Review The Brunswick Mess Hall - Brunswick

Luke is THE ultimate wedding fairy and must be protected at all costs!! These days it's so rare that an event turns out even better than imagined - but our wedding celebration is something we will cherish forever thanks to Luke and the Brunswick Mess Hall team. After chatting to so many venues, going with BMH is one of THE BEST decisions we made. Through the highs and lows of many lockdowns, and with this being cancelled once before, it was amazing how Luke and his team pulled out all the stops to ensure that everything stayed as true as possible to our ideal plans. They took care of EVERYTHING and really, really considered our needs. The evening flowed super smoothly, the guests loved the food, service was great and all we had to do was just rock up and enjoy ourselves. We couldn't be more grateful. Highly highly recommend this venue.

What can I say about the Mess Hall? Venue, food, vibe of our dreams. The staff are next level amazing. We had our wedding reception here a few weeks ago & I am still dreaming about how incredible it was. Everything about the night was absolute perfection. We had rave reviews from our guests about the food. I know Luke is no longer the event manager (big, sad loss for BMH) but a huge shout out to him, as well. I cannot thank everyone involved in our reception enough. The memories we created with our friends & family the night of our wedding will remain with us, always.

I’ve driven past this place so many times wondering what was inside. Finally went last week with some friends and now I don’t know why I waited so long. Amazing Asian flavours in a great environment - can’t be beat. Really recommend the banquet if you are going with a group. We had the smaller one and it was heaps of food. Great drinks selection too. And of course, the service matched the rest of the experience. Thanks to Daniel (I think that was his name!) - so bubbly and friendly and really made us feel welcomed. You won’t regret going here!

Came here on a date, had the most amazing time! Sophie was an amazing waitress who made the dinner that little bit more wonderful. Sophie went out of their way to bring me a small spoon for my dessert. If I could give Sophie 6/5 stars, I would. Absolutely wonderful!!! Thank you, Sophie!!

We went for a last minute dinner and were served by Sophie who was nothing but lovely and super attentive. Even asked the chef to make the meal a little less spicy so I would survive! Food and drinks were delicious and fast!

Had an amazing night here with my partner. We both absolutely loved the food, the atmosphere and the wonderful staff. Hats off to our waiter Daniel who managed our table like a total pro. We will definitely be coming back again!!

Have visited here a few times with friends and family, we have all enjoyed the atmosphere and customer service. Food and drinks have been wonderful and recently had the most wonderful time with a fellow named Daniel; a kind and well dressed bartender, serves wonderful drinks with amazing quality and in short times too. Will come visit again, thank you for the wonderful experience. :)

Beautiful food and beautiful place! The cocktails were also surprisingly enjoyable! As well as the hospitality and care from the staff, particularly a man named Daniel took care of my party and was a great host and loved the chats! Thanks for the great experience all around.

Loved this place from the get go, and we were fortunate to have our wedding here this year and it was totally amazing! Highly recommend a visit to the Brunswick Mess Hall � Beautiful building with stunning decor, delicious food at a very reasonable price, amazing bar and drinks menu, divine staff! LOVE xx

We had our wedding at the Mess Hall after many great date nights & delicious food convinced us it was the perfect venue. Amy and Jacqui the event coordinators were so lovely, good fun and absolutely amazing at their job & made planning a wedding so easy and actually enjoyable! The space is stunning and looked incredible with very little effort, it made for so many beautiful family photos. The food is always absolutely delicious and the staff are superstars. There is nothing from our day we would have changed, thank you so much to everyone at the Mess Hall for helping us create our perfect wedding day!

Yummy food & drinks in a pretty sweet setting. Actually had the best waiter too! Luke, you’re awesome �

In love with this place! We had our wedding here and I could not recommend it more. It was magic! Best food and service in Melbourne. 😍

Great atmosphere, with its historical decor, great mingling space plus plenty of cold beer, the Brunswick Mess Hall is a worthwhile visit.

A wonderful wedding experience we could not fault the great food, great atmosphere, the excellent attention al in all it was the best of weddings

Arriving at a half empty building we were told "there's just too many people arriving at once, you'll have to wait at the bar" (with no hint of how long, And there was nobody else arriving at the time). Ordered a drink, drank it, waited and then just left, still hungry. Terrible service... wouldn't bother coming back. Not to mention the whole place smelt like a sewage leak. Good selection of booze but i couldn't tell you anything about the food. Multiple tables were still empty as we left. Get your sh*t together Mess Hall.

Everything about the place was amazing! Great atmosphere and the food was excellent. Definitely will come back.

Spring roll very average but the rest wonderfully tasty. I should have ordered a bag of those corn fritters to take home!! The waiter( a fine young man!) was terrific!!

Had a beautiful dinner with my gorgeous wife, we loved the style of Brunswick Mess Hall, menu recommendations fulfilled our curiosity and belly's; and the staff were, friendly, personable and fun.

Every time I bring friends here they love it! It is quintessentially "Brunswick", with amazing food, awesome cocktails and a fantastic vibe. Will never tire of this place!!!

Had my daughters engagement here yesterday, such a great place food was amazing as was staff

Attended a wedding at Brunswick Mess Hall, had an amazing time. The staff were fantastic!

I had heard a lot about this place which was both good and bad and after our dinner last night can only speak in glowing terms in regards to the total experience . Food was as impressive as the service both being of a high standard. Staff were professional,respectful and engaging. Highly recommended and made a subsequent booking.

Great staff, music, food and drinks! Couldn't ask for more �

Thank you all so much for a fantastic night last night. The private room was amazing, great service and the Cocktails 'the Bomb',thanks Tracie and all the awesome bar staff. Big thanks from all the crossfit turmoil crew we had a great night and will recommend to all our friends and family.

A lovely space and friendly staff. Menu looks like it's recently changed although still fusion Thai. We ordered:<br/>- roti with peanut sauce (ok, prefer my roti more crispy, peanut sauce was bland)<br/>- chicken tenders (huge, but again bland)<br/>- beef massaman curry (good flavours)<br/>- chicken pad thai (a tad bland, would've loved more of the tamarind sauce to come through)<br/>- cocktails (on the watery side)<br/>Overall, the flavours were quite mild for Thai cuisine and didn't wow me.

