Review The Lincolnshire Arms Hotel - Essendon

The Lincolnshire was quite busy and unfortunately abit noisy. I wouldn't recommend it if you wanted a quiet setting to chat. However, considering it was busy, what seemed limited staff, did an amazing job. Were very helpful and friendly and the food was really nice.

The food in the bistro was pretty ordinary. Staff were extremely pleasant and friendly. Venue is clean. We had a drink in the pub which has a really lovely atmosphere. Again very clean and comfortable. I'd definitely go back for a drink. I would eat tgere again for a basic meal when I can't be bothered cooking, but not chose this bistro as a venue to go out for dinner.

I have frequently eaten at the Linc for twenty years and unfortunately I will not be back for a meal any time soon. I noticed the menu has changed to a smaller choice and prices have risen. (Fair enough due to Covid )Ten meals were ordered, Parma was bland, roast pork dry and the chicken caeser salad was just ok, however the fish and chips and calamari was very nice. Good pub for a drink but food has gone downhill.

Ok. Good if you want a beer. I wouldn’t bring the family. We didn’t eat, but watched others order, then leave the meals as they didn’t like them…

Lovely pub with a very welcoming atmosphere. Enjoyed meeting some new people, having a chat and enjoying the afternoon. Thank you.

Manager was accommodating after a rocky start...lol All fixed quickly & everyone happy. The seniors that I were with were disappointed their was no evening senior's meals..hahaha Oh well you cannot please everyone. Thanks

Due to the pandemic it had been quite a while since I had been there last. Very relaxing with pleasant ambience. Menue was small but a good variety to choose from. I chose steak and was very pleased with my choice.

Nice and peaceful pub. Friendly staff and great food. Good place to bring your mates for a few pints!

Let’s be honest, we only ever come here when we can’t be bothered cooking, and in the hopes that the food might get better - and it doesn’t.<br/>The gravy tastes very metallic, you can tell the fish is not fresh and old (smell and taste), etc...nothing good to say about the food. Good prices, fast service, but all to neglect the quality and flavours of the food. though the lasagna seems ok (maybe frozen from Coles).<br/>And the stupid thing is this place always seems busy!!

Happily Surprised<br/>This pub has had some bad reviews of late with 6 reviews listed in the past 16 months with rating of 2, 1.5,  1, 5. 1,  and 1 certainly a worry (the 5 looks very much like an insider with 1 review in total). but we were out that way and decided to take a chance last Sunday for lunch (3 Nov).  We were really pleased we did.<br/>The staff were friendly from the start.  We ordered the 'Bruschetta' and 'Treble Dips' for starters and both were excellent.  I was surprised now good the Treble Dips was and even go as staying the Bruschetta was one of the best I have had.   <br/>Mains - I had 'Veal Scallopini' which can be a hit and miss dish but it was nice.  One friend had a special 'Butterfish' and he loved it.  I tried it and I would order it for myself next time.  Another friend had 'Meat Lasagne' which looked really good and he said it he liked it.  Sadly he has no tastebuds and you are lucky if you get the chance to sample his order.  His wife had 'Vegetarian Pizza' which she enjoyed and she gave me some and again would be happy to order it.<br/>Maybe the staff have received a kick up the backside or they are new.  Whatever, the kitchen staff did a top job and the waitress was interactive and happy. The barstaff were good too.<br/><br/>Give it a go,  Based on our experience they have upped their game and well done to them

I have been going to the Linc for a very long time and you can usually get an average to good pub meal there. Went last night and ordered the fish special which was grilled rockling. It arrived in a timely manner but was cold, undercooked, not grilled (sitting in water in the plate so possibly steamed or poached), and inedible. I did not eat it and was not offered a refund. I will not return.

Went for lunch on the 12th April. We arrived early at 11:30am and the young lady setting up the dining area was about as friendly as a brick wall. <br/><br/>We were told that we could sit in the dining area however they were still setting up. We were ok with this and appreciated that we were early so would wait until the dining room and kitchen were ready. The lady setting up did not provide us with a menu to browse however continued to set up by placing menus on all tables expect ours. This we thought was very strange. I mean, wouldn't you come over and say "we are still getting set up however here is a menu to browse".<br/><br/>When the kitchen did open I ordered the parma. Hands down the worst parma going in Melbourne. Soggy, oily as all get out and they served it with overcooked chips and boiled cabbage. I was told that if I wanted salad it would be an additional $3.00. <br/><br/>We only visited as we had an entertainment voucher. Its a shame as its in a prime location and the  renos look amazing. The service and food left much to be desired.

The young manager needs to work on his "service" skills. My partner and I have never sent food back, we're pretty reasonable. The chef was clearly hoping we wouldn't say anything, the parma he sent out was burnt and inedible. Manager says he's so sorry and what else would we like. The whole thing was awkward, followed by more awkwardness when they refunded his inedible dish and then charged us for the new dish after having to wait an hour for food. Wow, just comp it next time, maybe then you'd get return customers.

