Review Hardimans Hotel - Melbourne

The pizzas and the chips were great. Staff friendly and helpful! Extensive drinks menu and very reasonable in pricing too. Lots of sections to host your own little party and well heated courtyard for cooler nights.

Food definetely solid, good quality ingredients and well prepared - only reason it gets four stars is because of the price , $25 for this cheeseburger is too much despite it being tasty. Drinks are nice , decent beer and bartenders are generous when pouring spirits.

This use to be my little local back in the olden days with such great partial memories 🤫 came back a couple years later (last week) for lunch and was glad I came back to visit this old friend. The vibe in this place is always light and homely with a great outlook. The beer garden is an enclosed, comfortable area with an array of plants and trees with plenty of seating and an outdoor bar to serve ! The food was a little on the dear side but did not underwhelm! The feature for me was the beer selection ! Stouts, Pilsner’s, crafts, IPAs come in all shapes and sizes ! The oat stout was a tasty little snack. Will always come back to this place!

Fantastic place. Friendly staff, great food and good prices. Trivia on Tuesdays. Pet friendly

Hardimans is a great looking pub with plenty of options for seating. Sit inside in a comfy booth or take the doggo and enjoy the beer garden and deck. Easy to get to by train or bus if you're a bit further away than a walk. Good selection of beers and food.

Good vegan options, craft beer on tap, great service, lovely beer garden for a summers afternoon, what more could you want? Pictured is the eggplant Parma with vegan cheese 👌

Classy fit out My first time. Very impressive great wine selection and our dinner of steak sandwich and I had the gnocci only compliant was Luke warm but beautifully presented and was delicious. Needed some sourdough toast Just saying. Definitely recommend of your after somewhere better than the usual stuff

Good range of beers on tap with specials. They had local and beers from other states plus a bar fridge with a good range. Also a good range of wines and spirits. Nice food but a little on the pricey side for what you get. Good value when you get a food special.

We ordered take away (because of Covid restrictions) chicken parma, Delicious! the meal was that large, it was enough for 2 meals

It all started with a call to Plough Hotel in Footscray for an extra large group booking over the long weekend (with ample notice). Because we had kids, pregnant ladies and all, it would be reasonable to have a few dietary requirements. Guess what? No changes to the menu. No drink specials. Lots of rules etc. We were like .. you know what? We'll just take the 30 people else where. Found Hardimans which we hadn't been past since we were kids when it was an old TAB pub. Haven't left. Never disappoints. Well done team. Especially to the bar staff upstairs who work hard to get food and drinks out in time.

Very nice fit out. Great range of beers, wines and spirits. This is a venue that very much appeals to mainstream professionals ie the spring racing carnival set. Food is standard bistro fare. Staff get the job done but are all very young rather than hospo professionals. Huge range of local beers on tap but the staff don’t seem to be trained or interested on tasting notes etc which is odd for such an offering. It is what it is and worth a look.

Hardiman's has been there in its new reincarnation for a while now, and I find it a family friendly place to go and have some reasonably priced food that is slightly better than the average pub. It may not reach the heights of some of the fancier gastropubs - but all in all the quality is reasonable, the prices are pretty good, and the atmosphere is nice. <br/><br/>In my experience the pizzas are on par with the best that Kensington has to offer. The meals vary in quality a bit - some are a bit too salty for my taste, but overall there are at least as many hits as there are misses. It has a broad selection of beer and wine. And is well fit out - there is some outdoor seating when the weather is fine, some nice booths for larger parties and regular tables too.

I called in here for a pre dinner drink w my partner. The set was friendly and attentive.<br/><br/>This pub has some excellent craft beers on tap and there was not 1 commercial beer yay!! <br/><br/>Some of the beers included Hargreaves Hill, Moon Dog, Baxter, Stomping Ground, Quiet Deeds, Venom<br/>Brewing, Beatnik and Mountain Goat.<br/><br/>I tried a Hargreaves Hill Scandinavian IPA (No 3) which was really tasty, and my partner also had a craft beer. <br/><br/>This place is impressive, they have an outdoor courtyard, an indoor casual restaurant area and at the front of the pub, an amazing fishbowl glasses in area which would be amazing for people watching hahaha. Next time. <br/><br/>This place is definitely worth a visit.

