The Wandering Reviewer
+4
A group gather regularly in and around Essendon and I was fortunate enough to be invited. This night was at The Royal Hotel which has had some incarnations over many years. We started with a few drinks in the bar that already has Christmas decorations lining the walls and hanging from the ceiling. The cocktail list was impressive and an espresso martini at $13 is a very reasonable price. After a few drinks, we made our way to our reserved table and perused the menu. It's quite extensive with something for everyone. Thursday night being $20 steak night, it's worth coming for that alone. I however, went for the lamb ragu and many others chose parmas, pork belly and gnocchi. Unfortunately, I was only able to snap one good photo of my friend's pork cutlets - the photo of my lamb ragu was blurred. The pork cutlets were nicely cooked and I had to write this down to cover off exactly what was on the plate - 250g grilled pork cutlet on a bacon, apple and cabbage craise with broccolini and cider jus - $28.50
The bar, as you would expect has wine, beer, soft drinks, cocktails and more. We ordered a couple of bottles of wine that were reasonably priced. The service was excellent and a big thank you to Nicole and Kathleen who navigated the complexity of our orders. Much appreciated.
The Royal Hotel is kid friendly with highchairs available, wheelchair accessible and disabled friendly. Good parking around the area but just read the signs as it can be tricky.
Jo, one of the waitresses who works here is so lovely and is the reason why we will come back again. Steak night is great on a Thursday and good value for money!
Nice dinner!. Having read previous reviews, i was a bit apprehensive. Undeservedly so !!!!
We started our meal by sharing the arancini balls, which were yummy, my partner then had the lamp lamb rump and I had the potted pie. Whilst the sides of mash and peas were a bt boring, the pie itself was delicious.
My partner thought his meal was very good.
We finished off with lemon merengue. Fabulous.
Surpringly good.. I've never been fussed about Aussie pub meals, but i was really pleasantly surprised with the royal hotel. All our party had lovely meals, real calamari, nice fish, lovely smelling pies. We were met with a very warm welcome and the kids were completely catered for. Colouring pages, good meal portions, served first.... Very easy and enjoyable experience. We'll be going back...
I was there yesterday for dinner with my family ,was wait on food as they were busy but to my shock the food was awesome .As my experience say in other pubs when they are busy the chefs slap the food on the plate in this case the food was well presented and delicious after waiting for 35 min. Well chefs
Great pub. Superb meals, have never walked out of the royal hotel hungry, nice cold beers and a good range of wines to choose from. all this and great staff who are friendly with smiles on their faces. for a good night out with food beer/wine and music head to the royal hotel.
Excellent service, staff generally go above and beyond with a smile on their face. Public bar meal prices are reasonable and the food meets expectations.
Reasonable pub food. We went on burger night and the burgers were $12 with big pile of chips. Kids burger was pretty big and our son can eat at the best of times, but struggled with his monster serve! Good amount of food for your money. Service was of higher quality than the food.... Which was a bonus!
Been to the royal a few times now, not amazing by any means, but good quality, reliable Pub fare. They also have meal deals on certain nights which makes it an attractive dining option.
Is this a fancy pub? No… Is it a warm, great place to have a relaxed meal and a drink? 150% YES!
This is one of my favourite locals. Staff are always friendly and helpful, food is always well made pub grub, beers are consistently pedestrian through clean lines.
You know what your going to get every single time and I love it.
Uncomplicated, consistent, and wonderful.
The staff here are so lovely. Whilst staying here, they have made me feel so comfortable.
The staff are very friendly and helpful.
The Food is amazing! I got chips with salad and it was perfect comfort food.
I would definitely come back here.
Good job Team!
Just spent the evening here for a family birthday. Couldn't be happier
Our group has a full range of people ( kids, seniors and adults). The kids both really enjoyed their kids meals.
Seniors were extremely happy with their sirloin steak. The meat was tender and flavourful and the sauces were lovely.
Pork belly with crackling was super tasty, my own meal of ribs was wonderful. Ribs were so tender you could pull them apart with your fingers.
Best of all the service was excellent. Kathleen went out of her way to ensure we had all we needed and answered all of our questions with a smile and knowledge
Would love to try the trivia night next time as everyone seemed to be having fun!
![5]( "Recensione")
I would like to comment on an event that transpired in front of my dinner with my family last night on the 21st of March.
We overheard a patron demanding free drinks as compensation as they believed that the time for their dinner had taken too long. I was already appalled when they were screaming bar staffs name saying " Where are the free drinks for our late food"
Our food then arrived for my party of 9, to which we were eating and enjoying our meals.
This moment of grace did not last long as the same patrons were demanding their food and "free drinks" to make up for their delay.
They then proceeded to demand for the manager.
This is where we were all silently sitting there disgusted with the way the patrons were speaking. To summarise segments of the conversation when the acting manager met with them to deescalate the situation, included -
"no where's the other manager! He's better than you"
The conversation then escalated to one of the women dining screaming at the manager stating that she wants to know why her food was taking so long "as she ordered right after them" that the time it was taken is unacceptable! She was very aggressively demanding answers and compensation.
This is where I would like to commend the manager and how he handled these appalling customers.
She requested again to know how this happened. So the manager proceeded to give them the receipts and highlighted the time stamps. To which she did not order directly after them. This was yet again "not acceptable" to the patron. The manager then proceeded to explain that cooking a meal takes time as we would all understand and appreciate. They then again demanded that their meals be free. to which he calmly replied "we can not do that"
they then proceeded to say that they will take their business elsewhere. The manager then stated he would follow up with the food and try and get it out urgently. When he was walking away all 3 of them were still proceeding to make a scene and demand free items or compensation.
I myself am a manager of a team of 24. I would like to praise your manager's handling of these disgraceful patrons. as he tried his best to deescalate the situation and handled it calm and collectively.
Personally I would hope that these individuals do not dine in public ever again, as it was disgusting the way they were behaving and down right aggressive towards all staff. Even their lack of consideration for others within the venue.
Is it fancy here? Nah. Is it great to eat lunch or dinner or to grab a drink and play pool or even to go to the pokies or even watch your AFL team play? Absolutely!!
I love the bartenders/servers as they are so friendly!!
I absolutely recommend the Fruit Tingle cocktail as it’s to die for or even the steak with garlic sauce. 🤤🤤
Perfect for a budget family dinner but with fantastic food and friendly service. Special prices for kids and pensioners. Will definitely come again. Parking along/behind BWS for hotel patrons only is handy.
Lovely to have a little lift for the disabled at The Royal. So easy for those with mobility issues to get into the venue. Lunch was enjoyable and the Manager and staff are wonderful too.
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