Published:
June 29, 2024
About The Grovedale Hotel
Dine in
Delivery
Drive through
Service Options
Highlights
Bar games
Fast service
Great cocktails
Live music
Live performances
Sports
Trivia night
Offerings
Alcohol
Beer
Cocktails
Food
Food at bar
Happy hour drinks
Hard liquor
Wine
Amenities
Restroom
Wi-Fi
Free Wi-Fi
Crowd
Groups
LGBTQ+ friendly
Payments
Credit cards
Debit cards
NFC mobile payments
Accessibility
Wheelchair accessible entrance
Wheelchair accessible parking lot
Wheelchair accessible restroom
Wheelchair accessible seating
Dining_options
Seating
Atmosphere
Casual
Cozy
Planning
Accepts reservations
Parking
Free parking lot
Free street parking
Plenty of parking
Map
The Grovedale Hotel Reviews
When you're visiting from SA to see your Dad and upon arrival he says "son I want to take you all out to dinner to celebrate my birthday at my favourite hotel", you put on your sunday best and follow his lead.
The Grovedale Hotel is a venue that caters to all, with beer garden, sports bar and kids play area, which I'll touch on soon.
Dad reserved a booth in the Pioneer Kitchen dining room / bar.
French Chef Damian (who by the way is now my Dads adopted second son hahaha) prepares a menu of modern cuisine that exceeds the hotels vibe. Food this good should be served in a stand alone restaurant that captures and reflects it's quality. Perfectly cooked Lamb Rack and Eye Fillet were examples of this.
Unfortunately when you try to cater to all, attention to detail is lost and the dining experience suffers.
A prime example of this is having a kids playground literally next to the dining room. When an establishment is charging up to and beyond $40 for a main meal, the last thing you won't to hear are kids yelling and screaming. This is the reason why I only rated three stars. Now that we know this, we can make an informed decision whether to dine here again or not.
- Dianne Lofts
6 Sat 2024 at 12.01 am
What can I say..... best pub food we've had in a long time. Service was brilliant and friendly. Atmosphere not like a pub but rather like a very good restaurant. Decor modern and clean, very comfortable and friendly. Bathrooms also very clean. Highly recommend.
- Marion Judith Ann Hill
6 Sat 2024 at 12.01 am
What a wonderful hotel. The most friendly and polite staff ever. I only go when visiting my daughter in Grovedale, but they are a regular Friday night goers. They love the atmosphere there and the friendly customers as well. Will definitely visit again on my next trip.
- Darren Colwell
6 Sat 2024 at 12.01 am
We thought we would try the Wednesday specials nights which is for $25 Steak meals. We often go to the Ponds for the same specials night so thought we should give the Grovedale a go. The meal was terrible, small steak, a small qty of fried chips and tiny quantity of pepper sauce. Nothing else is offered such as salad or veggies in the $25 price. Wont be going back as they need to realise people want good value for money when spending their hard earned and this was not the case. Will continue to support the Waurn Ponds hotel as they provide great meals for a cheaper price and are very popular
- dAn beltran
6 Sat 2024 at 12.01 am
We had the medium rare Eyed Fillet + Mushroom sauce + Garlic butter + potatoes + salad, good food! It is a spacious place, cozy, good ambiance, and fantastic service.
- Debbie Mclure
6 Sat 2024 at 12.01 am
Visited the Grovedale hotel for my son’s birthday.
Wasn’t told till I got in the door with a birthday cake that they had a “cakeage “ charge. I was abit shocked, but even more so when I was told it was $2.50 per person.😳 so you are simply charged for the staff to store the cake in their refrigerator and bring out small plates. Cutting the cake was not included. Outrageous! Won’t be going back there again to celebrate anything.
Just as well a lot of people weren’t invited.
In this day and age when money is tight, that is insane.
- Michael Slattery
6 Sat 2024 at 12.01 am
This was a very disappointing dining experience for my wife and I.
I had the chicken parmigiana, and she had the roast pork.