We dined at Hardimans Hotel on a Monday night. Have visited here before maybe a year ago for drinks and it was much quieter than tonight probably because happy hour was in full swing and they had a number of full priced mains reduced to just $15. Our table had the Margherita pizza, potato pizza, cheese burger, steak sandwich and a selection of vegetarian friendly dishes. Food was substantial and well cooked. My steak sandwich was delicious and KD raves about her potato pizza. <br/><br/><br/>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<br/>Previous Review<br/>We called into this really nice pub for pre dinner drinks tonight. I must say the new fitout of this classic pub building works a treaty the bar has a great variety of unique beers on tap including local Kensington breweries. The do a great Aperol Spritz too which always goes down a treat. One of the nicer spritzers the good lady wife has had she claims. I had the Moon Dog Beer Can Tropical Ale which was summertime in a glass.

i have had a few lunches here but still to eat something worth paying for. We decided to go one night to try the Parma....big fail it was soggy and under cooked glad it was just us as i would have been embarrassed to bring people here for dinner. We also work nearby and most people will not return due to the food and its steep lunchtime prices. Hardimans you really have to re think your menu and the food, its a shame because the actual venue is nice.

Up market pub with good food and a couple of great beers. They are also making efforts to reconnect with the local community after a long closure for renovations.

i like this place... the convenience of being at the end of my road helps! love their wine list and service always friendly. outside area is also dog friendly. highly recommend the nachos but not sure about the calamari. My friend loved the ribs though! give this place a go!

The kids pizzas are huge! I had the cheeseburger on a GF bun, it was served with chips and coleslaw and they were delicious. The burger pattie itself could be improved but the rest of it was great! My dining companions had a chorizo pizza and said it was amazing! The chicken burger was pretty good and the Espresso martinis were a winner!

They've done it up nicely, though I have to admit the old hardimans had more charm. Outdoor area is beautiful though and the wine list has definitely improved compared to before. I just wish they had healthy food options. First time I went for the braised beef salad, expecting something light and fresh, but it was an extremely heavy meal, meat was very very fatty and everything was very oily, greasy and unpleasant to eat. Popcorn chicken was inedible. Second time, I chose the barramundi, hoping for something healthy and light this time, but it was unnecessarily swimming in half a bottle of oil, lacking a starchy side, and I don't think the candied walnuts and Moroccan dressing, though nice enough, made any sense with a fish dish. Service is friendly and efficient and prices are okay given the generous serves, but they should have a specials night like other pubs.

Best chicken parma in Melbourne.<br/><br/>This newly pub is our new favourite for parmas, been here twice now in the last 3 weeks. Also tried the chicken burger which was delicious. On top of great food and drinks, the ambience is really lovely, and the furnishings are really modern and classy.<br/><br/>Great place for a group catchup, and will definitely be coming here again.

We went to Hardimans three Fridays in a row. We are new to the area and we were excited by it's opening and felt it would tick a lot of our boxes. We even hoped it would be great the start of a Friday 'tradition'. I can't really say how disappointed I am by Hardimans. The food is the real deal breaker... I cannot understand how it is so awful! We kept going back 'one more time' as we were so keen for it to work and thought maybe it was just an off day/chef. But honestly, the food has been at times inedible. Whyyyyyy????? Are any of the staff tasting the food? Like it's not 'ok' it's BAD. Who is making this food?? I had a potato/blue cheese pizza on the final visit and it was I'm sorry to say.... disgusting..... oily mush. I was starving and couldn't finish the first slice. I don't understand how they have not corrected this and turned things around. Secondly, the atmosphere/hospitality is lacking. Unknowingly I'm sure, the person who appears to be the manager of the place has been pretty unwelcoming on each occasion. Where's the smiles/ welcome/ warmth / eagerness for feedback? I mean it when I say we want Hardimans to work, but for now we will not be returning after giving it plenty of chances.

Despite the lovely new fit out it lacks warmth and ambiance due to a lack of comfy lounge areas and big tv screens playing sports nobody was watching. Food seems to be as confused as the Hardiman’s itself , waitresses just clear up after your meal not asking how it was, feels more like an upmarket food court.

Went to the newly renovated Hardimans for dinner - was so excited to try it out as it looks great but that was where the greatness stopped.<br/><br/>Food was average at best, burger was dry and blergh, Parma wasn’t great either. These are two items every pub should be able to nail. Pricing for these were at the higher end of the scale which is usually fine but what was served doesn’t justify the cost.<br/><br/>The desert was ok but inconsistent - we had the Italian donuts - a friend who had theirs earlier had nice fluffy donuts - ours were hard and over cooked - the ice cream also was incorrect for both. <br/><br/>No special atmosphere, just screens with sports and average music. Service wasn’t particularly attentive either except for when they try to take your half full drinks from the table before you have a chance to finish them.<br/><br/>Won’t be back any time soon.

