Review The Croydon Hotel - Croydon

Enjoyed dinner here last night with 4 friends. 2 people ordered in person and the other 3 ordered using the website mentioned on the table. The food ordered online took 15 minutes longer to come which wasn't great. No problem with the quality of food or friendliness of the staff. The recent renovations make the place feel modern 👌

Good pub food - not amazing but nice and fresh. Everyone was happy with their meal. Nicely renovated inside with a few different dining options and great playground for the kids.

Lunched here yesterday with friends, food was really good. But I want to commend the Bistro Staff for their excellent friendly service. Job well done guys and girls. We will be back.

Not sure what has happened since I last went, but service there is pretty average. Long queues at the bar with 1 person serving, asked waiter to clear our table and he took 2 plates out of the 14 then never came back, so had to clear it ourselves. Ran out of deserts.

The beer is good. The kids playground is great being right in plain view of the tables so it's good for families. The chips could be better though.

Had a wonderful family dinner organised by my daughter for 18 on Sat 12th March. Lovely venue, great play area for the children and every meal was throughly enjoyed. Absolutely great Birthday celebration night. Staff were very pleasant and friendly. Thank you Croydon Hotel.

Only a quick visit to attend a birthday party. Finger food was good 😄👍 Unfortunately, there are no zero alcohol beers available in the lounge.

Half decent feed, from what i could gather from everyone on our table that they were fairly happy with their meals, my partner had the Roast of the day which was beef, said it was touch Over done and dry but Gravy helped with a little bit of extra moisture. I had the Croydon Monster burger and it just hit the spot and probs one of the better pub burgers going around.

Food and service was average at best. When I rang and asked for a table near the kids room, was told no, too busy, there were, at most 10 tables with people at them. Though they must have changed our table as we ended up near the kids room. Waited far too long for mains (chicken Caesar salad) after entree. Also had to wait 20 mins to get a kids ice cream. Very poor, will not be back. And may I add, that putting menus that god knows how many people have handled, on top of drinking glasses on the tables is extremely unhygienic. Very poor service, food and check backs from staff. One staff member was wearing leggings with HOLES in them near her bottom and her hair looked like she had just rolled out of bed ! Dress appropriately. Leggings are not pants !!!!!!!!!

Last night was my first time here and first impressions certainly had the Wow factor but it pretty much stopped there! 3 out of 4 people not happy with their meal. Roast of the day included one small potato in its jacket and a 1 inch cube of pumpkin along with big heads of cauliflower that were too raw to cut and other non traditional vegies for a roast AND the whole dish was barely luke warm. 2 other's had bangers & mash and chicken schnitzel which were both below average with 'terrible chips' (how do you get chips wrong?!) and miserable bangers & mash yet the most expensive ever! Besides the food, we all had an issue with the 'Outdoor' Social area where the live music was held. Given there were 3 built in walls and a solid roof with just a 1 metre strip down one side for smoke to escape, one has to question if this area meets the legal requirements for a designated 'Smoking Area', noting that food was also being served?!?! We had seven people on our table who were non-smokers and were all there for the music but it was marred by having sore eyes and being unable to breathe. This was like the days when smoking was allowed in hotels and luckily we haven't experienced it since then, until last night! The staff at your venue were all very nice though.

I tend to agree with Allie Mac but we go there quite a bit. The bar staff are very slow however it is the fault of management Not enough staff It is so noisy too many kids not enough care given to just adult diners who want a quiet meal. I don't think the menu is extensive enough since their new one came in maybe 18mnths ago too much focus on pizza. Desserts need to be looked at. We had to wait 30 mins for dessert to be served and then it was wrong so took another 15 mins to get it right. The staff member very apologetic but we were too far past it As Allie said it is so hard to get a wait staff to engage in eye contact However on a plus side I was speaking to a lass waiting for bar service who obviously seemed familiar with staff and asked are you on a break but she said no I do work here but I have family down from Queensland and I wanted to go somewhere in the area that has good meals. I believe that is a good representation of an establishment. All in all I think it was a busy night and a lot of things let the staff down.