LOVE THIS PLACE. The warm, inviting decor is a delight in winter, as is the menu. Whether I order the moist sumptuous pork cutlet, steak, or fresh and spicy Thai green curry, the meals are cooked perfectly time and time again. It's pleasant to notice the friendly staff always checking on whether the meals and service are satisfactory. Oh, and the bars are lovely and big, clean and uncluttered. Have been there a at least a dozen times for dinner, and it's fast become an absolute favourite. Feels like a second home hahahah.

Calamari was soggy/stringy and oily, the chips are average. Parma on Tuesday special night was alright. Pretty average food for the cost and location.

I have never been treated more inappropriately or rudely than by the young manager at this venue. After making a booking for dinner he decided to set our table at 5:50 while we still enjoying our drinks. When we asked if he would please wait to set the table he accused us on not being there for dinner. He was Incredibly rude, aggressive and inappropriate. He needs some serious customer service skills. <br/><br/>The rest of the staff I have always found to be friendly and obliging but the hotel is not as busy as it used to be and one must wonder if the floor manager is part of the issue. If other reviews are also read there appears to be a common theme here

Lincolnshire arms is your classic Aussie pub! Good vibes and a great Parma! And in the sports bar it's a measly $10! Incredible value. Would recommend to friends and family. <br/>

Portions and prices for the meals here are quite reasonable. The meals themselves are a little lack lustre, but not many pubs serve 5 star meals anyway and we didn't expect anything fancy. The menu caters for vegetarians & GF if needed; as well as having the obligatory kid's menu. It was a such a busy night, with the dining tables and the sports bar tables pretty much full. The staff were run off their feet; but were quite friendly and apologetic about our meals being delayed. We waited approx. 45mins for our food.....lucky the good company we were with kept us occupied with conversation. However, it was a different story for the kids on our table.....they were ready to chew their arms off!

Perfect roast pork lunch on a quiet Saturday. Nice environment for being able to talk with low background music. Comfortable chairs at good height to table. Dined using Entertainment Book. I would recommend.

The only good the thing that comes out of the linc is the multi screens in the sports bar. Food is horrible, service is worse. Decor is uninspiring and very dark inside. The bar service looked confused like he'd never made a Malibu and coke before..<br/>Pokies attracts a lot of shady people, would never go without my partner (Got followed to the car park twice by two shady men). <br/>Food is laughable, bolognese is traditionally made with beef or veal, not PORK! And main meat comes out very dry, no such thing to them is rare, or medium-rare. Only thing I can digest is the soup. When presenting the meat to the service, they were the least bit concerned and went back to chatting instead of serving. <br/>DONT TRUST THIS PLACE, DONT FEEL SAFE OR WELCOME.

Food here is pretty bland and the line to order makes me feel odd, like I'm lining up to be slaughtered or something. I would only recommend this place for food if you are actually going there to drink and you need to soak up the booze. Also overpriced.

Came here at 8:30pm for two people and was made to rush our dinner order. I find this quite strange as most kitchens would start to pack up more towards 9pm. Ordered two medium steaks with mushroom sauce, one definitely came out medium and well for mine more medium-well to well done. Still tender which was good. A good selection of vegetables on offer too. Service not the best, food was just average pub food.

I have been here a few times. We had the chicken parmigiana tonight. It was fresh and tasty. The serves are quite generous and the drinks are reasonably priced. Ok pub food.

Oh, The Linc. What a love-hate relationship I have with this pub. On one hand it has been a solid watering hole and post-parma review hangout for many years. On the other hand it has been our lowest rated parma since 2011, with a total score of just 1.65 on our first visit, and 2.74 when it had it’s first redo, exactly 99 parma attempts ago.

Great meal had the special steak good service and reasonably busy for a Saturday lunch will come again well worth the visit reasonable priced also

My family and I booked to eat dinner here last night for a birthday, and staff over the phone made life so much easier for us, as there were going to be 20 of us coming, and I didn't want to be squashed like most pubs do. We had all the space we needed, the staff helped carry the drinks over to our table, and the food all came out as we asked, entrees followed by mains. Unfortunately we were too full to have desert because of how nicely portioned the meals were. All 20 of us said that the atmosphere, food, and staff were 10/10 and we will all definitely come back here! I had the salt and pepper calamari and it was to die for! Everybody left with a smile, and a full stomach :) <br/>Highly recommend!!

The meals were great value. I went with the family and we all really enjoyed the meal. Plenty to chose from. The pub was warm and friendly and the staff were helpful. Will definitely be back!

Was not impressed the food was dry and I didn't finish it, that goes for the chips and the parma. The place is nice with plenty of sports on big screens just a shame about the food.