Love the smoked duck , it’s has very tea / smoky taste ....and my company loved the pumpkin curry, which I find it’s a bit too sweet . Wine list is average , salad is refreshing.....good but not amazing . Beer and cocktail selection is big . It’s really pretty inside the dining hall . Overall it’s a good experience .

Thought the food could have been better for the price. loved the beer selection

I haven't been here in a number of years, I was so pleased to pop in and give the Mess Hall another go.<br/><br/>Service on point, the wait staff were excellent.<br/><br/>My cousin and I shared the beef shin massaman curry and fried rice which were both so flavoursome. The curry had so much depth and texture, I was worried the beef would be too fatty being the shin but it wasn't at all, it was perfect.<br/><br/>A must visit if you are in the area.

Extremely satisfied with staff served our table. Food delicious, rice is a bit old otherwise all good!

As much as it is a cool place to go to, my pockets are empty and my stomach is still hungry.<br/><br/>It's pretty average food for what you get. I think you're paying more for the trendiness of the place over the actual taste.<br/><br/>I feel this place is expensive for what it is. Bit noisy too.

We came on a Saturday night and the service was incredible! Despite being their busiest time, our food came to the table in record speed! Every staff member we spoke to was very nice and friendly and extremely helpful. Blown away by the speed and care taken! The food was amazing also, definitely recommend the eggplant!

Food was fine, not amazing and overpriced. Cocktails were great. We had the vegetarian platter of entrees; the spring roll was filled with mostly vermicelli. The samosa was yummy. The roti with peanut satay was yummy. The pad Thai was very sweet.

Brunswick Mess Hall elicited a lot of LOVES.... I LOVE their cocktails, LOVE their baos, LOVE their chicken skewers, LOVE their beef brisket and LOVE our waiter Luke!! I have never mentioned any wait staff before but Luke made our experience highly positive and memorable. I will definitely be back.

What a groovy place! I hadn’t heard of this restaurant until I went for dinner and I’m sad I hadn’t. The food was delicious! A delightful Asian Fusion cuisine. <br/><br/>What we ordered:<br/>Vegetarian Spring Rolls<br/>Chicken Satay Bao<br/>Chili Chicken wings 🌶 🌶 <br/>Pad Thai<br/>Fresh Rice Noodle <br/><br/>The vegetarian spring rolls were crispy with an amazing filling. The filling actually included thin rice noodles which worked so well. The satay bao was a hit but sadly they were a tad too small. We’ve had plenty of bao before and always much bigger and more filling. The chili chicken wings were spicy so for the chili lovers this is one not to be missed! The sauce was sweet with a kick. <br/><br/>As for the mains, we opted for noodles. Both the Pad Thai and Fresh Rice Noodles were cooked beautifully and both packed with flavour. We opted sharing just one noodle bowl but seeing the size of them, we were glad we got two!<br/><br/>Looking forward to coming back and trying more 😃

During Jazz Week my band had take-away from the Mess Hall 3 nights in a row. I felt bad for them and wondered if they’d like something different but they didn’t. They loved the food and tonight I understood why. My absolute fave was the pumpkin in red curry . Such good strong flavours. We also ordered the tofu green curry; small serves of each but we still couldn’t get through all the food and took home the left overs. Green Paw paw salad was excellent- not too spicy and a really refreshing starter. Roti bread and peanut sauce was very addictive. We loved every dish and will happily return. The staff were also very attentive; we never felt forgotten even though we had to sit in the separate front room as the main room was full.

Terrible service. We were kept waiting when we arrived. The staff were rude and unhelpful. The food was inauthentic, tasteless and lacked flavour. Never go there.

Would not recommend... we booked for the banquet, then the staff “recommended” (cough pressured cough) us to go sit in the front room instead, and order off the bar menu. We weren’t even gone for 5 minutes and they had already split our original tables and sat new patrons there. Our group wrongly thought we would still get to eat the banquet, so when we found out we couldn’t we requested to be moved back into the main room. By that time, some of the group had already eaten bar food so we weren’t all having the banquet. Rather than asking us, the wait staff assumed that everyone would be doing the banquet and then tried to charge us for those who had already eaten their bar food. We had collectively spent over $2K on food and beverage, but the wait staff were trying to sling us for the 3 people who didn’t eat the banquet, because “they brought out food for them”. We sent back most of the dishes half full, but yet they tried to claim that we ate the additional 3 people’s food, which was absolute lies. Rather than being reasonable, the wait staff chose to tag team our group, without budging. It literally took our entire group of 24 people to arc up before they would even listen... absolutely appalling customer service! Will never go back here again!!

Tried the tofu & noodles made vegan from their food truck. Very tasty. Would be better if noodles a lil less oily tho and maybe some more veg. Would also like to see more clearly marked vegan options. I like that they didn't use plastic!

Step (halfway) inside and you'll be sitting in an exposed brick front courtyard, covered in greenery. Simply stunning. Step all the way inside, and a spacious dining area is what you'll get. The food is just bloody good. The teriyaki mackerel was so tasty (no soft bones either) and the grill beef short ribs.. Oh. My. God. The smoky flavor really came through. Please please please make your way here.

Food was delicious, the 6 of us got the banquet option, it was a lot of food, it came out quickly and was soooooo good. Cocktail menu is amazing and the staff where all really friendly. I will definitely be back 😍

I’ll preface this by saying that I came here with a large group of friends on a Friday night, so it might’ve been a different experience with a more intimate group.<br/><br/>The venue is plain and simple cool, it would be a great place to just hang out. The menu is a little limited for my liking, and a little on the pricey side for what is actually dished up.<br/><br/>I personally probably wouldn’t give it another go but there’s plenty of people around that would love this place.

Spacious area. Perfect for large groups. Well decorated inside. Love the ambience. Highly recommend the banquet. Very delicious generous amount of food but pad Thai was too sweet. Top notch dishes : crispy fried tofu , mar hor and grilled squid.

