Comments on: Dinner at Rae’s Restaurant at Balgownie Estate, Yarra Valley http://www.eatingmelbourneblog.com/2010/01/dinner-at-raes-restaurant-at-balgownie-estate-yarra-valley.html Restaurant, cafe and bar reviews, food and wine in Melbourne, Australia. Sun, 29 Jan 2012 22:59:22 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Michael Knight http://www.eatingmelbourneblog.com/2010/01/dinner-at-raes-restaurant-at-balgownie-estate-yarra-valley.html/comment-page-1#comment-717 Michael Knight Fri, 04 Nov 2011 12:20:46 +0000 http://eatingmelbourneblogc.ipage.com/?p=17#comment-717 Regular dines in the past, but tonight was a joke one and a half hours still no entree complained and told to leave the restuarant new cheff and staff including an absolute joke - dont bother Regular dines in the past, but tonight was a joke one and a half hours still no entree complained and told to leave the restuarant new cheff and staff including an absolute joke – dont bother

]]> By: melissa http://www.eatingmelbourneblog.com/2010/01/dinner-at-raes-restaurant-at-balgownie-estate-yarra-valley.html/comment-page-1#comment-671 melissa Wed, 20 Apr 2011 22:10:30 +0000 http://eatingmelbourneblogc.ipage.com/?p=17#comment-671 I was there this week and ordered the seared rabbit to start and it came out like a slab of spam with a little salad on the side with no dressing. The spam like substance was very cold in sections and the salad had a dead fly in it when the lady came and took away the dish she asked why i didnt eat the salad i informed her of the bug her response was "at least you know its fresh" needless to say not impressed with that. The main i ordered the gnocci it was fried on the outside and sticky and chewy on the inside with a terrible sauce of tomatoes with there stems mixed into the sauce so i had to try to avoid them. My partner ordered the goat cheese to start and that was strange it was orange cheese??? but was not terrible....he ordered the duck as a main the duck itself was not bad but the other stuff on the plate was terrible and i would tell you what it was but we could not identify it...bitter and sweet and red.... It was some of the worst most expensive food i have ever eatten i can tell you if you have another option i recomend you go somewhere else it was terrible. I was there this week and ordered the seared rabbit to start and it came out like a slab of spam with a little salad on the side with no dressing. The spam like substance was very cold in sections and the salad had a dead fly in it when the lady came and took away the dish she asked why i didnt eat the salad i informed her of the bug her response was “at least you know its fresh” needless to say not impressed with that. The main i ordered the gnocci it was fried on the outside and sticky and chewy on the inside with a terrible sauce of tomatoes with there stems mixed into the sauce so i had to try to avoid them. My partner ordered the goat cheese to start and that was strange it was orange cheese??? but was not terrible….he ordered the duck as a main the duck itself was not bad but the other stuff on the plate was terrible and i would tell you what it was but we could not identify it…bitter and sweet and red…. It was some of the worst most expensive food i have ever eatten i can tell you if you have another option i recomend you go somewhere else it was terrible.

]]> By: Kenny http://www.eatingmelbourneblog.com/2010/01/dinner-at-raes-restaurant-at-balgownie-estate-yarra-valley.html/comment-page-1#comment-585 Kenny Sun, 06 Feb 2011 11:49:31 +0000 http://eatingmelbourneblogc.ipage.com/?p=17#comment-585 The staffs at the cellar was fabulous but the lunch at Raes was absolute nightmare. Below is the email i sent them: To whom it may concern/Raes Restaurant Supervisor, It is very unfortunate for me to inform you that my first ever visit to the Raes Restaurant was absolutely and extremely unpleasant. I had a very good impression of the estate on driving in, and with the hope to stay at the Spa at some point in future. The staffs in the wine cellar were excellent too.And I was hoping to have to wonderful lunch in that beautiful restaurant but the staffs totally destroyed my entire afternoon. Firstly,there was a misunderstanding in regards to how many of us were dining. I would expect a staff working in a fine-dining-restaurant will approach this with courtesy and a smile. But all we got was a very unhappy waiter who said 'you said 4!' . I dont mind being placed at the corner of the table of a VERY empty restaurant but where is the professionalism?. Moreover, the menus were just dropped in front of us without much explanation , and more sadly we were not given the drinks menu till they approach us again when we were ready to order (and we have to ask for a drink menu!) Kids menu comes with drinks and desserts - again, no one bother to ask what we want to drink. I was there with a few friends from oversea, and i tried to convince myself we were not being treated differently because the colour of our skin, but i cant. We could hardly get the attention of the any waiter/waitress. Some of them seems to avoid having eye contact or anything to do with us. Correct me if i am wrong but at least that is how we felt. To be honest, i have the luxury to dine in some of the finest restaurants in Melbourne ranging from Grossi Florentino to Press Club all the time. And i have never been to a restaurant with such appalling service. I also wish to comment on the food in this email but after reading a few reviews from this website, http://www.eatingmelbourneblog.com/2010/01/dinner-at-raes-restaurant-at-balgownie-estate-yarra-valley.html i believe it explains everything i need to say. Yours Sincerely, Disappointed The staffs at the cellar was fabulous but the lunch at Raes was absolute nightmare. Below is the email i sent them:

To whom it may concern/Raes Restaurant Supervisor,

It is very unfortunate for me to inform you that my first ever visit to the Raes Restaurant was absolutely and extremely unpleasant. I had a very good impression of the estate on driving in, and with the hope to stay at the Spa at some point in future. The staffs in the wine cellar were excellent too.And I was hoping to have to wonderful lunch in that beautiful restaurant but the staffs totally destroyed my entire afternoon. Firstly,there was a misunderstanding in regards to how many of us were dining. I would expect a staff working in a fine-dining-restaurant will approach this with courtesy and a smile. But all we got was a very unhappy waiter who said ‘you said 4!’ . I dont mind being placed at the corner of the table of a VERY empty restaurant but where is the professionalism?. Moreover, the menus were just dropped in front of us without much explanation , and more sadly we were not given the drinks menu till they approach us again when we were ready to order (and we have to ask for a drink menu!) Kids menu comes with drinks and desserts – again, no one bother to ask what we want to drink. I was there with a few friends from oversea, and i tried to convince myself we were not being treated differently because the colour of our skin, but i cant. We could hardly get the attention of the any waiter/waitress. Some of them seems to avoid having eye contact or anything to do with us. Correct me if i am wrong but at least that is how we felt.

To be honest, i have the luxury to dine in some of the finest restaurants in Melbourne ranging from Grossi Florentino to Press Club all the time. And i have never been to a restaurant with such appalling service.

I also wish to comment on the food in this email but after reading a few reviews from this website,
http://www.eatingmelbourneblog.com/2010/01/dinner-at-raes-restaurant-at-balgownie-estate-yarra-valley.html
i believe it explains everything i need to say.

Yours Sincerely,
Disappointed

]]> By: Audumla http://www.eatingmelbourneblog.com/2010/01/dinner-at-raes-restaurant-at-balgownie-estate-yarra-valley.html/comment-page-1#comment-469 Audumla Sun, 29 Aug 2010 11:54:58 +0000 http://eatingmelbourneblogc.ipage.com/?p=17#comment-469 We found the accommodation was OK, but not up to what the photos made it out to be. The massage was great and the balloon flight was brilliant. The restaurant ... . that's another story. Me and my wife could not stop laughing all the way through the meal. Every dish was a more extraordinary exercise in ridiculousness compared to the last. Far too many components to each dish and combinations of food that should just not be brought together, cauliflower and mango ... mmm yummy. I asked for my lamb to be rare, it came out well done. My chocolate dessert had obviously been refrozen and was stuck to the plate. With so much local and fresh produce in the area it is a shame to see a menu full of out of season ingredients. Any decent home cook could produce better dishes. This type of food is what you would expect from a try hard student who's parents constantly say how wonderful they are. If you do stay at Balgownie overnight, just don't go to the restaurant. Get a lift or taxi to DeBortoli winery, they know how to cook. We found the accommodation was OK, but not up to what the photos made it out to be. The massage was great and the balloon flight was brilliant.
The restaurant … . that’s another story. Me and my wife could not stop laughing all the way through the meal. Every dish was a more extraordinary exercise in ridiculousness compared to the last. Far too many components to each dish and combinations of food that should just not be brought together, cauliflower and mango … mmm yummy. I asked for my lamb to be rare, it came out well done. My chocolate dessert had obviously been refrozen and was stuck to the plate. With so much local and fresh produce in the area it is a shame to see a menu full of out of season ingredients. Any decent home cook could produce better dishes.
This type of food is what you would expect from a try hard student who’s parents constantly say how wonderful they are. If you do stay at Balgownie overnight, just don’t go to the restaurant. Get a lift or taxi to DeBortoli winery, they know how to cook.