Great people and great bar staff. The beer nice and cold and atmosphere for friday drinks is excellent. Won the meat tray , well worth the win as the meat is excellent. If the pub could give the name of the butcher it would be appreciated. Been there several times and will be back

Great pub, renovations are on point, never fails to pump out a solid parma and a pot and staff are friendly as! Love ya croydo �

Like the renovations,looks great. Food good and good portion size. Had to wait a bit to order and had to flag down a waitress(table service). Girl behind bar had bad attitude and clearly didn't want to be there. Meal took about 30 mins to arrive but was busy. Would go back but needs some tweaking.

Was my first visit to the social and with a group who come regularly ,we shared a variety of food which was really tasty , a lovely girl Taylah presented our food in a friendly and professional manner , we then moved into the pokies venue once the social had closed and the lady supervising was Fiona who was lovely and went beyond the word customer service for us , I believe rather than only receiving bad comments it's good to pass onto your staff some positive feedback of my experience of good night

Cheesy garlic pizza was great and service was great , was disappointed with my steak it was very chewy and also more variety of beers would be great coming from Perth I find it hard to find a decent beer in vic. Other than that great venue

We went for dinner last week (our first time) and i am sorry to say but i was not impressed. I ordered the calamari and it was super salty and rubbery. My children had the kids meal and i thought they were very small in size. A very small peice of fish (maybe 2 bites worth) and a few chips. I felt that in comparison to another similar restaurant that we often go to, that the Croydon Hotel was below standard. Unfortunately we will not be visiting again.

Just went for drinks.. Reno amazing. But couldn't understand why blond is only served in schooner or pint! And light beer only pots or pints! Didn't make sense. I wanted a pot of blonde, not a schooner

Food was below average. Tables and chairs pushed in so close for our table setting. The guy behind the bar was ok. The guy clearing the tables was a douche bag. Wouldn’t go for a meal there. Would go for a drink after work only.

It was quite quiet when we arrived, still we had to request our order to be taken after 20 minutes, soon filled up with heaps of screaming kids, birthdays etc, meal was good, kids meal for $10 is OK, schnitzel & chips, drink and ice cream, shame we had to wait half an hour for a bowl of kids ice cream tho, despite asking 3 waitresses for it. Probably won't re-visit, far too noisy with unruly kids, lack of parental control and respect for other diners.

I went there for lunch. I ordered ceasar salad with smoke salmon. It was so so so salty, could not eat. It like someone accident poured the salt in the plate😒😒 It was very bad ceasar salad I ever have. Very very disappointed

Took the family to this establishment this evening, about 2 hours after getting home I get a call saying we left without paying the bill. After calling back I'm told there is still $94 outstanding, which would make 2 adult and 2 kids meals around $190. So for the incompetence you lose another regular customer. BTW the meals were average at best. Also have the receipts as well. This place and the management need some serious work.

Had drinks and pizzas in the sports bar Amazing pizzas, great wine and ice cold beer Oh and great staff too What more could you ask for from a local pub

Had dinner here for the very first time last night. It was excellent. The waiter we had was funny and very attentive - we were a party of 6. The bar and bistro is a great space and appeared to have a great vibe. Looking forward to our next visit.

Great spot for a drink with friends. Not so great with the food. <br/><br/>All meals served on the table seemed to be over cooked, not fresh and poor quality and overpriced for it all. <br/><br/>

The food here isn’t anything to rave home about, just ordinary pub food. Even after the renovations it’s still an old and dated establishment. The staff are friendly and attentive.

The new look is great and the play zone for the little ones is also brilliant.<br/>The staff were friendly and can't complain about the service.<br/>We arrived at around 11.45am, because we do have the little ones. <br/>We ordered within 10mins and had the food within another 10mins!<br/> The kids loved their chips and schnitzels but the serving size was tiny as! A handful of chips without any salt and literally a piece of chicken!<br/>My pork belly tasted great with the mash, gravy and chutney but was cold as! The collared greens were boiled in water, no seasoning at all and tasted as dirty as they looked.<br/>Hubby had a parma with chips and salad... he couldn't even eat the chips, just fried potato - no salt and swallowed the parma whole it was so small.<br/>Won't be heading back in a hurry, there are heaps of other pubs/hotels around.