Firstly the meals are huge, definitely value for money so a big ✔️. Now for the negatives.. The sides, vegetables and chips or pay an extra 3.50 for salad. Paid the extra for a salad and hubby loved it, I love veggies so was happy with veggies as the side until the arrived... Sautéed carrots and cabbage is bland and boring and shows that they don't care what they serve as a side, well this Parma was nice but wasn't that mind blowing that you forget how much the veggies sucked!!! Would go back if force to, oh yeah, forgot to mention the entertainment in the bar next door which screamed through the bistro, even if you didn't want to hear it you had no choice, whoever told the woman she could sing needs a hearing test, she was brutal and judging by the size of the audience I am not alone with my opinion!!! Would go back under duress!!!

Worst "risotto" I have ever had the displeasure of eating. Don't know how you could even serve this as a risotto. It was more like a dry duck with soggy stir fry and a small bowl of what seemed to be white rice not even arborio turned out on the side, and that duck was 110% not confit. And beyond that, it is so over priced for the quality, size, service, "ambiance". Don't waste your money. Creme, demazzi and dribbles are all better options within eye sight.

Really bad service, not a smile,waitress is doing her best to ignore us,you have to stand up to order,stand up for water,stand up for wine, no sense of welcoming at all. And this is even before lunch served. Paid $ 75 for that is really painfull.

The meals here are average at best. I do frequently eat here, but its more out of convenience than anything else. Its a shame the meals aren't better as i really do love this pub. <br/>I recently are here for the first time in 18 months and I must say that the food has drastically improved

What a great meal! I came with low expectations and was blown away! Service was so friendly and nothing was a problem. The garlic prawn entree to share was beautiful. We each had a steak and it was actually cooked the way we wanted for the first time in a long time - often when I order medium it turns up well done. But this was truly medium. It was HUGE and I took home almost 200g of steak (after signing a form). We shared an apple and rhubarb crumble which is cooked to order and was simply delicious. Using the entertainment book voucher our dinner was sensational value and I'd happily return without the voucher. Form where we were sitting we could see into the kitchen and they run a tight ship in there - very impressive. Thank you to the kitchen and service staff for a fantastic night! Highly recommended.

This is a review I did not want to write. We went into the Lincolnshire Arms knowing that it wasn't going to be a great parma, but after 74 attempts we could avoid it no longer. It had to be done.

Vegetarian meals are stingy and small. <br/>The Vegetarian Lasagne doesn't even come with chips or salad.<br/>Vegetarian Pumpkin Ravioli entree size comes with 4 pieces of ravioli and for an extra $7 you get the main with an extra 2 pieces of ravioli. The sauce didn't really blend well with the ravioli and I had 2 pieces of pumpkin mixed in. <br/>Vegetarian Risotto had next to no flavour. <br/>The Chicken Schnitzel and kids Roast with vegetables were delicious though.

THE LINC. Loved the food...loved the atmosphere....definitely going back.

Great Local. I attend this pub on a weekly basis and always receive the warmest of welcomes. The staff are friendly and geniunely want you to enjoy your visit. The food is always to a high standard and cooked to perfection. I can honestly say that I'm glad this pub is my local.

Crappy Staff. Lovely pub, first time I had been there ... meals were quite nice!<br/>Rather annoying to have the staff using the dining room as the staff room/play room discussing from the kitchen to the bar to the dining room at the top of their voices things such as rosters, when they can go home, how to train people and even a back cracking session between them ... very inappropriate and irritating while paying good money to enjoy a meal. Nothing a proper manager wouldn't sort out in a heart beat.

A great improvement. What a pleasure to see the link back to the great standard that it once was. The menu was interesting and the food we had was wonderful, presentation was good, service was pleasant and professional. We were certainly start going back now after the improvement in quality of food and reasonable prices.

Rude Staff. As with another review I have read I also have been playing Trivia here and find the managers to be very rude.<br/>The girls behind the bar are friendly when they are there, most of the time you have to wait to get served. The 3 managers Danny , Declan and another guy have no management skills at all. They have cheap drinks will trivia is on<br/>but when we won a drink card and waited at the bar for 10 mins and could not get service we were told very rudely that we would have to use it in another bar and pay full price as trivia was over. When I asked for the card back I was very rudely treated. These guys have no idea about customer service.

LOVED IT!! Will return with Mum & Dad. Having had an ok (just) meal there three years ago, was looking forward to a great night (company wise) with three friends.<br/><br/>Was amazed that the four main meals we had (pork, duck, porterhouse, calamari) was melt in the mouth fantastic! LOVED IT!<br/><br/>Will even take Mum & Dad and THEY are harsh critics.<br/><br/>Thanks for a greatt night!