I was super excited to dine here...Restaurant decor added a cool vibe and very friendly staff certainly started on a positive note BUT the food itself was average to say the least and the prices were outrageously expensive!!! POOR food with expensive price tag = a bad ending in our evening..... won't be back....

Unfortunately the food missed the mark completely. All meals lacked flavour and the combination of ingredients in all meals did not make sense. Very disappointed even more so because it was for my birthday dinner.

We gave the Mess Hall another go recently (and also learned it has no linkage whatsoever to the Mess Hall on Bourke street!) and found it a much better experience. The staff who served us this time were super duper friendly and were able to enlighten me on the scent that I couldn’t identify from the previous visit. Turns out it’s just the smell of ancient history as the space has had a fascinating background all the way back to its heyday as a Masonic Hall. <br/><br/>We tried the thick noodle dish again knowing it was a hit and also added a pad Thai upon recommendation. In keeping with the Thai theme we also went for the massman which we enjoyed from the original visit. Looks like the menu doesn’t change too much here but it’s not necessarily a bad thing. I still really do love this spot for its sensational ambiance and would definitely take people here for drinks if I wanted to impress with a quirky Melbourne venue <br/><br/><br/>Original review <br/>We settled on Mess Hall for Valentine’s Day dinner as all I wanted to do was eat dessert from a particular place nearby. Husband wanted to be the voice of reason and insist we have something savoury prior to gorging on sugar so we found ourselves in this absolutely amazing space. <br/><br/>I’ve been to the Bourke st Mess Hall but this venue is awesome. Great atmosphere and brilliant interiors although I did detect quite an unpleasant smell in there that I couldn’t find the source of. Either way I was loving the vibe but unfortunately the food didn’t measure up to those levels. <br/><br/>We started with baos, soft shell crab for him and beef for me. My beef bao was literally the worst one I’ve ever had. So uninspiring, lacking flavour and the bao itself tasted stale. Heartbreaking as baos are right up there with my favourite food groups. <br/><br/>I was then quite struck by how small portions were for the price. Not very good value. Next up was crispy fried eggplant. This was absolutely saturated in oil, all I could taste was oil and that made it so soggy that crispy was certainly not the case. When the waitress was clearing our chicken skewers (nice but quite small) I said she could also clear the eggplant and when she asked why I told her it was too oily. There was a bit of a snide comment about well it is deep fried (umm so are chips but they don’t come out dripping in oil). She eventually returned and said usually they let people know it’s quite oily but the oil settles after awhile and offered for us to pay for a replacement dish instead. <br/><br/>We chose corn fritters but didn’t fare much better. While they weren’t oily as such they were very bready and not particularly enjoyable to eat. The mains were definitely better and the massaman curry was a rich flavoursome dish. The chicken noodle dish while quite stuck together was also rather tasty. <br/><br/>I loved the venue deeply so I would definitely recommend it for drinks but I’d personally stay away from the smaller dishes and stick to mains and cocktails

I had been meaning to try Brunswick Mess Hall for ages. We finally went for dinner and it is a great venue. Huge space with great decor and great for big groups. We had a bunch of different share dishes which were okay. Great roti bread which is important, but overall a little underwhelmed. This would be a fantastic spot if they can perfect their flavours!

Great spot in Brunswick for group dining or small groups as the venue is unique and pleasant. There is a nice variety on the menu, including drinks. The food was good, I enjoyed the green curry and curry soft shell crab bao. I was hoping my mulled cider would be slightly bigger, however it was still great.

Would have given it a top rating, but they weren't very accommodating with making a small alteration to the banquet menu, just wanted to substitute their low frutose crispy tofu for the regular one and they refused

Ordered vegetarian food from here and they made chicken instead. I am a vegetarian and couldn't eat it. Kitchen was closed by the time the mistake was realised. Super annoying - feel like getting peoples orders right should just be simple?

Came here on Saturday evening and quite like the vibes of this place. Inside of the place looks like a church, which is pretty cool. The staff was really friendly. <br/><br/>The food was average. A bit disappointed with the baos, they were a bit tiny. Our favourite menu was the green curry, spicy but good!

Came here with high hopes that were not met. Big location with lots of space. Found the meal we had (see photos) was pretty average. Perhaps we didn’t get the right dishes

This place is suprisingly huge on the inside. You will be in a hall as you enter the restaurant with this great overarching screen projector. There's bar in the hall and also next door in their smaller bar aptly named little mess. The food is a kind of Thai fusion executed greatly. The lamb is soft and juicy. The pad Thai is fried nicely and leaning towards the sweeter side.<br/>

The interior dining area is pretty nice and open, decorated with some fake plants but it makes me feel little bit in Southeast Asia or Southamerica. Food is mostly Thai, but arrives on time, is well presented and it taste fresh and flavour full, drinks are refreshing and tropical style.

The Lamb Massaman Curry is out of this world! Would not hesitate to recommend on this alone. Service was fantastic, couldn’t of asked for a better birthday dinner. Will happily return 💕

Amazing food absolutely loved it couldn’t get engough great service to was surprised at how good it was actually and the cocktails looked fantastic

Although this place has an overall good rating hence why we chose it, it really didn’t live up to expectations. We came in for the Valentine’s Day and decided to go with their valentines set menu, that gave you and your partner a choice of one each from entree, mains and drinks while desert was set. The entrees we chose were what we thought were the best of their menu. Fried crab meat dumplings and pork spring rolls. Very disappointed in both, the dumplings tasted like dried up deep fried sausage rolls and the spring rolls were miniatures and tasteless and didn’t come with any dipping sauce. The mains we chose were lamb rack and beef cheek. Basically meat on a plate. Lamb was presented with a side serve of lettuce... how does that even go together? Beef cheek was submerged in sauce and no sides just garnish on top. Although the mains were tasty they didn’t feel like a complete meal. Desert was nothing to write home about either. Chocolate mousse, too overwhelmingly sweet. Forgot to mention the margaritas we ordered were so strong and served half glass full with no ice. It was like drinking an extra large margarita shot! Not exactly enjoyable. <br/>Staff were lovely and ambience was good. Shame about the food tho

Was ok nothing special... just ok. I’m a chef and I have to say I was underwhelmed. For an Asian restaurant it just lacked flavour, seasoning and herbs. <br/>

A group of us came here for my birthday dinner. We were pretty excited to try the menu as we heard good things. <br/><br/>I had organised a set menu prior to the dinner, however 20 mins after being seated we were asked if we wanted to order or be on a set menu.... <br/>That was the first little thing of many things to occur over the night. <br/>Service was pretty slow over the whole course of the night, we found it hard to flag down a waiter for questions/drinks. <br/>When dishes were brought out nothing was specified whether it may be vegan/vegetarian as we had a few on the table. When asked the waiter was unsure, went to check and came back and said “sorry I’m just taking food out”..... <br/>UMMM if you’re taking food out you should probably know what your serving in regards to dietary requirements or even allergies. We even asked another waiter but they ended up telling us another thing so we we’re confused to what was vegan/vego.<br/><br/>Overall the service was horrible and the food was average, we won’t be back anytime soon.

