Review Gullivers Wine Bar & Eatery - Cowes

We had a great time here - food and coffee was exceptional. Staff were friendly, attentive and showed a good form of customer interactivity that added to the overall pleasant experience. Meals were delicious. A+ to Gulliver's.

Visited here for lunch. Salads are fresh. Calamari and chips are hot and crispy crispy. Pasta is cooked properly with generous serving of sauce. We decided to eat inside for a little bit of privacy. If you dine outside, please be warned that feral birds are preying on leftover foods.

Gullivers isn’t my first stop in Cowes but it’s reliable. Today we had the dog and their large front area, now grassed, is perfect. They were very busy but the food came out in reasonable time. It was exactly what we ordered. No fuss, no frills, plenty of flavour. It’s good to see them busy again.

Food had bugs in it!! When We showed the bugs to the staff and asked for replacement, they just took it back and didn’t even apologise. We waited for another 25 min and nothing. We went back to another staff and was told they were not informed of any request. Food finally came but was extremely cold! (We think they just took the bug out and gave the same plate again) usually don’t put on negative reviews but this was an example of a horrible services, would not recommend anyone. Mistakes are inevitable but the fact that there was No acknowledgment made for having bugs in the food is truly sad.

Nice Cafe in a great location, customer service from the cashier was excellent, he was very bubbly and friendly! My friends meals were good portions, however my chilli scrambled eggs only had one slice of toast which I thought needed two as I wasn’t quite full. The toast could of been toasted a bit more on all our dishes, but apart from that the meals were good. Unfortunately, the drinks took 40 mins to arrive. We had already finished our meals and waited another 15 minutes, despite ordering everything at the same time!

In a prime position in Cowes and was busy the last time we came here. So this time we gave Gulliver's a try. Menu looked good and fish and chips was ordered, as the place had about 25 people and we had ordered before most of them the food came out quickly. The flake had been sliced thinly in half and was dry with an unusual unappetising batter, chips and salad average. All well under the standard of general pub meal. Bar unattended and had to drink water which was provided as a self serve. Inside the restaurant was also average and untidy. Won't be back here again.

Menu looks really good, I was actually excited but very disappointed with the food that came out. Very average cooking, I can do better at home. Corn fritters have more flours than the corn, spinach underneath was just plain uncooked unseasoned.. The blinis are also the same. Not presentable and with spinach was just laid there. Muffin and bacon is a standard quick food but was charged for about $20 :( took a while to come out too.

Cringe. Public holiday so it was $50 we sat down, drinks came after 40 minutes but after waiting 60 minutes there was no food. We asked a waiter, apparently had no such order in the queue (yet our drinks came out?!). He retook our order and said it would get made ASAP. The corn fritters weren’t crispy, undercooked. Smashed avo on toast was about a 3/5. No apologies from staff for the 60+ minute wait. Do yourself a favour and go to McDonalds 😂

Overprised for the food we recived. Quality was a far cry from Isola where we ate for the same cost the day before.

3.5 stars in reality! Trendy it may not be - established in 1933 - but Gullivers has a large courtyard at the front which is 'everything' friendly - dogs, pushers, kids etc. Friendly wait staff and whilst the food is anything but subtle, it's appealing, it's tasty - and if you're hungry, portions are huge!  Breakfasts are thoughtful - you can get your standard bacon & eggs, muesli, waffles etc but on top of that there's Mexican, Greek, Blini, corn fritters, egg benedict etc. We went twice for breakfast and enjoyed it on both occasions - blini with salmon & 2 perfectly cooked poached eggs was excellent, strawberry waffle stack across the table delicious but huge! Second occasion - omelette on toast (felt like a six egg omelette!) and eggs benedict also received thumbs up.<br/> <br/><br/>December 2019 update - and have to be honest, Gullivers struggles when busy. The Mexican breakfast was very ordinary with overcooked poached eggs - and a long wait for food. Benedict had the same problems with the eggs. Iced coffee was a hit though.

Although it has no views of the water it is up on the hill and has a sense of space. Located in the middle of Cowes, Gulliver’s is something of an icon for tourists and locals. Consistently good food and service (with the occasional hiccup of course). Menu is nice and there is something for everyone. Food is simple fare. I had a very nice toasted sandwich and coffee. Portion size was good and presented in a simple manner. Kids accommodated nicely. You can dine indoors or outside. Wheelchair friendly. Pram and stroller accessible. Good parking.

Gulliver’s is one of those tried and true places that has all the basics in offer. The food is good, prices reasonable and the staff are very nice. It’s in the shopping precinct and not by the beach so the views from the outdoor tables are not great but there lots of people watching to be had. Dog and kid friendly. Staff were happy to make toast and avocado for the small person.

When ordering our breakfast, lady was quite rude towards us and it seemed like she had no time for us. Her head kept turning talking to somebody else.<br/>Food was quite average. <br/>Not sure if would return.<br/>However there was a benefit of our morning there was a French waiter who was lovely, and brought water out to our dog Cooper.

Great place we always have breakfast here on the day that we leave Phillip Island and it always fills our bellies and makes us happy. Kids love it too. Fire place in winter make it super cosy!

