one of those meals you never want to end. The flavours were rich and the steak was succulent. A hardy meal that truly warmed the cockles of our hearts.

For dessert I had a plate with warm chocolate pudding, chocolate tofu foam, chocolate chilli wafer, black berry sorbet and hocolate and lemon tarte. It was a smorgasbord of flavours and textures, each worthy of being on the menu in their own right. This is what a dinner should be like on a cold winter's night!

Aug 27, 2010 

7.8 Recommended

Food  8      Drinks  8      Ambience  7      Service  8      Value  8     

After a reasonably shakey transition from owner to new owner, or new manager finally the metro is getting back to its former glory. I don't know what happened but somewhere in between being fantastic and now was a year of cluelessness. The best thing to come out of a management change is you can now snap up a bargain, quality wise. Prices have been decreased to rebuild an audience, all the better for us. A gem in the gastro pub circuit, again, finally.

Jun 15, 2010 

5.2 Average

Food  7      Drinks  7      Ambience  6      Service  2      Value  4     

The food was great but the service terrible and they were totally inflexible on providing us variations on meals. Additionally the food seemed to take forever to come out. Their wine prices were inflated and I would not go back or recommend others to go there.

Jun 29, 2009 

3.6 Below Average

Food  2      Drinks  2      Ambience  8      Service  3      Value  3     

In 2005 had a good meal at the Metropolitan and so decided to go back with friends from interstate. Sadly, the 2008 experience was very disappointing. The service was brusque - on arrival the waiter merely pointed at our table and didn't take a drinks order. No bread or water were offered.

But the real problem was the food. We ordered from the bar menu and when two of our party tried to order the lamb curry we were told there was only one serve left. Fair enough, but when the one serve arrived it was clear than in fact there were actually no serves left as there were only a few small bits of fatty lamb floating in a lot of indifferent sauce. The rice was clumpy.

I ordered the cassoulet which arrived hot but that is all that could be said about it. It tasted of garlic and salt (both of which I like!) but had no depth of flavour. The flavourless sausage was medium rare which was not a pleasant discovery! We were too embarrassed to ask our friends what their meals were like - no one volunteered any comments.

On the positive side, the beer was good with coopers and little creatures on tap, and the room was warm and cosy although a bit empty for a saturday night.
We were glad we didn't spend more on the a la carte menu. Sad to see how far a previously excellent pub can fall.

Jul 20, 2008 

8.4 Highly Recommended

Food  9      Drinks  9      Ambience  9      Service  7      Value  8     

What a great pub dinner we had last night. We ordered from the bar meals menu and ate at one of the tables in the bar section. The atmosphere was very cosy and friendly, perfect for a windy and cold Melbourne evening.

We were lucky and rocked up on a Monday where all bar meals were $15 so was great value. We ordered the fried calamari for a starter to share, which came out beautifully seasoned with thinly sliced spring onions and slivers of red chilli. I had the chicken ceasar salad with candied bacon which was fresh and lightly dressed. My partner had the fish and chips which came with lots of home made tartare sauce.

Overall a great night, bar staff were very casual and friendly.

Jul 01, 2008 

6.8 Recommended

Food  8      Drinks  8      Ambience  7      Service  4      Value  7     

Lovely big room with fireplace and soaring ceilings. Service was very scatty. Stood waiting at entrance to dining room for almost five minutes before being greeted and seated; after initial drink orders taken, never offered drinks again, although water was refilled - later on charged $6.50 for glass of wine that hadn't been ordered; promised bread never arrived even though had joked to waitress that we were starving. But about half an hour after our orders were taken some toast with good (homemade?) pate arrived out of nowhere. But this was the kicker; as we were literally taking the first mouthfuls of our mains, another waitress leant over the table and earnestly inquired if the meal had gone okay!!

But the food was really good - I had a delicious porterhouse steak of aged beef. One of the tastiest I've eaten. It's the fat on really good beef that adds so much to the taste. My companion had a pie of snapper and seafood and it was great. Generous portions - so much so that we couldn't tackle dessert, even though food had arrived at a "leisurely" pace.

Sep 23, 2007 

9.4 Highly Recommended

Food  9      Drinks  9      Ambience  10      Service  10      Value  9     

A great Gastropub in a nice quiet area. This place is an appropriate venue for a business lunch. Start with drinks at the front bar, then move into the dining room. You can order from both the restaurant and bar menu and meals are reasonably priced for the level of quality you get. Excellent service too.

Jul 04, 2007