This place was okay. The food itself was okay (not great, especially not amazing enough to be as pricey as it is). We went as a table of 8 who came for a small birthday get together and arrived / left at different times..<br/>Walking in the place appears promising and we were eventually greeted by a waiter with menus (after sitting for 15<br/>-20mis i walked to get our owns food menus as the waiter had only given us drinks).<br/>First time round the waiter asks if we'd like a drink and we order a jug of sangria for 4 glasses worth..<br/>The waiter brings the jug and pours the first class way passed full at the top that the sangria (red wine) spills on tbe chair and all over my Mimco purse.. leather.. expensive.. i get it accidents happen.. i ran to the bathroom to wash it off immediately. He apologised when i return and that's fine and all but i did throw in a "it's okay, as long as we aren't getting charged for that drink.." 2 glasses of the 4 were half full and he did not return to ensure they got filled.. as he spilt them..<br/><br/>So we order the mixed platter for $22 which was reasonable pricing and was okay, not super amazing.. the squid for almost $20 was definitely not worth more than $12 for the portion you get.. and the paw paw salad we tried, whilst o<br/>A<br/><br/>A suitable $12ish price judt wasn't zesty or super fresh like@ those paw paw salads usually are.<br/><br/>Then comes the end of the night where my partner and i went to leave a little earlier than everyone and went to pay. They don't split bills! We judt wanted to pay for everything we'd ordered as 1 transaction and they referred us to an atm j side. I then said i only had my credit cards on me to which they still could not oblige. Whilst the lady at tbe counter was very polite, it was a terrible experience all in all. I highly doubt I'll be back here.. oh yeah.. the sangria was also super watery.. which was lucky for my purse just not for my tastebuds. I did taste my friends beef cheek which was quite nice, i wasn't a fan of the chicken main though(and i lovvve chicken).<br/>So at the end of the night we had to print off the bill and i convenience the other people who may have wanted to order more things by paying altogether.. really crappy experience and i will not be back here.. judt disappointing because i heard such great things.

Bar menu is very underwhelming. Bao's are super dry and crumbly and lack depth. Bar staff are friendly and cocktails were great however the food was underwhelming. Would not return.

One of the coolest spots I've been to in Brunswick. An eatery with different seatery to choose from. The interior is super swanky, I literally just came in here to have a mocktail (which was pretty great) and to take selfies, cause why not pair spring lighting with swish interior. The soft shell crab appetiser was good too.

Nice place had a good vibe interior was nice food was good and service was just ok.<br/><br/>Worth a try, recommend to go here in a group and just get plenty of food for the table and share, this way you get to try a few different dishes. We tried the bar area for drinks after dinner, not a real good vibe and drinks over priced.

Quick Sunday night dinner. <br/><br/>What a great atmosphere and great Thai fusion food! Definitely looking forward to return for their punch bowls and Friday night vibe one day!

This is my go to place when I can't think of anywhere else to go. Food is always good, although one time I had a Paw paw salad that was so spicy I couldn't finish it. And I'm generally good with spicy food!

We came to this venue for a friends going away dinner. The entree was delish and the drinks were nice. <br/>That is where the positives finished. <br/>One of my vegetarian friends order a yellow curry and it was beyond disgusting. It was cold, smelt like fish and tasted like dolmio Napoli sauce mixed with frozen sweet potato. <br/>The chicken vermicelli noodles were bland and my friend almost choked they were so dry. The beans were frozen as well. <br/>It was one or the most unpleasant, over priced dining experiences I have ever had.

Pork salad was good, I hope they used free range. Enjoyed my meal and so did everyone else. The decor was funky and there are plenty of food options to suit everyone

Green Thai curry was first rate, best I've had in a long time. Fried eggplant was tops as well, like a tempura style. Very nice red was also recommended and enjoyed. Love the ambience here, a big hall sounds like it could be not suited to good dining, but it works really well here with the fit out and lay out of tables etc.

Really enjoyed the food here especially the eggplant fritters and snacks platter! Comes with spring rolls , crab cakes, tofu and curry puffs. Opted for the tofu curry and pad thai for main which was delish.

Went here last night, couldn't be more disappointed! We started with the curry puffs and the veggie spring rolls.. curry puffs were OKAY but so sweet - I had to drown in soy sauce to break the sweetness. Spring rolls were absolutely awful, they tasted like no spring roll I've ever had.. just strange. We then shared the veggie yellow curry with some rice. The curry had HUGE chunks of pumpkin.. with the skin still on it - like I'm talking an entire wedge of pumpkin and it was SO SWEET AGAIN. The rice had been cooked in a rice cooker we unluckily got the bottom part that was burnt and stuck together. I will say the the staff were polite but the music was so loud that I couldn't really hear them anyway - my throat hurts today from yelling across the table - unnecessarily loud for a restaurant full of people. Anyway, I will never go here again. Total joke of an Asian cuisine and waste of money.

Food was great and service was very attentive. It was a shame that we felt rushed. Food was bought out so quickly and then we were given the bill very soon later. We had the banquet which was very tasty but could have included a couple more dishes to make us feel a little more satisfied. Ambience was lovely, the lights and decor is stunning.