I will be frank and advise to not pick this eatery. Had a bad experience just today. Came there hoping to get something for my hungry kid and sadly his lunch was given to another customer. <br/><br/>I came to ask for our lunch and accused of already been given already. So I kindly ask the manager to give us the money so I can take my kid somewhere else to eat.

Terrible experience. Ordered the eggs Benedict with salmon and had to wait over 40 minutes for it to come out.. when I finally received it the hollandaise was lumpy and the dish was cold. <br/>The other dish that we ordered was a mess - also cold. <br/>They didn’t give us cutlery until we asked for it and staff weren’t helpful at all. <br/>Ambience was dark and uninviting. <br/>Would never return.

Is this a restaurant? Have eaten there once. Avoid at all cost. Terrible food, dirty filthy tables, cold food, no service to speak of. Will not be going back.

Nothing says the perfect lunch while travelling out of Victoria to explore, than to settle in at Gullivers Wine Bar & Eatery. While plain in sight, Gullivers is also quite easy to miss, and tends to be a stumbled upon location in Cowes for the hungry and restless to flock into during all seasons of the year.<br/><br/>With an interesting outer décor, the building itself seems to hold onto a stagnant history, but regardless, once inside, the cosy sensation of the space, almost, always busy during lunch and the endless array of music playing overhead is something that you have to be there physically to experience how pleasant and wonderful it is. The olden style interior, decked out with wooden panels isn’t just to look good – it also serves as a barrier for customers to flock it to dine well, wine well and evade the colder seasons.<br/>Situated in the main town for Phillip Island, Gullivers is considerably one of the best diners that holds value for their delicious meals, as well as the free and gorgeous panoramic view of the French Island and the Mornington Peninsula.<br/><br/>Just as the name is fascinating, so too is Gullivers’ menu – filled out with everything and possibly anything you could think off, the breakfast- focused menu lasts all day as long as you can grab a table. As the name suggests, one of the winners is the Breakfast to Die For; and rightfully so with a generous serving of eggs, bacon, grilled mushroom and tomatoes. Other contenders include Eggs Royale and Blini, a savoury pancake. If you’re more of a sweet tooth, then of course – Raspberry Hot Cakes or Pancakes served with fresh fruit and ice cream. What’s not to love?<br/><br/>Oh, that’s right. The wine. They say that the combination of your choice of wine and Gullivers’ iconic hot dog makes for an excellent meal.<br/><br/>What makes this place so wonderful and such a memorable diner to be at could be attributed to the location, the vast selection of food and even the reasonable prices, but it truly comes down to the staff. Wonderful, patient, enthusiastic about Cowes, the penguins and especially their best sellers, their friendliness made the food so much more delicious, and the atmosphere so much better. The prompt service and impeccable mannerism aided to enjoyment of Gullivers.

We got a banana smoothie and caramel frappe and they were so yummy! The staff were lovely and food came out very fast! Nice little place to have breakfast

Orders came out incorrectly. Fish wasn’t cooked well. Fritters looked like they were store bought and tasted like cardboard. Poached eggs were over cooked, bread was average and overall was a below average experience. Milkshakes were ok.

The Bacon and egg breakfast roll was absolutely delicious !! Sunday morning the cafe was very full so I got it to go and ate down on the beach, I definitely recommend it was cooked perfect, a fresh focaccia style roll with tasty bacon, avocado and a runny egg. I also ordered a piece of carrot cake that was flavoursome, moist with a well made cream cheese icing 🍰

I often walk past thinking i wont go thete based on the reviews.<br/>As i walked past today i saw unfinished dishes on most uncleared tables. <br/>I then came across the chef clearing tables.As he was doing so he picked up a knife and proded some food on a plate checking it .At this point im not convinced i will ever eat there.<br/>

Staff were unfriendly, table was sticky and dirty, sausages were definitely of cheap supermarket quality. Ordered decaf coffee for takeaway and they brought it out in mugs. Over priced for the quality of food, but the poached eggs were nicely cooked.

Terrible service and terrible food, don't go here. My corn cakes were dry and tasted like fish, I complained and chef was nice enough to come out and talk to me about it but I never got a refund, just a water for kids.

We've been here before- unfortunately there's just not much choice in Cowes- but I don't think we'll come back again. Food average but service just ruins the experience. Cluttered, dirty tables, rude staff, no uniforms, no high chairs and a friendly reminder in the not so clean toilet to get my next pap smear. Weird.

Had the mexican breakfast which was quite generous (couldn't finish it although I was starving at 3pm), partner had poached eggs and blini. Both dishes were fresh and well cooked although under seasoned. I think it's an okay place to grab a bite but it just felt a bit dirty and unloved...

This place is so terrible! Do not go here. The guacamole was from a packet. Fritters were frozen from a packet, eggs Benedict were abysmal and service was awful.

Came in for a bite at around 8pm. Ordered salmon and a plate of fish and chips. Service was prompt. The salmon was definitely too dry and overcooked. Fish and chips were average, however, we had to pay an extra 30 cents for tomato sauce to go with the chips. Usually you'd think it would come with the chips if you were to eat in as we did.