Had the basics last night - cheesy pizza, parma and fish/chips. Parma portion very small and tasted and looked from a frozen packet. Fish was not beer battered, as claimed, but rather tempura. Now the entree on the other hand, WOW! Amazing! If it wasn’t for it, my rating today would be 1. It was very cold inside and it was disappointing to deal with a waitress that couldn’t be bothered changing the name on the booking sheet to accommodate diners that arrived first and voiced that they were cold and wanted to move! I experienced this and witnessed the same waitress being rude to another diner. I will definitely be back for the pizzas!

Went for a Sunday birthday lunch recently and left quite disappointed. Waited over 1hr 45mins for our meals. Food was as expected but service or lack of was a real downer.

I revisited this hotel about 3 months ago and was very pleasantly surprised. The place had a major refurbishment and looked great. The service was excellent, we ordered from the seniors menu and was delighted with our choices. However, I have been back several time, but my last visit was not as good. We seated ourselves as there was not a sign of staff (Monday lunch). Then we waited an unacceptable time. We were finally approached by a very pleasant Chelsea, who took our order. When the meals were delivered, I couldn't believe the difference from my previous visits. The size of the meals had dramatically reduced even thought he prices remained the same. The dessert of a sticky date pudding would have occupied 2 small mouthfuls. My first thought was that new owners had taken over and they had overdosed on the 'GREED' pill. If this is how you propose to continue, then you have certainly lost our custom.

There is not a 0 so u get a 1 oh god where I start <br/>Food 0<br/>Service 0<br/>Staff 1<br/>Atuttude seriously need new staff<br/>Rude obnoxious dirty and smelly <br/>One even smelt drunk ...and to the food <br/>Oh god r u ready <br/><br/>Ordered what they called a burger I swear it was like a coles home brand ftozen burger bun was cold and burnt burger dry thin and tasted like it was cooked then frozen and then reused . The salad was dry and the sauces tasted sour <br/>The garlic alio was disappointing sour and very bitter I think the kitchen hand so called chef put Tabasco sauce in it my friend order a steak it was ordered as blue once it arrived it was burnt to the bone over done it was covered in a pepper sauce which we didn't order and was do bad I walked straight out and the prices were insane for a outer suburbs hotel. Im never going back .<br/>Seriously I don't know how it is still open

Rang ahead to see what time they stopped serving. Told 8.30 was just ok as they were so busy. Not true. Food served in 5 minutes. Clearly straight out of warmers. Not freshly cooked. Soggy veggies. Cold chips. Just been sick! 🤢🤢. Never again!

Have just been to the Croydon Hotel for a few beers and to watch some of the Ashes.<br/>Problem one... no beer. Apparently someone forgot to place the order (you had one job) so no tap beers and they’re hurriedly shuffling in warm stubbies from the bottle shop. <br/>Problem two... the cricket is only on a small screen in the pokies venue while in the empty beer garden of The Social, Channel 10 is playing Days of Our Lives (or similar garbage).<br/>They’ve dropped the ball at the Croydon. I’d hate to be the bloke who works in a pub and who forgot to order beer. Amateur.<br/>I’ve still given them a 1 but that was for the company I was in.

Good honest meal without being great, we had a lunch for 7 with an assortment of meals, pizza was fairly decent and I dug into the Cajun Chicken Burger, packed a bit of a punch but didn't wow me.<br/><br/>Short walk from my house so I'm sure to be back, the venue itself is very visually appealing inside.

Was put off clubs for a while after a bad food experience at Club Ringwood but I've heard that Croydon Hotel is a better place and the food was certainly very nice. Had a pizza and it was delicious, followed up by a chocolate dessert then had a punt on the machines and won a bit of money as well so a great night all around. Staff are lovely and very attentive, make you feel as if you are sitting in your own living room or a guest in someone else's. :)

We have been dining at the Dorset but thought we'd try the Croydon never again no service meals small I think all staff need Training in People skills and Manners <br/>

Went out to the Croydon during the week and had a lovely night out. Nice, friendly staff who looked after our needs, Chicken Parma was a treat with a three cheese melt that lived up to its name, melting in my mouth.... heavenly. The finisher was a chocolate fondant washed down with a nice cappuccino as the kids played in the play area. Would definitely eat there again.