The wife, kids and I will pop in for dinner once a month. Positives: Good food, generous servings, menu has variety. The lady who serves the ice cream is terrific. Great customer service. Also a reasonably hot chick behind the bar.<br/>Negatives: drinks are pricey. The tall young kid behind the counter doesn't want to be there. Never smiles.

Rude Waitstaff. A social night at trivia with friends turned quite sour by the manger at the Linc, a dubious title for the man whose 'management' left much to be desired. At the end of the night when I went to pay my tab (started because of an irritating card minimum) I had been overcharged.I told the barmen, who seemed not to care, what I had bought throughout the night and found the mistake on the receipts. I recalled when and who I had been served by and was told "I can't do anything about that". I was made to come back the next day to sort it out after no interest or effort was made to sort it out that night. It was frustrating and I was upset by the indifference and automatic distrust hung on me. All I hoped for was a bit of courtesy and effort shown to myself who had been a cheerful, polite patron in a well mannered group.<br/><br/>The industry is called 'Hospitality' for a reason, and what the Linc lacks in that it doesn't compensate for in ambiance or food so maybe some staff retraining is in order, with being polite the first order of buisness

ZZZ. Woeful. Another $70 down the drain at "The Linc". <br/><br/>The $27 Parma (after paying $3 extra for a side salad) was tasty enough but at that price you're expecting something above average. Fish special (Butterfish) was tender. Salad was good but I was halfway through a bottle of white by that stage. Garlic bread entree was a tooth chipping dessert by the time it came out post mains. The McCains or whatever chips that accompanied both meals scream cutting corners and a willingness to milk the diner. <br/><br/>Paint by numbers decor and eating amongst Bikies, bogans and down on their luck pokies types added nicely to the typical outer suburbs pub experience.<br/><br/>Second time we've eaten there and we'll never go back.<br/><br/>AVOID.

Very disappointing, steak was tough & veal was like leather. We won't be back.

Saturday night out for dinner. Have not eaten at the Linc for a decade or so. Pleasantly surprised at the lay back atmosphere of the lounge bar area and open plan fit out. <br/>Dinner was quite OK for pub food. <br/>Started with entree pork spring rolls. Very generous portions and definitely quality made on premises. Followed up with duck breast in asian greens. Duck was good.<br/>The other main....a flash from the past? Chicken Saint Jacques. Very tender chicken portions in creamy sauce with scallops. Again a very generous serve supported with copious amounts of seasomal vegatables.<br/>Quality wine list for pub. Short but quite good selection. Very reasonable prices.<br/>Caring attentive young waitstaff. A good night out

Put your arms up!. Always a safe bet here, have now been many times, never disappoints. Great value tasty food.

Good local pub food.

Last minute booking for dinner on a quiet NYE. Being local this place is well known, simple pub fare, quick service, had the saganaki cheese and pasta olieviri, nice meal. Always seems to be a safe choice

First time and we'll be back. Let me start by saying that the food was great. I had the pork and the wife had barramundi. We were with a few others and there were no complaints from their meals. It's a pub so meal quality certainly surprised us in a good way. Staff were generally good but rushed off their feet. Only puzzled moment (not complaint) was when I asked where my meal was when the other 6 meals had come out, I got the answer "it's coming out shortly as it was ordered separately" which was correct but it was ordered BEFORE the other meals. I just laughed and just enjoyed the meal.

Disgusting. They should be ashamed of charging almost 24$ for a soggy, cold and disgusting Parma ... With hardly any chips and no salad!!! Salad was n extra 3.50$!!! don't eat there!!!! Worst service ever too...

Good food for a local. I usually get salt and pepper calamari. Parma is not the best here though.

No wonder no one was here.Soggy Parma ,cold chips etc,Won't be back.

Good Service. Shocking food. We went 6.30pm - so not even peak. Ordered steak and a pasta. Steak was SO dry with a tiny drizzle of bad gravy. Pasta was badly over cooked and lacked any form of flavour. Best thing about the night was garlic bread. Total bill $70+ for food worse then a cheap steak from coles. This isnt the first time i have been let down. I have had dinner there over 5 times and food is very inconsistent.

Love the Linc. I'm an Essendon local and a linc regular. Friday nights at the linc are a no brainer. I often head there straight after work with the girls from work, just in time for happy hour. We then end up booking a table and ordering a parma or their roast of the day- awesome. Desserts are to die for too!! Good value and good staff. I recommend this place

Love it. The soups here are fantastic. You can tell they're made properly and with care. The pork cutlets are to die for, and they change the"flavour" regularly. Kids are looked after too with a free icecream and topping dessert. It's always busy so it's best to book a table.

Has never been the same since the Reno

Pleasant surprised by the service and standard of food here. It's a pub so expect pub type food, but the porterhouse steak was perfectly cooked and the quality good. The rest of our meals were also served quickly and everyone enjoyed them. Good variety of menu items so there something to keep even the fussiest of eaters happy. I'll be back.