When you order your meals at the counter, the service is exceptional. Unfortunately, that's where the positives end at Gulliver's. We went for brunch last weekend. The food is bordering on inedible - you actually feel DUPED once the meals come out because how could anyone expect people to pay for this kind of stuff? Bacon & Eggs was one burnt strip of bacon, 2 small untoasted pieces of "toast", 2 eggs and a piece of dry parsely for some kind of "presentation." The sandwiches/foccacias seemed to be missing ingredients, or some kind of sauce or dressing. These days, I only leave reviews when I have a really positive or a really negative experience. I couldn't leave without writing this review. Sorry to be so harsh! There are much nicer cafes on the island. Avoid if you respect your tastebuds!!!

Words can't even begin to describe just how bad this place is. I don't even know where to begin, an entire waste of my money. The only positive thing I have to say is that the cafe is located in a great spot, in the heart of Phillip Island main town.<br/><br/>Myself and three others came here looking to enjoy a delicious, wholesome lunch. We thought we'd give it a try, so we entered.<br/>Let's just say, from the very beginning it was an overall disappointing, confusing experience.<br/><br/>The menu was just basic, your average menu. All 4 of us decided to have focaccia's, which were on the menu board inside.<br/>My sister and I went to the register (which was quite difficult to find due to the many counters and confusing layout) and began to place our orders. We requested to pay separately, assuming it wouldn't be that difficult to manage. I was wrong.<br/><br/>The lady at the register had no idea what she was doing. Confusion was spread across her face, as if what I was ordering did not exist on the menu. I made clear that I wanted 2 focaccias, so I continued to pay and wait for my sister. Our order was simply 4 focaccias all together. After an unnecessary struggle for the lady to understand exactly what we wanted, we went back to our tables completely flustered and annoyed.<br/><br/>Our drinks arrived, delivered by a very inexperienced "waitress" who could not fathom the idea of having to actually place our drinks in front of us or call out our orders so we knew what drinks they were.<br/><br/>Eventually the focaccias came, along with a hash brown that tasted just as bad as it looked. There was a problem, 1 focaccia was missing. So we told the bewildered waitress, who said she would go inside and check if it was still being made. 20 minutes later, she returns with our receipt claiming we had only ordered 3 focaccias. Now having to return to the line up que, and pay for an extra focaccia, my meal did not come for another 20 minutes.<br/><br/>Absolutely no apologies for their mix up of our order. Staff were rude, unwelcoming and unprofessional. To top it all off, I asked for my focaccia to be put in a takeaway container (which came in a bag/box the size of an XXL takeaway pizza) as we were keen to exit the "restaurant" as soon as possible.<br/><br/>I ate my lunch (the time being most likely 3 hours past lunch time by now) as we walked to the beach, relieved to finally relax and take our minds off what we had just experienced.<br/><br/>Utterly disappointed with almost every aspect of this place. Although I have never done any waitressing myself before, I feel as though I would be able to do a much better job as what I saw last week.<br/><br/>1 star purely based on the location of the "cafe", however it is a complete waste due to the current ownership and poor staff employed.<br/><br/>DO NOT ENTER.<br/><br/><br/>

So this has gone downhill. Great location, friendly service, but the food. Meh. Used to be fantastic. Egg and bacon roll was rubbery, tradies breakfast hot and filling, but slapped on plate with a trowel. Coffee was okay. Standout was the hash Browns, next time I'll just order 8 of them.

Walking into this place created confusion, it's not obvious where to order. There are 3 counters, the coffee is to one side, the food menu on the other and a register in the middle. The food is your average pub food, nothing fancy, which includes fairly bland tastes. My wife had a Parma which she couldn't finish, she said it was tasty but too big. I had Garlic Prawns with rice and over half a plate of lettuce with what seemed to be a whole tomato sliced into pieces, a sprinkling of cucumber and two token slithers of onion. The sauce was quite nice but I couldn't taste any Garlic, if a dish is called Garlic Prawns the garlic needs to be noticeable. The coffee tilted the pendulum slightly over the halfway mark to a 3 rating. It was excellent and I would go back to give the food another try knowing I'd at least get another one of those coffees to finish on. I'm not sure if this place is a cafe wanting to be a restaurant or a pub wanting to be a cafe but it just feels like its very confused.

Had breakfast here which was the standard English menu. I guess it tasted okay coz the egg was hatched by a bird and they didn't have a hand in it, beans came straight from the can which you can easily see, bacons and sausages came from Aldi.<br/><br/>And in absence of any options on account of the fact that we were late for dinner we settled here. We were tired and wanted to have something easy and quick. Ordered green Thai curry and butter chicken with rice. Now those were the two worst curries I have eaten in my life. The chefs who cook here must take pride in not having eaten any of those before in life coz it is seriously difficult to cook something so bad. Butter chicken was chicken in tomato purée and Thai green curry was boiled potato with chicken in coconut milk. The gruesome visual of the dishes was matched only by the appalling taste.<br/><br/>I would prefer to die hungry than eating here.

