The Elsdon - Melbourne
The Elsdon
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Very impressed with the Elsdon. The food was superb, especially given they were a chef down tonight. My only criticism would be that it doesn't really know what it is. It's trying to be both a bar and a restaurant which is confusing, but you have to remember where you are. Overall, the Elsdon is well worth considering and more than worthy of your hard earned.
I tried several times to book with a Voucher, everytime I rang there would be no answer. Finally I got through. We used this voucher on a Friday night. When we walked in the atmosphere seemed funky and cosy, but thats where it stopped, everything went downhill from there. We were taken to our table given some menus without any explanation what the voucher did or did not include, we werent even offered drinks!! After about 20 minutes we got the attention of a waitress, we asked for drinks, and had to ask her how it all worked. We were told we could spend $108, but there was no Rib Eye steak left, no entree Pork and 2 other dishes that had also run out, very strange considering the restaurant wasnt busy and this was early in the night. That didnt leave much on the menu at all, it was a small menu to start with, looking at it I would find it hard to spend $108 anyway. Our drinks took ages to come, not sure why as the bar staff looked bored as they had nothing to do, one guy was standing around chatting to his friends at a table, he may have even been the manager? All in all the staff seemed very inexperienced and confused as to what they had to do.Our entrees came which were lamb cutlets (2) and Bruschetta, both these dishes were very nice. We had also ordered Chicken Mignon and Paella and a bowl of chips. Each time we wanted to order a drink we had to get someones attention other wise we would have just been sitting there, they all just had no idea what you are supposed to do as a waiter/waitress. I would have been just as happy to go up and order our own drinks but they said it was table service.Then out came a bowl of chips, topped with cheese bacon and sour cream, lucky these were very filling as our main meals never came!!! After sitting there for 2 hours and 2 drinks, we went to the bar and asked what had happened. One waiter said "didnt I just take a plate off your table that had paellla on it" no that was our unfinished bowl of chips. By this stage we were so over this place we just wanted to leave, they said they would cook our main meals, but really we could have been there until midnight. The chef came out and said they were a chef down ( which I noticed that had been said on another review) but really chef the place was not busy! So by this stage we had got $65 worth of food and drinks, not $108, we asked for or money back and instead they gave us a bottle of wine and our voucher back so we could use it again! As if!!! This is by far the worst experience i have had in a restaurant EVER!!! I would never go here again!
As you will see from my reviews I like to dine out a fair bit but I must say this place tops my list as "Worst Restaurant In all Time" I had a booking for dinner at 6pm Saturday, which was booked back in April, so seeing it was booked several months before thought I should call on the day to confirm which I did and was told there was a function at 7pm but that was still fine to come at 6pm. Well we arrived, not greeted when we walked in we waited at the bar for service and then told to take a seat in the booth. We sat for several minutes then went to ask do we order at the bar or will someone come over. Mean while all these wedding guests were staring at us giving us the daggers. About 5 or so minutes later the manager sent over the new employee who was working her first shift so ask us to leave as the people had booked the whole place for a function, we explained we had driven an hour to get here and only confirmed a few hours prior, but we were told we would be paid to leave so we could go elsewhere. At no stage did the manager come over and apologise, this place was cold, un-inviting and darn right worst service I have ever received. I would not recommend this dark dingy place for a drink let alone a meal, I felt sorry for the people holding the reception they were still moving tables and disorganised at 6.30pm when people were arriving. The manager was rude and gutless to say the least. We were compensated with a bottle of wine for our humiliation with the seal broken on the wine.. nice.. Stay clear of this place its no wonder badly run places continue to change ownership. If you have a voucher be very wary... WORST ESTABLISHMENT IN MELBOURNE.. To be honest we were actually glad to leave as the place seemed like a seedy 70's style dirty place.
I was very impressed with the Elsdon. The food was excellent, especially considering they had a fill-in chef for the night. My only critique is that it lacks a clear identity. It attempts to be both a bar and a restaurant, which can be confusing. However, it is still a well-regarded establishment that is definitely worth your money.
Our food eventually arrived, and while the duck, lamb cuts, and Bruschetta were good, we never received our main dishes. After sitting for two hours with only two drinks, we inquired about our missing meals and were told that a plate of paella on another table was mistakenly thought to be ours. At this point, we were fed up and requested a refund. Instead, we were given a bottle of wine and the voucher back. This was the worst restaurant experience I have ever had, and I will not be returning.
