Review Sawyers Arms Tavern - Geelong

Absolutely recommended to go their the meals's were big and delicious and very quick to come out. The staff were wonderful. Their was a family of 4 come in and the daughter brought her teddy 🧸 and he had to have a seat too. The staff member was so wonderful and got a seat from another table, shortly after another table of 4 came in but they couldn't use that table. Because of 1 missing chair. The staff are amazing to cater for everyone. It was a fantastic experience.

Great meal with friends. Everyone enjoyed there meals and the service was impeccable not to mention how delicious the meals were. First time here but will definitely return. The ricotta gnocchi was exquisite.

Great atmosphere with friendly and efficient staff. The food was delicious and served with a smile. Would definitely recommend a return visit.

Free parking. Cozy environment. Nice staff and attentive. The restaurant was recommended by the staff of a nearby motel saying that the steak was outstanding. We came to have a try as we failed to find any good piece of meat in the past two weeks traveling along Great Ocean Road. The calamari plate was nice and appetizing. The fillet steak was perfectly prepared and flavorful. The other steak quality however did not meet expectations. Nothing special at all. Overall, the food provided met the prices set.

Had a great meal, and evening, recommended by friend, as we re visited Geelong.after many years.

Absolutely beautifully presented meals which tasted amazing. Had the Scorch filet last night and my Lizzy had the Salmon. Beautif tasting food cooked perfectly. Staff are attentive polite happy and made us feel at home. Would definitely return and recommend to all my friends.

very good food and great staff. very nice atmosphere

Enjoyed the food and the service. If you order the chicken parmi be prepared - it's a big meal!

Beautiful food in a relaxed atmoshpere with attentive happy staff. Meals were brilliant. Would definitely return.

This place is very nice. After a longer than planned day trip from Melbourne to 12 Apostles and back we stumbled onto this nice looking tavern. Needless to say, myself and my American tourist partner were dressed for travel not for dinner out. The manager (maybe owner) was more than accomodating seating us in this lovely full table service restaurant (with stand up bar on one side), despite being under dressed,in shorts and featuring full leg tattoos. The service by the table staff was friendly and accomodating, the food just great.<br/>Both mains were the two different steaks on the menu which were accompanied by a very nice red. If you are on your way through Geelong, make sure you have dinner here. You wont be dissappointed!

Wow !! Best pub meal in geelong by far !! The eye fillet was magnificent, prawn & calamari entree was perfect & the veal schnitzel was very good but could do with a potato side....service met standards & the chardonnay was the best I've had as a pub chardy. Didn't like having to buy a side of fries at the price but the rest made up for it. Will definitely be back !!

Whatever you do get the pork!. Service was great, very friendly.<br/>My partner and myself both ordered the chilli pork belly. This was amazing! Perfect crunch on the crackling but the meat wasn't dry. Don't be put off if you're afraid of spice, it was very mild and if asked they can tone it down.<br/>Dessert was a bit of a disappointment, after the main I was expecting big things but my tart was a bit under cooked. I'd definitely go again but give dessert a miss.

Good food, friendly service.. I have to say, I really like their homey atmosphere and table settings. Maybe because it's lunch time, it's nice and quiet.<br/><br/>We had "Pork and Pickled Ginger Wonton" to start, surprising it came out as 4 deep fried wontons sitting on some mixed Chinese style salad, Wontons were over fried, for that reason I couldn't taste much of it, but mixed salad was interesting to try, quite tasty.<br/>We also ordered the Salmon and Fillet Steak as our mains, they were both nicely cooked.

YUM- most definitely my new favourite. Yum yum yum. The food was amazing, service was great and atmosphere was nice and cosy. <br/>We have the eye fillet, lamb rump, Asian roast duck and seafood red curry.. Followed by dessert! Every meal was faultless. The chefs should be very proud of the dishes they are producing.

Grand destination for a lovely meal. Charming decor, magnificent meal, good service. All round winner.

Great atmosphere, food is okay, service is good. This used to be a regular haunt of ours for reliable pub food. I used to really like it but there are other better places in Geelong. It only does some things good and the food is pretty standard and a little expensive. The salmon steak is usually cooked perfectly. The desserts are always great. The steaks are pretty good. Everything else is kinda average, particularly the chicken meal and the duck is not good, way too over cooked and dry. However, as long as you get the right meal it is pretty good. I mostly go there for the atmosphere which is always great. Great place to go with a group of about 8 people.<br/><br/>I wish they would bring back the deconstructed snickers pudding. It was the best. If it is on the menu and you like chocolate, get it!

Good find in Geelong. Great staff, very nice food indeed. And nice and warm inside. Can't wait to go back. I had a pork terrine for entree and my companion had the meza plate. The terrine was tasty, but the meze plate was a bit of a disappointment. My main course eye fillet steak was worth the drive from melbourne just by itself The other main, also a steak, was apparently just as good. Lava pudding (no lava, just squidgy middle) and apple and rhubarb crumble for dessert...yum. We'll be back soon.

My husband and I ate here on Saturday night for the first time. The place was packed which is always a good sign. We had a mustard and cheese bread to start with which the waitress suggested (we were glad she did, it was yum). For mains I had the Coq au vin which was lovely. My husband had the veal which he enjoyed. The only thing I will say is I wish we ordered a side of greens, both dishes were lacking green veg. For dessert we shared the chocolate malten pudding. One word, Yum. I wish we had of ordered a dessert each it was that nice. So we had a great first time at Sawyers the food was amazing and the girls on the floor were lovely. The only thing letting this place down is the interior! The roof is about to fall down, the toilets have cracked tiles, the front door bangs closed and let's in a gust of wind every time it's opened. I think it's time the owners put a bit of money into the venu to get it looking presentable!