We initially went to the Phillip Island Bakery across the road for coffee; however, the mouldy beans and unclean machine left a real foul taste in our mouths (pun intended) - so we walked across the road to Gullivers. <br/><br/>My only regret is that we didn't come here first.<br/><br/>Our long blacks came out in a minute or so. Fresh beans and a great crema. This is what we were looking for.<br/><br/>Great coffee. Great service. Friend crowd.<br/><br/>

Worst cafe on the island. Food is nigh on inedible with very poor service from under qualified staff. Even my children wouldn't eat the cake. No gluten free options and coffee is just plain bad.

So, sitting outside in this funky corner locale is pretty pleasant. Service is brought by an international assortment of waitstaff.<br/><br/>The corn fritters look terrible but taste good. A bit too much flour in the mix, end up looking like almost burnt pancakes. But they taste like they ought. Trio of sausages very tasty, especially the chorizo. Kids vanilla milkshake reminiscent of childhood memories. All good.

I no longer fear death for I have already been to hell. <br/><br/>The breakfast here is simply horrendous<br/><br/>Not even the sparrows will eat the leftovers here, however I will still give 1 star because I haven't laughed this hard at breakfast ever.

Not worth what you pay for. We paid $65 dollars for a meal served in take-away cardboard boxes. Had to ask twice for the tartare sauce we were promised. No glasses served with the soft drinks. But the worst thing was the arrogance of the lady who took our order. I believe she was a French job student or something but seriously, for an eat-in experience this was truly appalling. We have been here many times before just for drinks but we won't be back ever again.

This place used to be great. Now it's terrible, horrible in fact. The indigestible food is only matched by the appalling service. Avoid at all costs.

Ordered a chicken burger and a beef burger with bacon and egg added, staff was nice and quick. Awesome burgers! Really tasty!! Plus they have a really nice large selection of non alcoholic drinks :D

It's such a shame because it's dead in the middle of the main road and the building itself is nice, unfortunately the food is pathetic. simply no effort <br/>

What just happened. Staff are so rude and abrupt. Didn't even receive the right coffees. Honestly, how hard can it be in an almost empty restaurant. Wish I'd read these reviews before wasting my money

One positive.. We don't come to Phillip Island much! otherwise this is single handedly the worst cafe I have ever been too not much else to say..

Not much to say...crap in all aspects.

Just here for coffee, great building, coffee was fine, a bit slow. But WHY the disposable cups for water?

The WORST customer service on the island!!. READ THE REVIEWS FOR THIS PLACE!<br/>DONT BOTHER TRYING FOR YOURSELF. FOOD TERRIBLE AND CUSTOMER SERVICE APPALLING!!<br/><br/>Probably used to be a great place and bought out by people only interested in making cash to send overseas rather than creating an enjoyable experience.<br/><br/>We have been to many of the cafes on phillip Island and thought we would try Gullivers as it looked very rustic. When we entered nobody bothered to greet us or show us to any seats. We let that slide despite the place not overly busy and found our own seats and menus. Following the lead of others we then ordered at the counter which included the"homemade hash browns."<br/><br/>After waiting over fourty minutes one meal arrived. That was finished long before the next main was dumped on the table. The children's meals still had not been brought out so I asked the waitress if she could please check on these (she still had not bothered to even look at us). She advised that they would not be much longer and didn't bother to ask if the meals were ok quickly running off. By the time the next main had been finished and with the waitress quite clearly having no regard for two young children starving at the table I went to the counter to speak with someone more senior. <br/><br/>The manager then tried to insinuate that they had not been ordered as she could not find the docket. Eventually the man who took my order confirmed they had and I was advised that they would make them shortly. Had they not been for the kids I would had told them not to bother. Eventually they brought them to the table and the look of horror came over everyone's face at the hash browns." I told the kids to not judge a book by its cover and give them a try... They could barely swallow so I tried myself... DISGUSTING. I informed the manager that I wasn't happy about paying for the kids meals and requested a refund on these only. She said she would go and speak with her husband and come back. After waiting another 15 minutes I went to find her and she couldn't have cared less serving new paying customers.<br/><br/>What a nice looking venue in great location spoiled. Such a shame and missed opportunity. I will NEVER return

Terrible service, and even worse food.. Went in for breakfast as from the outside it looks quite promising and rustic. No one greeted us or told us to seat our selves, although it was obvious we were to order from the counter.<br/><br/>After lining up for 5 minutes to order I was met by a cashier whose main traits were an amalgam of absence and carelessness. <br/>As she rolled her eyes when i didn't have a 20 cent coin for exact change I decided to give her the benefit of the doubt. Lots of customers early morning would be quite stressful.<br/><br/>The meal (eggs royal) came out slower than average, and also after some people ordering after us had received their meals, dropped off at our table by a somewhat irate lady whom they may have just pulled off the street as she also seemed to not have a clue and didn't want to be involved in good customer service for the day. They didn't have cutlery on the table or bring us any out so i went to ask for some, the irate lady acted as if it was not her job but took me up to the front counter under from which she pulled cutlery that was wrapped in damp serviettes.<br/><br/>Finally tucking into my meal, the eggs were watery, which made the under cooked muffins watery, and the salmon was half of the brown meat that usually isn't served up (not an issue just not very nice for presentation). Spinach was ok. I got about half way though my meal when i decided that the taste of the 'hollandaise' sauce was more akin to sour milk and water which made the meal unpalatable. <br/><br/>I am a student and usually wouldn't waste food like that but it was purely horrid, and i abandoned half of it. <br/>The only plus i can think of is the coffee was good enough to finish, albeit a little lukewarm.<br/><br/>I wouldnt eat there again if someone offered to pay for my meal, not until a change of wait staff, cashier staff, chefs and possibly ownership. There are heaps of places to eat in cows. Choose them over this.