The chicken was overcooked and dry. The bit of salad, although fresh, was uninteresting, being mainly lettuce leaves.
The chips were good, though.
My wife said her pork was undercooked and the "roast vegetables" awful. The potatoes were not crispy at all. The pumpkin was watery and unpleasant.
We have no plans to return here.
- Paul Tutin
6 Sat 2024 at 12.01 am
The staff are terrific, very quick service. We have been going there for a few years now, and the base menu doesn't seem to have varied much at all, but the weekly specials make a welcome change.
- Jodie Pearson
6 Sat 2024 at 12.01 am
The service and the food was outstanding. Staff bent over backwards to accommodate dietary requirements. Could not have asked for a better evening.
- Pouya M
6 Sat 2024 at 12.01 am
The Juke Garden Bar has great meals,
Nice atmosphere and good service,
This place is recommended
- Ebby
6 Sat 2024 at 12.01 am
Overall experience pretty ordinary. Seafood linguine presented and smelt beautifully but without the overload of chilli flakes would have tasted bland so was pretty disappointed with that for the price. Nasi Goreng and Parma were nothing to write home about. Staff were lovely.
- Lyn Barnes
6 Sat 2024 at 12.01 am
My friends and I meet here on a regular basis. Tonight was great. Food lovely and very filling. Service was fantastic. Our waitress Zarli was bright, cheerful and super efficient. Even making extra notes about one of my friends dietary requirements. Bit noisy at times but that was the only downside. Thanks again to everyone from the ladies on table 16.
- Susie Cox
6 Sat 2024 at 12.01 am
My friend and I went to the Grovedale hotel for lunch and a catch up, we had a lovely experience. All the staff were fabulous, very welcoming and super friendly. The venue is very modern looking, quite spacious and has great ambiance, there’s also a huge parking lot, so no worries about finding a car park. We both ordered the Salt and Pepper Squid with chips/salad, which came out quickly and was delicious. I would highly recommend and will definitely be going back. 😀
- Kate Crumpet
6 Sat 2024 at 12.01 am
I was unlucky enough to dine here on two occasions yesterday. I am visiting friends in Geelong and two separate groups of friends arranged to meet here for lunch and dinner. The food is utter rubbish. It's obvious that this establishment attracts a crowd based on location, moderate atmosphere and convenience. It was very busy for a Tuesday night, but this is just a money grabbing venue. Dinner: I have never in my life had a parma as small. It was a horrible, pre-fab chicken schnitzel - that weird gross fake tasting kind. Toppings were basic. Chips - nothing to rave about. But the "salad" - what the heck? Since when is a pile of roughly chopped cabbage - JUST CABBAGE - sprinkled with parsley and dressing called a salad. The amount of this tight-arse salad wouldn't even fill the palm of my small hand. The food is a joke. For lunch: Duke Share plate. Nothing nice to say here either. Food was all basic, poorly prepared, under seasoned or tasted of dirty oil. Also the worst tasting Bruschetta I have ever had. If I wanted tomato on toast I would stay home. How can one eat a slice of bread topped with huge chunks of quarter tomatoes? Don't chefs learn to dice anymore? Don't eat here. Just don't.
Also - All my friends received very over cooked steaks. Chef cannot cook steaks.
- Ward Lake
6 Sat 2024 at 12.01 am
Have always come back, and if there is a problem,(which is very rare) it is fixed...
As a customer there is no excuse to be rude to the staff , because by being courteous it goes a long way and at the end of the evening you leave and plan for next time at the Grovedale.
- Mithun Das
6 Sat 2024 at 12.01 am
Great food. There are three areas to sit in. Good for friendly or office gathering.
- Leah O'Donoghue
6 Sat 2024 at 12.01 am
Great food, reasonably priced, food came out to table really quickly, lots of tables and seats, great friendly service. Highly recommended.
- Hailey H
6 Sat 2024 at 12.01 am
Food was delicious and very clean!
Had a good time with family in there👍🏼
- Claire Hunt
6 Sat 2024 at 12.01 am
Food was cold, ordered garden salad, got a bowl of shredded cabbage, and steak with garlic sauce was just a slab of hard butter on the side. Save your money and eat elsewhere.