Nice place. Went out for a night without the kids. We walked in the door and there was only a single table occupied (thursday night) and the 'uh-oh' thoughts started coming. That was until we were led to our table near the fire and the other dining room was full! We both enjoyed our mains and the desert was great. Whilst others have described this as pub-grub or RSL fodder, I would suggest that these people need to get out a bit more. Everything was great and we quite enjoyed the atmosphere, although the interior could do with a minor revamp.<br/>Highly recomended

Full of older pretentious Newtownites !!!!

Brilliant food had roasted duck with Moroccan inspired lentils . Highly recommended . lovely atmosphere too. We live two hours away but will go again when we're in geelong

My boyfriend and I are both chefs and are often disappointed when we eat out but not with Sawyers Arms! One of the best meals we have both had in Geelong ever. Steak was cooked perfectly and my pork was so juicy and delicious. The deconstructed snickers bar for dessert was also fantastic.

Faith Restored. I tend to use this site to see reviews than write them but i have to say the experience we had at the Sawyers Arms last night restored my faith in the hospitality industry. <br/>excellent service from genuine friendly staff, my scotch fillet was cooked perfectly,and a good choice of wines. We all decided clats( as some call it) is always the venue to visit for a reliable night out

Very friendly and helpful staff, delicious meal and very cosy atmosphere!

Positive. Went there tonight. Was looking for somewhere a bit quieter on a sat night to get my mother out of her house. Didn't feel like battling the madding crowds with her. <br/>Was impressed with the food and service. Which surprised me because I had been there a few times before and disappointed. Great to see that the place was quite full of diners and Sawyers seem to have got their act together. The food was served fast and was the best i've had in Geelong for ages. Couldn't fault it. Highly recommend for a night out where you can hear the conversation.

Always a winner. Enjoyed a lovely dinner on a freezing Winter's night in the cosy dining room of the Sawyers. Warm friendly atmosphere and attentive wait staff. Excellent well cooked steak and chat potatoes for my partner and Moroccan chicken with cous cous and spiced apricot sauce for me. Delicious! Hadn't planned on having dessert but the sight of plate after plate of the home made vanilla ice cream with chocolate sauce and hazelnut praline that kept passing us on the way to other diners tempted us to indulge. We shared a plate (plenty big enough for 2) and if it wasn't frowned upon to lick your plates clean, we would have! Don't be put off by 1 bad review. I've been several times over the years and it's always a winner.

Reliable. On a Thursday night the place was chock full at 7. I had a good eye fillet, with a side of green veg, which was fine, and a rather singleminded and cool splodge of flavoured mash, which was rather hohum. Had a decent bottle of cab sav for $35. For dessert I had a cheese platter, featuring Watsonia Cheddar, Shadows of Gippsland, which is a bit bland but ok, and some generic Australian Brie that needed a few days out of the fridge. The entire cheese platter was straight out the fridge, far too cold-possibly a wise move in summer, but did it no favours.<br/><br/>My wife had duck and a choclote tart which were very nice.<br/><br/>Oh well, sounds like we had a much better time than geelong_diner!

This place is like having dinner at the RSL - Except the oldies here are more pretentious - dated pub atmos and generic pub food - I have been here a few times and each time I have felt the youth drained out of me by old know all men wearing polo shirts and their crypt keeper wives with over peroxided bobs, terribly tanned raison faces etc etc - 2 bob snobs - this place is full of them - Sawyers Arms is only good for 'taking ur Grandparents out for main course of pretense -urgh'

Our local gem. Been coming here almost ten years never disappoints! Food is always spot on and the staff welcome us back like old friends. Cozy table near the fire is a favorite in winter!

Maybe it was just an off day.... Did we just have a bad day? It can't always be like this.<br/><br/>My mother and I went for noon lunch, only us and another table at the time. There SEEMED to be a few staff, walking quickly backward and forward, but it took a lot of work to get drinks or indicate an order.<br/><br/>When the staff outnumber the patrons, you expect a bit of attention. Perhaps we should have booked for later than 12pm? It seemed there was a lot of running around and not much happening, at least in terms of our meal order, which took nearly an hour to arrive.<br/><br/>My steak was not only drastically overcooked, but cold on a cold plate. My mother's seafood bouillabaisse was very ordinary, with some frozen seafood snuck in to round out the canny tasting tomato base.<br/><br/>Having ordered the steak just rare, and it being so well-done, I asked for a rare one to be re-fired. Don't normally say anything but it really is not up to edible level. The wait person was apologetic and pleasant.<br/><br/>Nonetheless, fifteen minutes later, the waitress is now racing past us blind at double speed and Mum's bollaiabaise is now as cold as my vanished steak. I urge mum to please go ahead, she eats slowly as you do if you have to - waiting for another meal to arrive at the table. <br/><br/>Nearly half an hour later, the rare steak I ordered (came out Medium) is produced to the table. Mum's already finished. of course. Her plate is cleared and now she gets to sit and watch ME eat. Awkward.<br/><br/>It was so disappointing, and especially for the amount we paid (over $30 main - in what is in essence a dining area across from the pub bar - extra for sides; top dollar for wine) ...we didn't bother complaining.<br/><br/>We just won't EVER go back (like the other 9/10 of you that don't say anything at the time and just don't return).<br/>I hope this was just a one off bad experience but I won't be wasting my money again to give it another go.

Always Good. A great restaurant with a real "homely" feel to it. Service is very professional and the food is always fantastic. Decent wine list and good selection of boutique beers to boot, and the specials list never fails to disappoint. Great restaurant for a nice night.