The menu here is really enticing, so we decided to order probably more than we could reasonably eat and take what we couldn't finish home (which they were happy to facilitate). <br/><br/>Started with some spring rolls and curry puffs- which were a winner. What I really liked about the curry puffs was the filling- sweet potato rather than regular potato was a nice touch. <br/>We also had edamame because who doesn't love edamame??? <br/><br/>For main we had a chicken vermicelli stir fry and a green tofu curry. The flavours of the curry were really nice and different from a regular green curry with rather exotic additions such as Wild ginger and apple eggplant. <br/><br/>Service was not bad too, we were taking a while to order and the waitress did leave a little too long for us to finish our decision after first asking if we were ready. She was very apologetic and friendly about it though and we got two extra Spring rolls. <br/><br/>Overall a nice evening and I would go back again, which is always a positive sign.

Ending last night on a high, I decided to travel to this beautiful decorated place.<br/><br/>Walking inside it's seem to be a little crowded and small, however when taken to the big (auditorium) and elevated ceilings compound it was just a fabulous sight to look upon. <br/><br/>Been seated in the middle of the restaurant, I did know what I wanted with the people I was with which was the banquet. <br/><br/>The banquet did entail the following dishes:<br/>• Edamame<br/>• Mar Hor<br/>• Tofu<br/>• Grilled Squid<br/>• Pad Thai<br/>• Green Chicken Curry<br/>• Coleslaw <br/>• Jasmine Rice<br/>• Chicken Skewers<br/><br/>Starting with the Edamame, the people that I were with have never tried this dish. They did have mixed reviews. Some of them loved it and others seem to think it was a little plain for the starter. My opinion they were great, good hint of salt however I would of thought they would have more of flavour. But all in all a great start to the night.<br/><br/>The Mar Hor came out next which had a sweetness with the caramelised pork and slice of orange. A little small for the starter, but good kick of flavour. <br/><br/>The Tofu dish looked appetising with such a inviting dollop of sauce present on top of them. The consistency of the tofu suited perfectly with the sauce and equally was a well though out imaginative dish. <br/><br/>In relation to the grilled squid, the green sauce had such a different taste to it, not sure what it tasted like. However the squid was just ok, the other allocated sauce beside the green sauce had such a unfamiliar texture and matched perfectly all together for an all in one mouthful.<br/><br/>Pad Thai came out next which was one of my favourite dishes of the night. Sweet and salty, a well thought out flavour combination. All flavours and ingredients counteracted each other to then level the plate and become a delicious meal. <br/><br/>I was a little hesitate that some of the people I was with would not the chicken curry dish but everyone was pleasantly surprised. Mammoth push of hotness came straight from this plate which just simply extravagant. Chicken and all accompaniments fitted the plate swimmingly. A balance but hot curry. <br/><br/>Coleslaw arrived next to the table, which wasn't really appealing. A little bland, their was some sensations of boosted sweetness but evidently very underwhelming. <br/><br/>Jasmine rice was great, usually one thing I don't normally eat because I love coconut rice so much. It improved when mixed with other dishes with it for example the magnificent curry.<br/><br/>Lastly the chicken skewers. They came to the table with a mouthwatering sauce below them and what a sauce it. HOT HOT AND HOT! A delightful way to finish off the banquet. <br/><br/>Coup de grace, an enjoyable and beautiful hangout for nightly drinks and dinner in my opinion. Service is above and beyond, the gentlemen with the beard was just marvellous. <br/>

Wonderful atmosphere and very kind and helpful wait staff :) We had dinner and drinks on a Thursday night and found it wasn't too busy and loud at all... the tables at the front of the building are more secluded and less in amongst the noise of the bar.<br/><br/>The pork Bao and curry puffs were stand out, the beef Bao wasn't as full in flavour so next time I'll be ordering more of the pork.<br/><br/>The dessert platter was also lovely, at only $25 it came with more than enough food for 3 people the share :) <br/><br/>Mess hall is definitely a great place to go when sharing drinks and food with a small group!

Ribs, and the staff rule everything around you give them your money all your $$ bills ya'll!! Great courtyard for relaxing or big tables at the front for people watching.

Nice environment and very suitable for a group of friends to celebrate special occasion.<br/><br/>Chillies chicken riblets, enough spicy, but would prefer it fried more crispy before coating the chillies sauce.<br/><br/>Smoked mussel with coconut milk, personally would love to have more herb flavour added to it so can reduce the grease taste of the coconut milk. Love the prawn cracker, crunchy and tasteful.<br/><br/>Asian coleslaw wasn't very good, disappointed by the bitter taste of one green salad. Can't really taste other herbs flavour, not very appetising.<br/><br/>Crab meat vermicelli noodle, wasn't expect this to be a soup dish, maybe didn't read the menu properly. Vermicelli noodle I think was too little to its portion as a main, only 3 small bunches, and barely found any crab meats in the soup too. However the chilli crab meat soup taste very good. I think the raw bean sprout wasn't necessary to be on the plate, also prefer the snake bean to be cooked with the soup.

Our food was ok but not amazing, got the baos, yellow curry and lamb rack. However, an impressive cocktail list and good atmosphere/venue so would probably come back just for a drink but not dinner again.

Great food with unique flavours, excellent service and a wide range of cocktails and wines. The atmosphere was good but by 8:30 it was very noisy and it only got louder as the night went on, it became almost impossible to have a conversation by the end of the night.

Tuesday and Wednesday night special is fantastic!<br/>Carafe of sangria (red or white - w had the white and it was delicious!), house made springrolls, Asian slaw and Pad Thai. $50 - Plenty for two people. Will definitely be back for this again!

Didnt mind this place before but now it seems to have gone downhill a little with the menu. Wasnt really impressed with the food at all. No flavour. Customer service was ok and atmosphere still good.

surprisingly good. asian fusion food was unexpected. i thought it would have been bar type of food. but absolutely love it. Gem in brunswick. love their baos.

Ordered a share plate and two mains to share. We ordered the mixed plater of starters, drunken chicken and the Pad Thai and a few drinks. The service was excellent, but didn't really enjoy the food too much. Pad Thai was lacking flavour, had overpowering plum sauce taste and the tofu was rubbery. Atmosphere was good and an extensive drink menu but wouldn't recommend unless you're after food to accompany drinks on a night out

Beautiful venue with high ceilings and lots of character. Food was Asian fusion, tapas style. My favourite was the soft shall crab Bao, and the pad Thai wasn't too bad too! Would recommend this place for a gathering of friends or special occasion. For couples, week nights can be really romantic yet casual too.