Don't bother.... Poor signage, menus in a pile next to counter, indifferent staff.<br/>Waited 10 mins to be noticed - left after staff members spoke around me about some order.

Worst carbonara and service. I ordered carbonara expecting it to be a plain carbonara - it came with mushrooms which I cannot have and which was not listed on the menu. I told the waitress that I could not have mushroom and that it wasn't listed on the menu - she looked at me and pretty much asked me what she should do about it - no apology, no'can I get you another meal without mushroom'.. In the end my husband went and got them to make me another serve without mushroom. The meal got brought out - again with no apology... It was one of the most unenjoyable meals I have had in a long while and I am still feeling sick after eating it.<br/><br/>ALW - Melbourne

4 people for lunch spend $100 and still made to pay 30c for tomato sauce. Bloody disgrace pack of jokers!

Yes, trust the reviews. It really does not get worse than this.

Disappointed. Terrible service terrible food,breakfast didn't come with what it said it said on the menu. 5 of us went there not one of us was happy such a shame cause this place could have so much potential

What a joke. Brunch this morning was a bad experience. Plates and left over food left on tables everywhere, rude staff, my meal was basically thrown onto the table - at the wrong end - I had to get up to get it. Eggs completly overcooked, drowning in oil. Dirty place, very disapointing. Will not return.

Terrible service!. I attempted to order pancakes for my son & a fish sandwich and chips for myself. The waitress did not appear to understand what I wanted. I asked for a bun instead of bread- not possible apparently although if I ordered a veggie burger it would have been a roll. <br/>I then had to go next door to pay. I noticed that there were no chips on my docket so I told the staff member. Back and forth between the staff for 5 minutes and I thought I had corrected the order. No apologies for not understanding my order. <br/>My son got his pancakes and I got chips. Ate chips, still no fish sandwich. Enquired with another staff member and he seemed unclear about it. Mentioned to another staff member, then my original waitress came to the table to tell me that I had cancelled the fish sandwich order. Again, no apologies ! They just insisted that I was wrong. All of the staff I spoke to (4 people) appeared to have a limited grasp of English.

Can't even comment about the food, couldn't get passed the service which is sooooooo bad. Plenty of other options to consider in Cowes

Nasty. It doesn't get worse then this

Terrible. We tried this place a few months ago and left in disgust. Today we tried it again. Omg. I Wish we hadn't. After waiting 30 mins for our meals they said that they didn't have two of them. Why didn't they tell us 30 mins earlier. No appology. No compensation. Rude staff. Cheap management. Trust the reviews. This only people eating here are people who didn't google the place first

Not a single order was right. Major language barriers, no!! efforts were made whatsoever. Really disappointing.<br/>Owner seems to save big bucks with employing unskilled staff with poor language skills.<br/>It was almost impossible to make an order.<br/>We ordered two egg and bacon rolls with all additional extras to go.<br/>One of the rolls came 10 minutes later plain and dry... We advised that we had two rolls to go with all extras.<br/>With hesitance we got 10 minutes later the same rolls to go with a teaspoon of cheese and nothing else (no tomatos, BBQ sauce, lettuce, onion or avocado) for $14 each with all extras and then not getting it? Rip off. Especially because we were super friendly (I work in hospitality and understand the pressure!!!) we were calm, patient, considerate and still bright and happy after the third mistake- we feel like someone took advantage of our friendliness. Sad start in an expensive holiday day. <br/>My tea came without equal and the cup was only half full :'(<br/>Really sad - we won't go back or refer to this place as a must go. In fact I will do the opposite.

Don't go to this restaurant unless you want to ruin your vacay!!!. We walked in on a Monday afternoon during Christmas week and ordered two lattes. We waited for more than 15 minutes and no one seems to start to make our coffees. So I spoke to a cook who was making some dishes next to the coffee machine, who is also the only person available to talk to me. I told her we have waited for more than 15 minutes for two lattes. She said to me 'just wait' impatiently.... This is the WORST SERVICE I have ever had in Australia. Will never go back to this restaurant and will tell everyone I know to stay away from this awful place!

Don't eat here.. Rude, incompetent staff. No GF substitutes.<br/><br/>Eggs were overcooked. Other meals oily and tasteless. <br/><br/>Avoid at all costs.

Worst/Rudest service for take away ever ... <br/>$23.45 for 2 Flake Chips & Cold Ground Coffee <br/><br/><br/>-----24 Nov, 2014-----<br/><br/>Worst/Rudest service for take away ever ... <br/>$23.45 for 2 Flake Chips & Cold Ground Coffee <br/><br/><br/>-----24 Nov, 2014-----<br/><br/>Worst/Rudest service for take away ever ... <br/>$23.45 for 2 Flake Chips & Cold Ground Coffee

Very disappointed! Horrible foccacias! Would never go back. Chicken tasted old and microwaved! Was looking forward to going out for lunch but was extremely disappointed! Definately do not recommend!!!