Having visited Hardimans Hotel in two of its previous lives, it was an absolute pleasure to dine here a couple of times recently after its magnificent new fit out.<br/>Being big bright and open, there are a number areas inside and out, both at ground level or upstairs to enjoy good beers and wines.<br/>Of course the kitchen at Hardimans is doing a fantastic job.<br/>Meals are generous and good value.<br/>Service could be a lot better.

We waited 30 mins for our meals on a Friday night - seated at 7.30pm. We were seated on the raised area which was very noisy and hard to talk to each other.<br/>We had fish and chips which was so salty my partner could not eat and had to eat my meal. I had the parmagiana which was ok apart from being served luke warm - not sure why is wasn’t hot. My friend had the porterhouse which was cooked perfectly - so well done on getting one out of the three meals right.<br/>Our first time here being a new venue and don’t think we will be back. Will go back to the railway hotel in Yarraville. Sorry guys.

ONE OF THE WORST VENUES THAT I HAVE EVER VISITED. I rarely feel disgruntled enough to complain online however felt that people should be warned of this aesthetically beautifully refurbished building with some of the worst service that I have ever experienced. Take your business elsewhere.

Finally had the chance to try out the new Hardiman's Hotel last Monday night.  This has been a highly anticipated visit as Mr B & I have walked past the construction site nearly everyday for the last year waiting for it to open.  The premise to this story is that I think Kensington has been really looking forward to having a large, modern pub.  Somewhere everyone can feel welcome.  Where the food is decent and the facilities comfortable and inviting. Upon my early days visit, Hardiman's certainly delivers on some of those wishes. <br/><br/>The hotel now shines like a golden beacon in the middle of the shopping strip on Macaulay Road.  It is inviting and visually impressive. Much more enticing than its previous incarnation. The bar and lighting glow warmly as you close in on the establishment, and when you enter you soon can tell no expense has been spared on fittings, furniture and decor.  What you will also notice though is exactly how shiny this place is.  For want of a better descriptor Hardiman's is very white.  There is no art work or theme.  It's a lot of various shades of white, dulled by dimmed golden lighting, green chairs and black font where required.  Very chic...but admittedly bare.  <br/><br/>The downstairs floor space is filled with a mixture of dining tables, leather bound curved booths and bar stool/bench combinations.  There is a noticeable lack of lounge or relaxed space inside, giving the interior a feel of an upmarket gastropub where you would only go to eat rather than have a few pints with your friends.  Meals are ordered at the bar though, so there is some intent to be a regular pub.  There are also a lot of TVs with turned down sports channels playing.  Maybe one too many.  The long overdue, outside space is where I imagine you are going to find everyone in Summer relaxing.  Well appointed, lit and even heated for the colder months.  Something that we really have missed in Kensington. <br/><br/>Food and drink here was my highlight.  Great local beers available...and when I say local I mean Kensington's own Henry St & Bonehead Breweries.  20 taps of exceptional variety and crafty goodness from all over Victoria and beyond.  Service was new, (a little confusion about table numbers and orders, but nothing unforgivable) but genuine and friendly. Mr B's capricciosa pizza was generous and my pan fried gnocchi tasted beautiful.  Prices are reasonable, but not the cheapest you can find. Also...weirdly there was no coffee available.<br/><br/>I had mixed feelings about my visit to Hardiman's.  It is certainly an improvement and will cater to a lot of people in Kensington...but maybe not everyone. I left feeling a bit confused about what it wants to be. There are no weeknight specials or happy hours, which takes away from it feeling like a pub.  There is certainly a decent menu, food and dining space, which tells me its intent is to be a top dining contender in Kensington, but who opens a restaurant without a coffee machine in Melbourne?  The ambience is also let down by sport on TV everywhere you look, the non descript background music and the starkness of the decor.  If I was to judge it solely as a pub, I'd say it has an amazing bar and drink selection and a very nice outdoor space, but I wouldn't call it a beer garden.  And where's the relaxed indoor space? A couch or comfy chair around a coffee table wouldn't go astray. These things that I like may or not come, and if they don't I can't say it's exactly what I hoped Hardiman's would be, but it's not a bad place and still worth dropping into for a nice pint and meal nonetheless.