Have been twice this year and disappointed each time. Both times were at quiet periods. Wait staff are not attentive. After they deliver the meal to your table you don't seem to see them until they are back to collect the dishes. No one asks how your meal is. As for the food, if i didn't have coeliac disease i may have been happy, but unfortunately i do...There is not a lot of gluten free items on the menu. First time i went, i had the barramundi which didn't taste great. Second time i had garlic and cheese GF pizza, which was doughy and bland. I had creme brulee for dessert which was great - it was not marked as being GF, however, both times the chefs assured that it was.Would love to see a few more gluten free options on the menu, or optional gluten free (Pork belly would be amazing GF!)

Ever since this place has been renovated it has been amazing every time I have gone!<br/>I love the atmosphere and the staff are quite bubbly and friendly!<br/>I definitely suggest giving these guys a chance!<br/>Also the mint mojitos are to die for 😉👌🏼

wednesday lunch, very quiet had pea & ham soup which was really good except it was barely warm, then had pork belly entree, it was dry & crackle was rubbery, not a good choice at all

The outlook and renovations look great! Very happy having a drink enjoying the atmosphere, however the food really let us down. My partner and i both ordered Chicken Parma 's which were extremely disappointing. The melted cheese tasted cheap, the tomato sauce lacked flavour and overall tasteless.  I did look around and see other meals and wish i tried the Pizza which looked much more appetising.

We were hoping for a complete kitchen revamp as well as the cosmetic renovation. We were pleasently suprised. <br/><br/>The place has been given a desperately needed revamp, however it would be useful to ask customers if they have been there before as its now table service not order at the bar. Make sure you catch the wait staffs attention otherwise you could be in for a little bit of a wait. The kids playground has also been extended a little bit more. <br/><br/>As for the food its a lot better than previously. The pizzas are great. Thin traditional crispy base with good quality ingrediants. If you can enjoy a Margherita pizza then you know its a good pizza. Seriously try the pizza. If they did takeaway pizza id get it from here.<br/><br/>The pulled pork panini was great. Hints of chilli and lots of vinegar, juicy tender meat and a great slaw. Spot on. <br/><br/>I tried the salmon and was very happy...until I got a few bones. Cardinal sin with fish. Fix that mistake up fellas. Anyway other than that the salmon was great. Still pink inside and not overcooked. Crispy skin. Lovely silky smooth parsnip puree didnt overwhealm the fish. Asparagus was cooked perfectly. Actually was one of the better salmon dishes ive had from a restaurant/pub.<br/><br/>The missus' pasta was a little bit of a miss. The pasta filling was a little odd and hard to work out what it was. The zoodles were nice though and the actual pasta was thin and cooked well. <br/><br/>Overall pretty happy with the whole experiance. Ill happily come back.

A great venue for parties, family groups and functions! Staff are very accomodating and try their hardest to provide a great dining experience. The food is tasty and fresh and the SMOKEY BBQ AOILI is an absolute winner!! <br/><br/>The salad dressing needs more vinaigrette/ salt/ pepper.<br/><br/>A nice night out for a casual meal with no fuss and a place for the kids (devils) to run around. <br/>

Wow, came for a meal, expecting much like the old Croydon.. boy was I wrong! The food was ten fold on the old days, with a much larger selection - everything delicious. This alone would gain them 4 stars from me. The fifth star.. well, purely for the lovely (very attractive) bar guy they have on a Saturday night. My god - I can't even.. do yourselves a favour! The other staff are pretty good too, very hard workers, even when they're tired and spent, they push through. Amazing.<br/><br/>That bar guy though..

Highly reccomend the Croydon hotel for a great dining experience. The meals are amazing, the staff/managers are friendly and also considers families with children in their kids area/playground. The meals are fulfilling and you will never go home hungry. Not overpriced what you pay is what you get. Would definately be back!

Food is amazing as well as the staff and the layout. Since renovation it looks so much nicer and always received friendly customer service as well as a delicious fulfilling meal. Accommodates great for families with the kids playground and area.

Top notch food and staff! Can't complain. Would highly recommend for family and kids. The food for the price is plentiful and delicious. Will be back for sure

Great mid price range pub food with a modern Australian twist. <br/>Staff friendly and very attentive. <br/>Those looking for super cheap eats may be disappointed. <br/>But we had the lamb pie, pizza and chicken strips and were left full and happy. <br/>Can be noisy outside but that's cause they have a great kids room. <br/>Recommend.