Avoid. Ordered an eggs royale. Hollandaise tasted like a sugary lemon syrup, not hollandaise.<br/>Salmon was crispy as though a packet had been opened and left in the fridge for a week.<br/>Service at counter was good, service to table was rude/angry.<br/><br/>I didn't trust the food enough to eat more than a couple of mouthfuls before leaving.

Great food and service. Always come here for breakfast or lunch when we come to phillip island. Highly recommend. Don't usually bother with reviewing places but I noticed bad reviews and I have eaten here a lot and always been really happy

Love the hot cakes filled with raspberries!

Russian roulette when ordering. I had lunch there today and like others wished I had read the reviews beforehand. Order totally missed up a number of times and eventually got something that was close so as I said "close enough". Tired of waiting. Food average. Drink when it arrived overflowing done the glass and onto the table. Solution by waitress was to place glass on a napkin. Don't bother. Try somewhere else. Not recommended at all.

Great food! Thai pumpkin soup, awesome. Good value for money. Highly recommended!

Well, that was interesting. Stopped here for some drinks before heading back to Melbourne and it was a comedy of errors. The older lady couldn't understand an order for vodka coke and rum and dry. My friend had to write down her order for the chef to come over and pour drinks. My wine was off and tasted like vinegar and one coffee and smoothie took half an hour. The chef was nice enough, although we did witness an argument between the owner and the chef. Don't bother, complete waste of time. Rude, rubbish food and unprofessional.

Don't be fooled by the rustic old brick exterior and the words "wine bar" in the name. Inside you'll find old fashioned takeaway food only awful. Soggy where it should be crispy, dry where it should be juicy, appearing at your table at random times and tasting as if we came two days early for the monthly oil change in the fryers. Eat at a servo instead.

Australia’s Own Faulty Towers. Our experience was so bad at this café/bar/takeaway establishment it became comical as it progressed, so much so it became the entire meals conversation. I feel bad for the wait staff that bear the brunt of complaints which is an obvious result of poor decision making and an a archaic operating system employed by management. Far too many errors to list out but I will say that if you drop in expecting to witness a comedy of errors you are in for an absolute treat.

A terrible dining experience here last week. The waitress seated us then walked away. After several minutes she passed again and I asked if we could see the menu. She replied that I needed to order and pay at the counter. I asked if we could still see a menu so we could choose what we wanted and she sighed and thrust them at us. After ordering the parma, fish & chips and salmon, two meals finally arrived over half an hour later. Several minutes later another waitress arrived bearing a docket from what appeared to be a breakfast order, disregarding the other meals on the table and telling me I was waiting on eggs. I said no, if ordered salmon and she argued, pointing to the docket. I had to explain that she was not looking at our order and I was definitely waiting on salmon. Finally the salmon turned up, tough and flavourless. The other meals were of a similar standard. I suggest people who know what good food and service is avoid this restaurant at all costs. There are plenty of wonderful options in Cowes. This isn't one of them.

Poor coffee, terrible food, go only if you are starving

36% well deserved - slow, inconvenient, unfriendly, forgetful service.

Terrible service. Lost our order. Total parlava trying to pay with a card. Wasn't even busy. The coffee and cake was good but the service so bad that it spoiled the whole experience.

Unfriendly breakfast waitress. April 2014: No welcoming. No smile. No words. No acknowledgment. No way I will come back to such a depressing environment.

Avoid it. We stopped here for a late lunch and waited about 40 minutes for our food to arrive. The waiters were walking around looking bewildered, dishevelled and inexperienced. My friend's chicken focaccia, when it finally arrived, was pink and uncooked in the middle. Revolting. We asked for his money back. It's a shame because this cafe is in a prominent location so suckers in the many visitors to Phillip Island - they don't need to rely on any repeat business! There are plenty of nice cafes in Phillip Island - this isn't one of them.

No!. We we're really looking forward to breakfast but made a mistake of stopping at this place. Definitely the worst corn fritters I have ever had. More like a pikelets with a few pieces of corn.<br/>Service was disorganised. <br/>Coffee was average.

Worst place I have been too. Wish I had have read these reviews before my wife and I had lunch there on the weekend. Long wait, ordered chicken avocado and lettuce sandwich and got focaccia and spinach, asked twice for table to be cleaned, watched 2 tables of potential customers walk in sit down and then leave as they had no idea you had to order first, listened to the family next to us ask for their daughters meal as they had nearly finished theirs and it still had not arrived, went to the toilet to find no lights working pitch black, asked the kitchen staff to help and no one could! Have been coming to our holiday house on the Island for 20 years and eaten at most restaurants over that time. Will not be eating there again.