Lovely food, staff, ambience. Apple sake, Pinot noir, Papaya salad, chestnut spring rolls, Thai pickles, eggplant wedges with kewpie mayonnaise, soft shell crab stir fry totally full. $89 tram 19 runs past

Such fantastic ambience here! i otha used a group dinner here and everybody loved it. i will def be back. such a great bibe in a saturday night and the food is delicious

Food was different maybe i just picked the wrong dish but im a curry lover .. reason it is a 1 rating is because they couldn't wait to get us out and next batch in.. we had just received our starter when half way through it our mains landed. Then about ten mins later a waitress comes over telling us " just letting u know this table is booked for 8pm". Basically get out in next 30 mins . So i didn't enjoy anything and left over 100 dollars for 2 people who weren't even drinking alcohol.

We had dinner here and the food was incredibly disappointing. The food was over cooked and just not of the standard we expected for the venue and price. Even our wine was a disappointment and we had to send it back for a request of a new variety.  It's such an awesome venue, bar looks great, it has a happy and positive vibe, but unfortunately our dishes were lacklustre and not seeing us return.

I really wanted to like this place based on the nice ambience and friendly staff.. Set in a relaxed open dining space, not a bad place to have conversation.. <br/><br/>However, unfortunately food was just a little lacking.. Didn't find any of the savoury dishes we had particularly tasty. The creme brûlée was pretty good though!!

Fresh tasty Asian infused food, heard Mesh Hall was good and it was 👌. Friendly staff and great cocktail selection 🍸. Will definitely come back and recommend.

Not safe for coeliacs!<br/><br/>Brunswick Mess Hall has a very misleading menu for people with coeliac disease or NCGS. There are a number of items on the menu billed as GF, and I ordered some, topping off my order with (luckily) 'can I have that all gluten-free please', having been caught out a few times by poor prep before. <br/><br/>The waiter then told me that I couldn't have either of the things I had ordered because they were deep fried in the same fryer as other gluten containing food, and directed me to one thing he said he thought was 'safe'.<br/><br/>This is not the first time this has happened, and the misrepresentation of GF items on a menu is extremely frustrating for people who have gluten-free as a medical requirement. 'Gluten Free' is  preparation as well as product.<br/><br/>You cannot bill an item as GF if it is prepared using the same, uncleaned equipment as gluten-containing food. Gluten does not denature in a deep fryer (it requires temperatures of over 350'C, sometimes as much as 600'C depending on the grain and method). The 'safe' level of gluten for coeliacs is 20 parts per million and even that is under medical debate. Long term exposure is not just a bad tummy and some arthritis, it can also contribute to cancers and infertility. And I tell you this as someone versed in medical science.<br/><br/>Chefs, I understand it can be a pain in your butts when you have others coming into your restaurant who are cutting out gluten for reasons other than serious, autoimmune illnesses, but for those who do require it, it is utterly important that things billed as gluten free are genuinely gluten free. It's stressful and embarrassing enough to try and eat out anyway without the added humiliation of being made to feel like you're overreacting.<br/><br/>Unfortunately, I became ill anyway.<br/><br/>Not heading back here in a hurry.

Love this place. Doesn't disappoint for a drink or two or dinner. Portions a tad small, but quality, so all fine as long as you know this. Love the decorations and lighting - particularly the front rooms

Top quality Thai food in an amazing venue. This really is an ideal place to go to if you're in a group. The green curry was definitely the highlight for me. <br/><br/>Have been here a few times and it's always been a good experience.

Come here for the eclectic decor. The main dining hall is very buzzing aka mess hall on a Friday night. You can request for the front room for a bit more quiet dining experience. Similar in some ways to the Hawker Hall on Chapel st.<br/><br/>Modern Asian cuisine - the masamman curry was decent. The beef cheek was melt in your mouth tender, but the sauce was too sweet.<br/>The corn fritters were not very well-seasoned and the crispy squids were just completely soggy and undercooked.<br/><br/>Suggest trying out Zombies cocktail for a bit of theatrical drink on fire.<br/><br/>Food 2.5<br/>Ambience 3.5<br/>Service 3.5<br/>Value 2.5

I had maybe overhyped this one to friends but we had a really nice time the last time we visited Brunswick Mess Hall and it didn’t seem to shine as bright this time. The menu had changed up a bit which is all fine and even though there were a couple of dishes I missed there were some new to try. There were some frequent check ins to make sure we were turning up for our bookings, the usual ring just after you book and then when we were running 10 mins late in traffic we got a call too – maybe a bit much!!

We celebrated my partners birthday last week at the Brunswick mess hall. The venue is great and staff are friendly but they were not very helpful and forgetful. The room that we reserved was dirty and we had to set it up ourselves as the room wasn't available till 1h before our party. The food we ordered wasn't tasty and was dumped on the tables during the party. I had to ask staff many times to clean up/ bring new glasses and tell our guests what they are serving (vegetarian etc)but nothing really happened. The music from down stairs was a bit too loud and after asking 3 times staff finally turned up our music (1h before we left) We had our own toilets witch was good but they were dirty. <br/>At the end they didn't serve all the finger food we ordered and nobody from staff really knew what was happening.<br/>I felt like celebrating a party in somebody's backyard and i felt like i should not interrupt the staff. Shame shame

Loved it. Have been twice. Service is great. I got the crunchy, sticky, sweet, savoury pork belly dish that melts in your mouth and both times it was amazing, the green curry is also great to try and the infused creme brulee desert is so good. It looks like a great place to have a function with its hall-like building and beer garden. Would definitely go back

Omg this place is amazing! Had the set menu with a group of friends. My fav was the deep fried tofu!!!!! Cocktails are so good and variety is so extensive you do t know what to choose. I love the food here! Asian fusion the best!!!