Came here for lunch with my boyfriend on the weekend. Ordered chicken strips and a Parma. Both were delicious! Hot and fresh and very tasty. Only issue was we were given glasses which looked dirty from the bar. Food wise I would recommend.

Dined yesterday for lunch. Restaurant looks very nice & kids play area great for young children (under 6 I think). The kids area was ridiculously cold yesterday, very strange. I can understand keeping it cool at night when there's many children in there, but during the day with 5 or so under 5yr olds it was absurd. Service was average. It was very quiet too. Waitress asked if we were ready to order, we asked for 2 minutes. She never came back after 10 so we happily approached the bar to order. A man approached us & told us to sit back down as it was table service. He was dressed casually (not in a uniform) I found this odd & he wasn't friendly about it. The manager perhaps? Who knows. Now the food: VILE, PUTRID, DISGUSTING. Ordered the san choy bow, it was absolutely swimming in oil, it was oil soup with "indistinguishable" meats. Menu said chicken, pork & prawns. It was all brown & covered in oil so impossible to tell what you were eating. There was honestly 1/2-1 prawn cut into minuscule pieces the size of a pinky fingernail. The flavours were amazing which was such a contrast to the overall dish. It could of tasted 100% better. Kids meals was generous in size & was a nice quality schnitzel. Will never be back. The food is obviously not a strong point based on all the other reviews on their food.

Firstly, love the new kit-out.<br/>The kid's area is tops!<br/>The new bar is great.<br/>Table service, friendly staff, drinks on the table tab automatically, etc, etc, all win-win-win.<br/><br/>But...the food was almost inedible.<br/>I had the flathead tails.  The salad was soggy, bland and unbalanced.  It was like somebody just put cream mixed with vegetable oil on lettuce.<br/>The flathead was greasy like old-old deep fryer oil (or maybe from the use of a deep fryer that hadn't been fully heated up before cooking with), and it wasn't seasoned at all.<br/>Even the chips were basically just supermarket freezer grade and weren't even seasoned.<br/>I haven't picked up a salt shaker off a restaurant table in years as I don't like too much salt, but I did last night and I dumped it all over everything just to give it enough flavor to eat.   I feel bad even writing that because it seems harsh but unfortunately it was just true - there was no balance of salt and acid at all to my meal, and almost no flavor.<br/><br/>As for the rest of the table I heard similar reviews.<br/>The pork belly just seemed to have a few ounces of olive oil dumped all over it.<br/>The salt and pepper calamari was soggy and not the slightest bit crispy.<br/>And one of our table ordered the Eaton Mess for dessert and they brought it out without any meringue in it.   What the?!?!?!...that's the base ingredient!  That's like bringing a steak out without any meat on the plate!<br/><br/>When this place was first finished a whole group of us parents got sooo excited that finally there was a place with a truly good playground to occupy the kids where we could also eat nice food and drink a quality beer or glass of wine.  This place should have been the perfect parent haven!  But sadly - truly sadly - I don't feel like I can go there to eat because the food was just ...bad.

Really dissapointed. Fitout is sensational but cant say the same about the food & service. Salad sauce very heavy but bland. Roast of the day was Pork which was overcooked and dry. Veggies undercooked. Beer battered fish bland. Salmon was overcooked, dry & bland. Calimari good but not crisp. Medium-to-rare steak was the bluest steak i've ever seen! All in all will not come back - out of 8 adults only 3 meals were edible.

We decided to check out the Croydon after its renovation and we were pretty impressed. The new decor looks good and the copper piping bringing fresh beer to the beer taps is a great touch. There were four of us and we each had a main course and drinks. Two of us had steak and it was cooked to perfection and really tasty. The pepper sauce that came with it was one of the best I've tasted. One of us had the chicken and chorizo pizza which he loved! Our final dish was the chicken and avo burger which was nice but nothing special. <br/>We wanted to order a bottle of wine and they make it kind of difficult. They only have wines by the glass on the menu. I went to the bar and asked if they have a price list for wine by the bottle. I was told "No, it's the same wine as what's on the menu. If you see something you like you have to ask for the price". This to me is really silly. It makes it impossible to simply compare the prices of the wine to aid your choice. <br/>Overall we were very happy with the meal, however the price at the end was a bit of a shock. Almost $170 for four people for a pub bistro meal is a bit excessive in my opinion. We can eat for less than that at many specialty restaurants in the area, so is the Croydon special enough to come back at these prices? I'm not sure!