]]> By: Hugo http://www.eatingmelbourneblog.com/2010/01/dinner-at-raes-restaurant-at-balgownie-estate-yarra-valley.html/comment-page-1#comment-404 Hugo Sun, 01 Aug 2010 09:12:53 +0000 http://eatingmelbourneblogc.ipage.com/?p=17#comment-404 My husband and i just arrived home from our long weekend stay at Mecure Balgwonie & your comments completely surprise us! From the moment we arrived, the staff where very caring & professional. The food at Raes, all be it, we only ate there for dinner once and breakfast twice was fantastic. My husband highly recommends the slow cooked pork belly...delicious!!! We have rebooked for later in the year with another couple & cant wait, will def. try the hot air ballooning next time My husband and i just arrived home from our long weekend stay at Mecure Balgwonie & your comments completely surprise us! From the moment we arrived, the staff where very caring & professional. The food at Raes, all be it, we only ate there for dinner once and breakfast twice was fantastic. My husband highly recommends the slow cooked pork belly…delicious!!! We have rebooked for later in the year with another couple & cant wait, will def. try the hot air ballooning next time

]]> By: Not happy Wen http://www.eatingmelbourneblog.com/2010/01/dinner-at-raes-restaurant-at-balgownie-estate-yarra-valley.html/comment-page-1#comment-350 Not happy Wen Sat, 12 Jun 2010 10:00:26 +0000 http://eatingmelbourneblogc.ipage.com/?p=17#comment-350 Had a great time the first time I went there. Recomended to many friends and clients. BUT AND BUT. Went there for special occassion recently. Food delivered on dirty plates, orvercharged on bill, offered one drink at start and that is it. Service - could not remember what guests ordered or what the food was. Quite overpriced for the type of service you would receive in a cafe. Both men of the party rang to complain. Call not returned from one gentlemen and perceived and lack of caring for the gentleman that actually spoke to someone. VERY VERY DISSAPOINTING! Had a great time the first time I went there. Recomended to many friends and clients. BUT AND BUT. Went there for special occassion recently. Food delivered on dirty plates, orvercharged on bill, offered one drink at start and that is it. Service – could not remember what guests ordered or what the food was. Quite overpriced for the type of service you would receive in a cafe. Both men of the party rang to complain. Call not returned from one gentlemen and perceived and lack of caring for the gentleman that actually spoke to someone.

VERY VERY DISSAPOINTING!

]]> By: Food for Life http://www.eatingmelbourneblog.com/2010/01/dinner-at-raes-restaurant-at-balgownie-estate-yarra-valley.html/comment-page-1#comment-110 Food for Life Thu, 04 Mar 2010 19:39:16 +0000 http://eatingmelbourneblogc.ipage.com/?p=17#comment-110 Tedious hotel trained chef fodder.Ridiculously over-fussy, gimicky (smears and drizzles) and poorly executed. I looked at the menu on their website and alarm bells sounded. What a hotch-potch of ingredients. Worse still from your comments and the photo this is then poorly executed on the plate. From my experience hotel restaurants are to be avoided at ALL COST unless leased to hospitality experts/real chefs. Tedious hotel trained chef fodder.Ridiculously over-fussy, gimicky (smears and drizzles) and poorly executed. I looked at the menu on their website and alarm bells sounded. What a hotch-potch of ingredients. Worse still from your comments and the photo this is then poorly executed on the plate. From my experience hotel restaurants are to be avoided at ALL COST unless leased to hospitality experts/real chefs.

]]> By: Agnes http://www.eatingmelbourneblog.com/2010/01/dinner-at-raes-restaurant-at-balgownie-estate-yarra-valley.html/comment-page-1#comment-111 Agnes Thu, 14 Jan 2010 20:47:58 +0000 http://eatingmelbourneblogc.ipage.com/?p=17#comment-111 I HATE brown smears on plates - don't people realise how much it looks like.... well, you know! And gosh your plate looked unappetising. <br /><br />The ballooning looks fantastic though. :) That second photo is stunning! I HATE brown smears on plates – don't people realise how much it looks like…. well, you know! And gosh your plate looked unappetising.

The ballooning looks fantastic though. :) That second photo is stunning!

]]> By: Food lover http://www.eatingmelbourneblog.com/2010/01/dinner-at-raes-restaurant-at-balgownie-estate-yarra-valley.html/comment-page-1#comment-112 Food lover Wed, 13 Jan 2010 17:07:14 +0000 http://eatingmelbourneblogc.ipage.com/?p=17#comment-112 It's a shame that a place with such beautiful views would have such bad service... I think these wineries are quite touristic and don't really worry about return visits. It's a shame that a place with such beautiful views would have such bad service… I think these wineries are quite touristic and don't really worry about return visits.

]]> By: mademoiselle délicieuse http://www.eatingmelbourneblog.com/2010/01/dinner-at-raes-restaurant-at-balgownie-estate-yarra-valley.html/comment-page-1#comment-113 mademoiselle délicieuse Tue, 12 Jan 2010 23:39:04 +0000 http://eatingmelbourneblogc.ipage.com/?p=17#comment-113 Yes, that lurid lime green 'thing' has me puzzled too! Yes, that lurid lime green 'thing' has me puzzled too!

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