Allow me to preface this review by saying UBEREATS, YOU ARE THE BANE OF MY EXISTENCE. Having a wealth of vegan treats delivered to my doorstep on the days/nights when I'm too busy watching reruns of seasonally appropriate grim Scandinavian crime drama to get off my ever expanding rump to cook/venture out into the uninviting winter of Hellbourne is all too convenient. No minimum order! No delivery fee! What a wonderful world we live in! Tonight's episode of 'How Long Will It Take Bronwyn to Declare Bankruptcy as a Direct Result of Her Abusing the Novelty of Having Someone Else Cook and Deliver Unnecessary Amounts of Food to Her Impatient Posterior' stars the Brunswick Mess Hell. <br/><br/>If there's one thing this city has nigh on overdosed on besides bloody burgers and confounded chicken of the fried variety, it's modern Asian cuisine. For every Chin Chin and Rice Paper Scissors, there's a myriad of competitors popping up every five minutes. Most of which are lamentably substandard. Is the Brunswick Mess Hall one of them? The jury is still out.<br/><br/>Spring rolls are pretty hard to mess up, right? BA-BOW. As one of the few deep fried items I'll actually go out of my way to order, I can't count the number of times I've been bitterly disappointed. Not so with these rotund beauties. Light, crispy, shiitake filled deliciousness in abundance. <br/><br/>The corn fritters were equally as pleasant in their light-and-crispiness. I would hazard a guess that being gluten free (ergo made sans wheat flour) allows them to retain their crispiness whilst being transported. Good news for the coeliacs, too. <br/><br/>Whilst a good old traditional salt and pepper tofu would probably be included on the menu for my last supper, this version incorporating white miso, palm sugar and sesame was a non-event. The palm sugar and sesame were undetectable, and the usual crack-like* addictive addition of spiced salt, fried garlic, onion and chillies was noticeably absent. Compensation was offered in the form of a tamarind dipping sauce which tasted nothing like tamarind whatsoever and was salty to the point of being inedible (and I'm a girl who loves her sodium.) <br/><br/>Now this is where things get a little bit crazy; VEGAN MA HOR (aka Galloping Horses.) As seen on probably 80 per cent of pretentious function finger food offerings nowadays. For the uninitiated, Ma Hor is a slice of pineapple topped with caramelised mince, fresh chilli and coriander. This rendition replaced the mince with caramelised tofu and turnip. My only regret is ordering a single piece. I'll definitely be attempting to recreate something similar for my next high class soirée (read: a pre-midday cocktail party for one, that "one" being myself, swanning around the house like an unglamorous splice between Lucille Bluth and Zelda Fitzgerald.)<br/><br/>All up, this was a decent enough experience but I certainly won't be rushing back to the Brunswick Mess Hall. It's not like there's a lack of alternatives available to me via the vile temptress that is UberEATS.<br/><br/>*For the record, I've never actually tried crack personally, I'm basing this comparison on hearsay.

Really liked the venue . The portions are a little smaller than we thought but nevertheless nice range of selections, we went there with a big group for my husband's birthday. Had a good time !

Love it here. Amazing food, fantastic service, friendly staff, awesome ambience, the banquets are to die for. Fantastic experience every time I come here which is pretty often

Went for dinner for birthday.<br/><br/>The two tables shared a banquet. For $35 a head it was very disappointing. The food came out in a rush to begin, but was one item of food per person. Then there was a large gap of nothing. 2 hours after the booking time we finally got the mains, which the food tasted good, but after 2 hours I was prepared to eat a Maccas burger so my brain may be tricking me.<br/><br/>Overall a rather poor experience

Great place for a group catch up with some drinks and food. Wasn't expecting such a heavily Asian influenced menu. Their boa's were great! I'd defiantly go back there for that but there other food options are good but not great. Not bad either. Pretty cool place to hang out there though and have a drink.

Really interesting menu and great food. Could have easily tried every item. Accommodated our large group easily. I would definitely recommend it for a fun night out.

Great vibe. Beautiful space. Friendly staff. Exciting food. What more do you want for Friday night! <br/><br/>Have been wanting to go here in a while and it does not disappointed. First of all, very beautiful space inside. To the point that i would be happy having my reception there. Friendly and very helpful staff. We were super hungry and even though they no longer do 2 people banquet we went ahead and ordered curry puff, selection of baos (3 kind), Asian slaw, small yellow curry and main crispy pork belly.<br/><br/>Curry puff has amazing pastry. My top 3 fav dish of the night. Wrapped with lettuce and dipped in sauce. Heaven. The baos my fav of the night.. amazing. Bao is very soft and nice filing. Asian slaw. Meh. Its lacking some body. It doesn't go sweet or sour or salty. Its just nothing. Yellow curry surprised me. .roasted pumpkin gives it really nice sweet taste. Pork belly and squid also very nice. Extremely full after.<br/><br/>Will definitely be back!!!

Great nice place. Definitely well priced drinks and the restaurant meals are quality. Very close to where I live so the convenience makes it easy to come here frequently. Recommend.

Went again last night (7/10) and was disappointed that our table was booked for 2 hours after our booking with no prior notification. In the end you just lost 4 deserts and a few more cocktails. <br/><br/>Restaurant is awesome but would suggest you book rather than just show up. I would recommend sharing meals amongst the table because with so many great options it would suck to have huge food envy. Also have fabulous cocktails.