The new décor was long over due but....... with that prices have gone up and the menu is totally different. Thursday parma night and Wednesday steak night has gone!!!!! Oh nooooo!  We were regular customers on these nights. Really, really miss the value for money that these nights were and so yummy! They were an affordable night out for the whole family.:(

The Croydon Hotel, Tuesday 26-01-2016<br/><br/>This establishment was once operated by the ALH group (Woolworths Ltd) is now operated by the Melbourne Racing Club (MRC) group which has the Caulfield, Mornington and Sandown Racecourses and 13 hotel venues around Melbourne including this one. <br/><br/>I had completed a shift in the kitchen with the other chefs during the previous operators, so it was interesting to observe the changes completed to the Croydon Hotel.<br/><br/>On arrival there is a pleasant change to the exterior of the building and some simple garden beds just outside of the front door. On entering the front door there is a warmth of natural light coming from the newly renovated bistro dining room. The kitchen has been moved from the northern side of the building to the western side of the building, this has allowed for the bistro to be on one level opening up to a deck looking north allowing that great natural light into the bistro.<br/><br/>There are two large copper tanks on the left hand side as you enter the bistro and copper tubing running to the bar in the middle of the room. This is all concerned with the association the MRC has with Carlton and United Breweries and the sale of the “Brewery Fresh” Carlton Draught. The bar is a well illuminated with a light grey marble style feature and wood paneling and wood shelving which give the bar a good grounding in the middle of room. <br/><br/>There is the ‘Trendy’ feature of the plant stand in the middle of the dining room which we I questioned in the past with other establishments and will question again, why! As there is some small potted herbs waiting to grow and trying to catch some direct sun light in the middle of the dining room which they will never get. There is also a charging area on this stand for the waiters note pads that they us to obtain the orders. This I found distracting, like any other hand held device is in a dining room the glow of these mobile devises detracted from the dinning experience. The waiters note pads would have better placed near the kitchen, away from sticky fingers of the smaller inquisitive diners and then remove the plant stand to fully open up the dining room to flow the warmth around the dining room.<br/><br/>The carpet is a slightly psychedelic patterned with yellow streaks’ through it which detracts from the dining room and is not a calming effect that would be more beneficial. The Tables and chairs were a mix of light colored wood stain and some dark stained, which again mixes up the room and again, why. <br/><br/>We dined at lunch time on Australian day with the dining room about a 3rd covered, the waiters were covering the room with efficiency, good poise when coming to the table, at tentative without being overbearing well presented in the good bistro waiter attire and good knowledge of the menu. the two meals that was ordered were the Chicken Saltimbocca and the Grilled Salmon. <br/><br/>The Chicken Saltimbocca with pea risotto cake. This dish needed another vegetables such as an oven roasted tomato, beetroot, brocollini or similar to brighten up the dish and give some diversity. The dish needed some sauce to moisten and to carry the dish, especially after consuming the chicken I was left with the risotto, which is good green pea risotto but it was only green pea risotto. <br/><br/>My wife had the Grilled Salmon with sweet potato puree & cherry. Again the dish needed more of the pesto as a sauce as the dish became dry by the end, there was no crispy skin on the salmon and the salmon was a little over cooked so a again dry by the finish of the dish.<br/><br/>There was no wine list and the wine was by the glass with no bottle prices listed and when I asked the barman he was not fully across the list and prices, which was a bit disconcerting. So we decided on the Yarra Ridge - Sauvignon Blanc which was a light crisp, with citrus and floral notes which was a very good example of a Yarra Valley style of the Sauvignon Blanc.<br/><br/>Today there were no desserts on the menu just cakes on display so the dessert was missed by us. <br/><br/>Although there was a persistent fly in the dining room which did detracted from the experience we look for the positives in that the dining room which was still under renovations when we visited so it will be good to return to appreciate the full vision of the newly renovated Croydon Hotel and see this establishment move forward.