The staff were friendly, food was really nice, yet the wait was terrible and they forgot our coffee

Disappointed. Couldn't book a week before for FOURTEEN people on a Thursday night in February (would understand if it was Dec/Jan). Took the chance, but upon arriving were told the staff couldn't put tables together to accommodate us and we would have to disperse around the room as best we could. This situation was rectified when we decided to move on to another establishment. No lime for the lemon/lime/bitters, couldn't find the pinot noir and very few ingredients for the antipasto platter, so another choice had to be made. Should've taken it off the menu. Pity of it all is that the food was excellent - fresh, unpretentious and well cooked, but 14 people who would all know a further 14 people each, won't be back. Looking at some of the other reviews, we are not alone, but seems like your restaurant is not interested in lifting its game. Shame.

Worst place on The Island! .... Worst place on The Island!<br/>Staff friendly enough, but coffee is gross and my egg was overpoached.<br/>Give this place a miss...

Awful coffee ,ordering and serving is very unorganised .

This restaurant attracts people because if it's location and rustic charm but the coffee was dilute and watery and my fruit toast had been burnt on one side and to conceal they had gauged out the burnt side and placed it burnt side down so I couldn't see it. Plus it was cold. Why not just toast a couple of new pieces? Not returning.

Good. No EFT!? Food was good, but we didn't get anything fancy. Staff were friendly, prices okay. Wouldn't rush back, but acceptable/average. Location and premises definitely the draw card. Nothing special.

The worst coffee I have EVER had. Staff have no training or organisation. This place could be great. Just dreadful.

Wrong phone number. Phone number is wrong

Avoid this place - poor quality, tasteless & expensive food. We had to ask for our tables to be cleaned when we sat ourselves down. Pancakes were burnt, strawberries - stingy servings, fry stale Turkish bread, overcooked tasteless bacon, lettuce seemed weeks old. Go elsewhere &avoid being disappointment!<br/><br/><br/>-----29 Dec, 2013-----<br/><br/>Avoid this place

Prominent location, unfortunately, because the food is terrible.. Gullivers occupies a prime position in the centre of the tourist district of Cowes, on the corner of Thompson Avenue and Chapel Street. Due to this, it attracts a lot of passing trade, and thus it survives in business despite being a very mediocre cafe. Being a local resident, I've had the misfortune to dine at Gullivers a couple of times recently, and it was not a pleasant experience. It is OK for coffee - not bad coffee, though there are several other cafes in Cowes that do a better one. I've also enjoyed their wedges with sour cream and chilli sauce. After a busy couple of days I landed there one morning, very hungry, and against my better judgment I ordered the Eggs Benedict. Has to be the WORST Eggs Benedict I've ever seen. The eggs were poached nicely but they were sitting on a supermarket Tip Top English muffin which was not even warm, far less toasted to a nice golden colour. The ham was the cheapest supermarket brand, and the hollandaise sauce was unspeakably revolting. With hollandaise, you expect an unctuous light gold sauce to be drizzled over your eggs. At Gullivers it was stone cold, obviously hocked out of a jar straight from the fridge. It looked like someone with a bad cold had deposited all the snot in their nose on top of the eggs, in an ugly gloop. Truly, truly vile, and to be avoided at all costs. Go for coffee, but nothing more.

There seems to be a lot of very poorly trained baristas in this area. So here's a lesson for you: do not rerun the shot. Once the shot has poured, the grind for that shot is dead. All the good characters from the coffee have already been drained and you just end up with burnt, watery muck. This is basic coffee training, if you don't get it, probably shouldn't be allowed near the coffee machine.

Mexican breakfast - quite good. <br/>Standard service.

Where's the food safety officer?? My family and I went there for lunch, went to the register to order, received the cutlery from them and requested that our tables be wiped down because they were all sticky and oily, they complied but nothing happened. When our food started coming we asked the waiters to please give them a quick wipe down, nothing happened. Went to use our cutlery but was shocked to find old food stains and bits of someone's leftovers had dried on them, YUK! If the tables and the cutlery are dirty, in what state are is the kitchen in?

Awful food and appaling service. I dined here with three other people for breakfast. We found that the bacon and hash browns were overly oily and tasted dreadful. The eggs were all well over cooked and the portion sizing was minimal. The coffee tasted dreadful - a mixture of burnt milk and burnt coffee that even three sugars couldn't fix. Service was very slow.<br/>We ordered originally, a normal milk coffee, and another soy milk one as I am severely lactose intolerant. To my dismay, I found that my soy milk coffee was in fact, a full cream milk coffee. I then took the coffee back to the counter saying that it was wrong and was meant to be soy milk and was asked by the waiter "what is your problem". To my disgust, I reiterated that the coffee was wrong, stating that it needed to be soy and it was promptly snatched off me. Not much longer later, I was given another coffee, this coffee was not only burnt, but the milk was thick and lumpy. Angered, I called over who appeared to be the manager, expressing my annoyance after the second attempt at getting a coffee and was just told that he would bring another over. Not once was a refund or apology offered. In what seemed like only a minute, another coffee was brought over - the same man stayed to ensure the coffee was made properly which is seemed to be so he walked off. After letting it rest for a couple of mins, I checked the milk again to find that the milk was also lumpy. Needless to say, we left in complete disgust.<br/>What was worse, was that we also noticed that a table across from us, was also getting an apology from staff for food errors and the table in front of us was also getting an apology for missing toast. I have never had such disgusting service and awful food and will ensure that I, and all my friends steer very clear of this so called "restaurant" in the future. What a disgrace!

