the robin hood hotel

great steak,niceambience. we dropped in here on a monday night after a long day on the road, wanting something quick and sustaining. the menu has all the standard pub fare but don’t be fooled, this place is much nicer than a standard pub. i had the scotch fillet, which was perfectly cooked, tender and juicy. they have a good wine list and there’s the option of buying a glass or half bottle of all sorts of wines that normally only come in full bottles. this is great for two people who love decent wine and normally have to choose between a limited range by the glass, or go the full bottle which is sometimes more than you really need for a pub meal.nicequiet atmosphere in the large dining room, thanks to the carpet which is so rare nowadays. a good choice if you’re looking for something quicker than fine dining but more elegant than a regular pub.

on the recommendation of a colleague michele and myself had lunch at the robin hood today. he raved about the wagu steak, turns out it was a special for last thursday and not available, disappointing but i move on.

the robin hood has some delightfull dining areas, a shame that today which was a beautiful spring day there were workmen making the outside area unpleasant (noise and walking through the dining area with building products). we decided on the main dining room which was nicely furnished.

michele ordered a chicken schnitzel with gravy on the side which was served with gravy over the schnitzel, i know this is a first world issue but it is vey annoying. the second attempt was better and michele said it was good. i had the scotch fillet which was well cooked, tasty and very tender. not sure why it was sliced into a few thick slices but it was.

in summary, food was good but there were issues, decorniceand staff ok but the issues of the day really affected the experience.

lovely ambiance and hospitality. i loved how the waiter brought the chalkboard with the specials written on it right to the table.

though it was a busy night when we went (friday), dishes were served quickly. the blue swimmer crab angel hair was delicious and one of the best crab dishes i have had. if you like chocolate, chocolate bomb would be the perfect dessert. the lemon tart wasnicebut i would prefer it to be slightly more sour. a deconstructed irish coffee sounds interesting and it does live up to its name.

would definitely visit again!

the experience i had at the robin hood actually left me feeling so mad.do not normally go out of my way to write something like this but just wanted them to know how disappointed i am.

i ordered the hood trio of sliders which consisted of: a cheeseburger, a pulled pork burger with slaw, and a peri peri chicken burger - with a side of sweet potato fries.order came out - appeared to look good...
peri peri chicken - was basically a rocket burger. rocket leaves, some aioli and a piece of chicken the size of a 20c piece. which was unseasoned and dry - where was the peri peri? lacking any sort of flavour.
cheeseburger - did not actually involve cheese. should have been called a sauce burger.
pulled pork burger - was literally pulled pork - no sauce or flavour whatsoever, the slaw consisted of red cabbage and no slaw sauce - again completely lacking flavour.

mr z had a chicken schnitzel with pepper sauce. how could you go wrong right? it came out, looked and was soggy. pepper sauce was gross and chips - not hot and hard. 

the worst part is the fact that this meal cost over $50 not including drinks. it was so disappointing when you are really looking forward to anicemeal out and the night was completely ruined. definitely would not go back or recommend to anyone.

the overall ambience of the place was great with the clientele being a mixture of retirees and business people. while we were admiring the ambience of the beer garden somenicesour dough bread rolls arrived which i appreciated. it has been a while since we had bread with the meal so i was pretty happy with that. the rolls tasted great!

disappointing for '2012 bistro of the year' winner..nicevenue, lively atmosphere but let down by the meal. i had the peking duck 'salad' - a few sprigs of coriander and sliced shallots, and even smaller amount of duck, does not constitute being called a 'salad'!

when mentioned on paying it was disappointing, we were told it was an entree. if its an entree, list it under the entree selection with all the other entrees!! i felt mislead as it was in the 'salad' section, right next to the ceaser salad, which was as expected - a plate full, main course size, and so big it was not finished.

service was also hit & miss, not asked how our meal was, plates just whipped away without so much as a grunt, and 2 of us sat with empty glasses, waiting to be asked if we'd like more drinks for well over 20 mins..