builders arms hotel bar and bistro

my partner and i initially called in here for a couple of pre dinner drinks. it was reasonably busy inside but there were a lot ofstaffwho were over attentive to the point where we didn’t want to stay any longer so we only had 1 drink.

they had a reasonable range of craft beers here and a restaurant inside as well. i’d probably find somewhere quieter next time.

oh what a disappointment.. pork served not as described on the menu, where the hell was the crackling????
fish pie a hollow starving over-salted concoction.
but the bread was really lovely and the 2nd and 3rdstaffmembers very apologetic.

went to the builders arms for their wine tasting festival. jam packed with happy drinkers, the day was fabulous with delicious nibbles, epic beers (literally) and a really interesting variety of wines.
thestaffwere cool, calm and super friendly. onestaffmember in particular was so helpful, and even happily checked a coat into the cloakroom (even though the bar was chockablock with customers). sounds like a small request, but i was very impressed at how accommodating thestaffat builders arms were during such a big event. cannot wait for next year. thank you!

excellent in every way. great food well executed, expertstaffand nice atmosphere. will be back for more.

steak was cold - nostaffinterested in taking their blinkers off and coming over to the table - took it home and gave to dog at least he was happy

upscale pub grub. delightful art deco fitout, and a small menu that has something for everyone. food is fine. wine menu is considerably more impressive. kitchen seems a bit slow. floorstaffare on their game though

sunday lunch at the builders arms can't be beaten. traditional chicken parma with a twist is the go to on a cold wet winters day.

the atmosphere is relaxed and the barstaffare on point. the servicestaffand food was to die for. i had an issue with my meal and not only did thestaffact promptly and offer to remake the meal, they offered a full cash refund upfront. good old fashion customer service with the right spirit. will be back for sure and sing there praises.

in a competitive restaurant market as inner melbourne. it's great to experience real service. five stars.

gene isaacs

was excited on getting some decent pub food and builders arms looked great, pub vibes without feeling too dingy. crowd andstaffwere nice if not overworked, but thats where it ends. the food was shockingly average. fish pie with decent but overdone pastry - clearly filled with frozen produce. everything tasted like old seafood. one prawn. for a high price of $35. the scotch eggs tasted like cheap sausage and the pasta was edible. usually im pretty easy with food but huge disappointment when the bread is the best part of the meal.

very bad service... thestaffare very disorganised, forget orders.. the food order was taken wrong and we had to wait a ridiculous amount of time for the order to get rectified. the bad service seems to be very consistent so we definitely would not be returning..

we visited the bar for an early saturday dinner. staffwere doing their best, but the bar was understaffed and there was a long wait to order. the stand out dish was the whipped roe. fish pie was good, albeit the sauce very runny.

every time that i come here is a different experience. but today i was more than satisfied, thestaffis so good an attentive in general at the restaurants of this group. i definitely come back with this kind of service.?

builders arms hotel epitomises the sophisticated modern australian pub fare. the highlight of my experiences here was the whole roasted rainbow trout. the fleshy fish was fresh and had a lovely hint of french (i suspected it was the burnt butter). the roast pork with "best ever" crackling is also a must-have to share between few people, albeit some parts of the meat was slightly dry and required mustard for enhanced taste. the fried cauliflower starter was also quite cumulus-esque which i really enjoyed. though i really liked the freshness of the mussels, i wasn't the biggest fan of the curry taste in its sauce. otherwise, the sides at builders arms were very quality too, along with an extensive wine list! overall, i've enjoyed my dining experiences at builders arms. it's perfectly wrapped up with the divine dark chocolate and orange truffle. the price you pay for the quality of meals here is very justified. however, i've rated this place lower than i'd liked due to slow, uncoordinated, and unfriendly service. the inattentivestaffhere seemed to have thrown decorum out the window and wasn't very hospitable especially when it came to moving tables (we were rushed out due to a two hour booking slot), and getting the bill. but when it comes to food and wine, you can't go wrong with anything related to andrew mcconnell so i definitely won't hesitate to come back for the food in hopes that service would improve.

a little good and a little bad. went there expecting great things as i've read plenty of top reviews. i'll start with the good- ourstaffwere keen and happy. attentive and lovely. the food was pretty good. we ordered most all of the appetisers and they were smashing. the jamon balls were spot on. i ordered the fish pie and my wife had the parmigiana. both were delicious. but we simply couldn't find a good wine on the menu. we tried one by the glass which tasted flat, almost like it had been opened over night. we ordered a bottle but there was nothing which really moved us. the bottle we settled on was the best of a bad bunch of shiraz. mixed review.

our experience was a bit of a mixed bag.stafffriendly but not very attentive. pork shoulder was the highlight but chicken very disappointing and under cooked with no charcoal flavor and skin still not browned and impossible to eat. roast potatoes were also a disappointment and not crispy at all. broccolli salad and goat cheese were nice.

mixed experience here, with the servicestaffbeing friendly enough but the food was a mixed bag. the fried cauliflower was amazing and the flat iron steak provided an unexpected home cooked feeling, but the corn fed chicken was an acquired taste (needless to say not mine). i'd say maybe skip the chicken and try for something else, though pre warning that the flat iron steak is of the peppered variety.

anyways, this is just one person's view, not necessarily the baseline!