Rude and unwelcoming waitress. Left before ordering

Grumpy Rob Not Impresed!. It took over an hour to get our breakfast once our order had been taken. People who had ordered after us received their breakfast before us. Our breakfast arrived cold. the poached eggs with our Eggs Benedict were cold, the hollandaise had split, the eggs were hard boiled rather than soft poached. The service was terrible. My friends egg and bacon roll that had arrived cold was simply re heated in the microwave. If this cafe can't deal with a large amount of people on a busy weekend, then they should reduce their menu or rethink the line of business they're in!

Lunch. Thought we would try this eatery looked good lots of people but thats about as good as it got. service was not great we had foccacia and thai chicken salad well foccacia looked like salami wasnt that fresh, could of had a bit better vegies than what we got, salad well looked like roast chook from coles just shredded salad tasted old just not very impressed alot of people just got up and left food over on tables and when eating outside had swarms of seagulls all over when people left food on table will not go back

We have eaten dinner there twice recently and it was great. The service was excellent , very friendly staff and food was delicious. Calamari is fantastic. They also had a special that if you order a main meal you receive a free entree or dessert. Great value .We are going there again tomorrow.

Worst breakfast place in the world. I ordered the Eggs Benedict. The poached eggs were cold and over done, bread not toasted, and ham from Coles. The service was hopeless too. Never again.

Very impressed. Free entrée with the meal, all delicious. Vegetarians are clearly not a mainstream market in Oz but they had a range of options. Recommended!

Ate here this evening. Must have new owner and/or chef because the service was fantastic and the food simply exquisite! Background music was radio playing which detracted slightly but apart from this was an awesome dining experience!

I had a delicious lunch here today, I ordered the salt and pepper squid salad which was very fresh and of high quality (both the salad ingredients and the squid). The meal was of a generous size, reasonable price and the flavours fused together beautifully. My partner had a chicken parmigiana which he loved particularly due to the homemade nepolitana sauce and the large chicken breast which also was of high quality. Portion size of the Parma was very generous but there was barely a crumb left on the plate ;)

Hamburgers were home made and delicious will definitely come back

Geat coffee, good people.. Just had lunch at Gullivers, fantastic curry. Latte was creamy and strong, just the way I like it. Waitress had an accent but was helpful and lovely. Open fire inside was great on a cold day. Older building but huge amounts of character. Back on the island soon, will defiantly be back. Love it.

I sure felt like a good breakfast, should have gone across the road. The waiter was in a grubby top, the waitress took forever to write down the order. The decor was dated, confusing where to order what inside and parts of the place are very badly maintained.<br/> Wasn't sure about the scrambled eggs that had square angles, cooked in a clump...mass cooked in a Bain Marie? food wasn't bad, just boring and I could have cooked better myself, especially for the $40 cost.

Absolute rubbish of a place. Chefs ability to produce horrible food in record long time is only matched by the way they managed to make possibly the worst coffee I've ever had. The best thing we had here was a glass of water.

Shocking. Do yourself a favour. Walk across the road, go into the bakery and get a pie. You'll save yourself an hour and $30. Inside was nice, had a nice feel to it. But we waited an hour for something as simple as a Thai chicken salad and a soup. Soup tasted like canned stuff. Served with 3 day old stale bread. Salad was shocking, prepackaged rubbish from Coles, dressing from a bottle. The chicken was about half a breast of roast chicken from.. Probably Coles. No specials board in dining area. Must order at counter and pay before eating..<br/><br/>AVOID!

Mediocre cafe experience with generous servings. Locating a table for four in the outdoor area proved difficult, with unclean tables and chairs common. The large umbrellas provided much needed shade and the overall feel to the outdoor area left a lot to be desired. <br/>Upon entry to the cafe, in which orders are taken, a plethora of foodstuffs are offered. Focaccias, a breakfast menu, lunch menu and fish and chips were all available, with reasonable prices throughout. The menu layout was somewhat confusing, where options were offered across two different menus, a specials board and a main pricing board inside. This information would be better off consolidated into a singular booklet. <br/>The friendly staff took our orders and we waited about 10 minutes for our food to arrive. The chips were generous and well priced, with $2.50 providing one with a very lovey accompaniment to the various burger offerings. The chicken burger, vegetarian burger and BLT were all appealing, and the food would bring me back.<br/>With some improvement in the general order of the cafe, Gullivers would make a perfect place for a early breakfast to late lunch.

Hamburger that lacked flavour, not going back!. Ordered a hamburger but added bacon and egg at an extra cost of $4.00. <br/>Also ordered small chips. <br/><br/>Hamburger came out and it lacked flavour, some kind of punch so paid 30 cents for tomato sauce and added it to the burger to somehow save it.<br/><br/>The meat patty also tasted a bit funky, not sure what it is, if I wasn't so hungry from Tough Mudder I probably wouldn't have eaten it! Didn't get any stomach issues afterwards which means it was fine but I won't be going back to this place again.