This place ticks a lot of boxes:<br/>- funky place and atmosphere, looks like a converted warehouse or church with high cathedral ceiling<br/>- great food. Cool graphics on the menu<br/>- great service

Been back twice now as we liked it so much. Nicely renovated old warehouse or church or something with high ceilings, has a nice open feel especially on a hot summer evening. On the first visit we had mostly deep fried share-food which was good but very filling. On the second visit we opted for the salmon ceviche and the beef cheek, both of which were super delicious. Good selection of beers. Nice staff. Relaxed and not too pretentious. A new favourite

Valentines day let down! <br/><br/>I wanted to love this place and usually I find the good in most places but this one just left us both with a less then stellar experience. Ill start with the positives the initial greeting was welcoming and friendly, the place looked amazing and the ribs were tasty. Now let's get to the main problem. The menu is something in itself to navigate and its hard to gage the size of menu items. As we ordered I asked if the waitress if that would be a good amount of food. She encouraged that we still order a main on top of everything else (an extra $30). In the end there were 3 takeaway containers worth of left overs so this showed a poor understanding of the menu and had us feeling wasteful. What was worse though is they brought all the food out at once leaving barely any room on the table and making for an overwhelming experience. Anywhere else I have been to brings out the food in a logical manner. In the end we were not really able to enjoy the different courses as the timing of evrything was really poor. I also accidentally spilt my drink as soon as they brought it out. No one offered to replace it which is ok but again this just shows the service lacking. Overall really disappointed with the m food quality, pricing and service. This place has a lot of potential but is not living up to it at the moment. The couple next to us even went out of there way to tell us they were not enjoying the food or experience. <br/><br/>$$$

Came here solely for drinks and was not disappointed. The dimly lit hall furnished in greenery is enticing and a pleasure to be in. The spacious area is a refreshing break away from typical crowded bars, though granted it was a Tuesday night when we went.

Been here a number of times and it never disappoints. Big menu of Asian fusion food with good vegetarian/vegan/gluten free options. All absolutely delicious and good value. <br/><br/>Staff are fantastic; super energetic and passionate and a lot of fun. Drinks list is expansive. Great cocktails and all sorts of craft beers on tap

Dined in for a quick meal late on Saturday night and was not disappointed!<br/><br/>On our way to a function at around 10pm, my partner and I had little time to spare and were pressed for options as most restaurants around the area were closing. We settled on the Mess Hall after locating it via GMaps.<br/><br/>Upon walking in we were greeted eagerly by the staff and were seated without fuss. They had a great selection of beers on tap and the lovely girl who served us was knowledgeable on what was being served, giving suggestions based on our tastes.<br/><br/>The gluten free crab dumplings were a highlight, along with the slow cooked beef-cheek which was absolutely mouth-watering - although probably not the best dish to be eating before you head out to the club for dancing and drinking.<br/><br/>Overall extremely happy with the service, food and atmosphere and will definitely look to head back when we're in the area again.

Disappointing. Have been to Mess Hall a few times now and have usually enjoyed myself, but this time it was different.  Seems to have changed a lot since the last time I was here. We ordered the banquet, and the food came out quite quickly which for a banquet, I don't usually enjoy as you like to have  a little gap in-between plates. Drinks were exceptionally slow to arrive when we finally did get to order some.  The service was not that attentive and I had to actually ask a passing waiter if we could order some drinks after sitting for some period of time with empty glasses.As each place came out on the menu, the dirty dishes were left from the plate before, and any passing waiter never seemed to take them away, in the end, I had to pile everything to one end of the table to give them the hint ! 3 Times drinks came to our table that we didn't order ! Not sure what happened there....The main was the most disappointing.  It was supposed to come with Asian Greens and rice, well the rice came but no greens.  And, the Curry which was the main in the banquet, was 1 bowl, the same size as the a-la-carte menu, yet we had to share this one curry between 4 people, hardly enough considering a normal person would have this as their main alone.The one time the waiter came to clear the plates we hadn't even finished our meal !  I had to let them know 3 times that the Asian greens did not come for them to tell me that all the food on the banquet had arrived.  The waiter told me he wasn't familiar with the menu... Ummm, you're a staff member, perhaps familiarise yourself ! When I kindly asked to see the menu again, I pointed out there was no Asian greens.  They apologised and gave us a desert platter as compensation.Overall, it was a bit of a let down experience.  Not sure if it has changed hands, but it was very overpriced for the food and service that we received.  Can't say I would be back in a hurry again.

Love it! Went here for a function and it was so good! Good and service spot on cocktails even better . A bit pricey though. Such a good experience

Went here for my birthday, waiter was lovely however food took forever to come out! Mine came out last and late- everyone else had practically finished eating before i started! (No apologises) Had to get my side of rice reheated for my main meal as that was brought out too early! Food was nice but nothing amazing- and not for the serving size anyway!!!!

Very engaging and friendly staff.<br/>We had the soft shell crab and scallop dish which was absolutely divine, the flavour in the sauce was on point & the roast pork belly was ace!<br/>We sat in one of the two more private rooms closer to the entrance which was nice for a date, beautiful decor and naturey with plants.<br/>Walking to the restroom was a nice experience with a sudden change of scenery to a graffitied lane way.<br/>Great evening although a tad bit on the more expensive side.

This place has great decor and delicious share style menu with great flavors and a wide selection to choose from. Good for group bookings!

Visited on a Saturday night with a large group. Great vibe, but it was a bit too noisy to chat comfortably. The building used to be a church, so the interior of the restaurant was very unique. Menu mainly consists of dishes that are designed to be shared. Has gluten and dairy free as well as vegetarian options. Food itself was tasty. The paw paw salad was very fresh and had a generous amount of chicken. Very filling! I did not taste the other dishes, but from observation the beef cheeks were very tender and well braised. The drunken chicken and lamb massaman curry appeared to be popular around the table, but the noodle basket not so much. Service was prompt, no complaints there. Overall it was an enjoyable experience.

Brilliant.  Always been a favourite place for fantastic food and wonderful drinks.  Recently held my 40th birthday here for about 70 guests and cannot speak more highly of the venue space, function manager, bar staff, food, or drinks selection.  The staff were terrific at helping me have the best possible night with no stress, and all my guests had a fantastic time - and all commented on great the finger food was.  Highly recommend for a local night out or for holding a function/party.

I used one of their function rooms at the back of the venue and it was intimate but dark. The finger food was surprisingly delicious especially the curry puffs. Will have to return to try their menu.

Interesting venue and attentive staff. Brilliant venue for larger parties too. It was difficult to pick an item from the menu, it all looked so delicious! Food was delicious - only suggestion would be for the waiters to advise how HOT the food was prior to ordering it. Apparently they are looking to address this on the menus in future. Great restaurant - will be back :)

Good place to treat yourself to a nice asian meal and some cocktails. Attentive staff and lots of space for big groups. The food is a bit pricy but was not disappointed by the taste. I recommend the fish curry!