- Rowan Merriman
6 Sat 2024 at 12.01 am
Extremely poor and shameful behaviour
We attended the Grovedale Hotel for lunch to celebrate my mother-in-law's birthday. She is an elderly lady who needs to use a walking frame to stand and walk comfortably.
On our arrival and being shown to our table my wife requested a change of tables noticing a very large party seated on the next table. With her mum's poor hearing my wife was concerned that her mother would not hear or be part of our conversation and her celebration. Well the way the staff handled this request was utterly disgusting. They left my wife's mother standing for a long time having to use her walking frame to try and stay comfortable while the hotel staff tried to work out which change of tables would incur the least effect on the number of customers being able to be seated for lunch. As the staff's revolting and shameful behaviour continued on with no solution being found we asked to see the manager. From there the whole situation continued to get a lot worse and more unpleasant. This lady came out who we believe was the manager as she summed up the staff and again took heaps of time going around trying to work out what table arrangement would ensure the hotel did not miss out on a few extra customers and a few extra dollars. This whole time not once did this lady who we believe was the manager introduce herself, acknowledge our party or even mention she would help fix our concern. Which was very strange behavior and extremely rude. It now became very clear why the hotel staff showed little care and conducted themselves in such a poor manner after witnessing the manager's conduct. It's been a long time since I have seen people treat an elderly person so badly, clearly these people forgot they were in the service industry and the managers' extremely poor conduct and leadership showed through the staff. It was appalling and extremely disappointing to see and witness such poor behavior and little care in this day and age.
- Cheryle Mcgrath
6 Sat 2024 at 12.01 am
Dinning room lovely. Three people one had fish very nice Two other people had steak wouldn't order it again $50 a serve burnt had to cut outer layer off.
Steak which didn't leave much left as it's small to start off with
- Mich
6 Sat 2024 at 12.01 am
Been here twice now, it’s been a great place to take family who need assistance to walk in. Food has been great, the chocolate fondant type dessert was especially delicious.
- Emm Donnie
6 Sat 2024 at 12.01 am
Bar staff were ok, seemed annoyed that I asked about allegens. All the wait staff were lovely and very accommodating and helpful. Pleasant hotel, looks like an old style men's club, it would just need some Chesterfield lounges. It's dark, but it looked like a nice hotel on a whole. The dining room looked a little more light. Looked like a place we stayed in Tamworth. Didn't go into the pokies or tab part.
- Brianne Brayshaw
6 Sat 2024 at 12.01 am
Atmosphere was really nice, Leanne was very kind and helpful.. The dishes were lacking flavour, had the pork salad, Louisiana strips were soggy and dry. My mum had seafood linguine also lacking flavour one of the mussels weren’t properly cooked. The manager spoke with us in an aggressive way and made me pay for the salad when I barely touched it, she was very rude and made us not want to come back when we have been going there for years.
- Michael Balkos
6 Sat 2024 at 12.01 am
As you'd expect from a hotel, the food was decent but nothing special, and the price was mostly reasonable.
- Terry Aldridge
6 Sat 2024 at 12.01 am
Always fantastic service and the food is delicious cannot fault .
🥇garlic bread best ever
- Paul C
6 Sat 2024 at 12.01 am
A large place with multiple areas to dine in, and all presented in a clean, bright welcoming manner. This spacious venue serves generous portions without sacrificing style or quality. The staff are very helpful and always looked pleased to see you. I doubt you'd come away from this place feeling it wasn't value for money.
- Joe Serra
6 Sat 2024 at 12.01 am
4 of us went there Friday night to enjoy a meal and pokies. We shared the cheesy garlic bread first. Girls had the flat-head tails which they enjoyed, and us guys opted for the seafood linguini, which i found a bit bland and watery. Good sized serves though, so we didn't bother with dessert. The aperol spritz cocktails were nice, but expensive in my opinion. Staff were amazing.
- DJ & LILS