Fish Creek Hotel

The food was decent but dining here was a strange experience. There was a large dining room where everyone was chatting, laughing, and seemed to be having a good time. Although there were tables available in the main dining area, we were greeted by the hostess with a curious scowl and she guided us to a smaller dining area out of the way. (My wife and I are American, not Australian). We quickly noted that everyone else in the smaller dining room were foreigners mostly asian. It was apparent the staff were reserving the 'fun ' room for the locals and pushing the tourists 'out of sight, out of mind '.

We had eaten at the Fishy Creek Pub, before, so headed there, hungry, for Lunch on Monday April 24th. The kitchen was to close at 2 p.m so when the waiter said hamburgers were on the day's Specials we said we'd have them as quick and easy. Hamburgers with salad and chips: $27.00 each . What arrived was a reheated hamburger: Bun was dried up. Inside a few wilted green rocket leaves ? and crispy cheese. Over cooked, over priced and we were left underwhelmed.

Review Fish Creek Restaurant, 1 Old Waratah Road, Fish Creek, Victoria We were staying for a few days in Yanakie close to Wilsons Prom National Park. Earlier, that Australia Day holiday, we had explored the only popular restaurant in the township … it was time to look further afield, and the restaurant at the Fish Creek Hotel beckoned. We phoned ahead and booked a table for 11. It was just 30 km away and took 40 minutes along easy roads. We’d had no previous experience of the place and wondered about the cultural challenges of eating at the local pub during a holiday weekend. The restaurant came as a complete surprise – iconic building, heaving with people seated inside and out eating what appeared to be enormous plates of food; young, sharp, enthusiastic and friendly floor staff; highly efficient ordering and delivery of food; tasty and good to look at; those great prices. And the place seemed to be in the middle of nowhere. Amazing. So, we were more than impressed sufficient to give the restaurant/food services an ‘Excellent’ on the TripAdvisor scale – only the second time in more than a year for us. First the building then – it’s on the edge of the Fish Creek commercial district at the crossroads Melbourne Foster/C444 with Falls Road that leads to the centre of the township – population <1,000 . It was a gorgeous 85 years old ? stand alone Art Deco style building in white that looked as if it could do with a make over. Enter the main door to the hotel/restaurant and there’s a sign asking you to wait/check into reception – which is a window in the wall to the right. A quartet of period photos were attached to the wall – horse drawn traffic on local roads representing great grandad’s generation. We only caught a glimpse of the interior of the building when following the cameriere through to our table in the beer garden outback, but the place looked original – dark, wooden panelling, high ceiling and spacious dining rooms; then through the restaurant and out the other side into the beer garden. Most of the walls inside the dining room were hung with paintings for sale – local artist’s names/prices were attached. Getting up close to examine them was challenging. There was some confusion with our original booking when it was clear that 11 people including three kids could not sit around a table designed for eight. Beer Garden remember. A second table was provided – splitting our group into two for the evening meal. No issue – kids mums together and the rest of us at the first table. The trellis style tables were much too heavy to move around. Menus were provided and we were directed back into the restaurant to order our meals at the appropriate desk and to buy drinks at the bar. Did I mention the efficiency of the place earlier. There were two people servicing the small bar service was immediate. Next to the bar there was a table/cash register for ordering/paying for food. Grace took my order. Small floor space, but such was the pace of servicing orders that there was no queue as such. You need to come ready to order – having explored the menu at the table. We had three generations in our group – which was comfortably covered by the menu with choice/size of meals – kids, seniors and people in the middle. The menu covered the entire range of popular pub meals across the country – you can imagine – fast/American/traditional Australian fayre, Italian, seafoods, etc. – and not just the ‘chips with everything’ approach, but salads, meats, burgers, fish, etc. Smaller meals? Choose from the ‘Starter Menu’, where there were attractive looking prawns and calamari. Prices were good: $15 kids’ meals, $16 18 seniors and $30 for mains add $10 extra for steak , salads $25 32. A host of sides, sauces and desserts were on offer. Plentiful food on the plates. Having paid we returned to the beer garden which, compared to the dining room inside, was relatively empty – well, empty of people. In the trees to one side there was a large and noisy crackle =flock of white cockatoos – presumably deciding on a place to roost for the night – and quite oblivious to the people eating/drinking/moving around in the beer garden below. Our plates followed us out within 10 minutes of sitting down. A first time at the restaurant for everyone and those perennial favourites fish chips, chicken schnitzel, pasta, etc. tended to dominate our choices. After the meal we walked through the back of the hotel past the separate motel units in the grounds and round to the front again … check out the many reviews that reflected the tired nature of this overnight accommodation. It raises issues/value of re investment in this fine old lady of a rural building or simply replacing it – an unthinkable alternative. Fish Creek services a small but prosperous regional dairy industry and enjoys a regular passing tourist trade – there’s a community project in the offing. Out front, however, was that classic new indicator of modernity – a battery charging point for your brand new EV but only if you drive a Tesla car. If you have made it this far in your Nissan or MG, you may have to find somewhere else to charge your battery before returning home. Peter Steele 08April2023

Booked myself i for a destress for one night. Arrived in the afternoon approx 3.30 pm and the lovely town was winding down. Room was extremely basic when I walked I , upon doing a check of drawers and under bed etc which I always do I found a snotty hanky under the bed and the drawers of the table full of old batteries, dirt, dirty pegs, an old band aid and things that looked like they actually belonged to somebody thinking this table may have been a kerb side find anyway, FILTHY! So much dust and cobwebs behind said able and around the room, dead fly in bedside light, filthy stains on armchair , no kettle, hardly any Wi-Fi service SOS service only in my room no kettle, no telly, flaking paint on toilet walls, dead insects, wet and dirty towels on floor in shared bathroom one toilet and one shower per gender for a whole floor of guests no staff had any ide what time I could get coffee in morning. Food in grotty looking restaurant was extremely overpriced… $28 for a bowl of pasta and $15 for an average sounding kids meal… pizza n chips I’d been there half an hour when I decided to leave and drive two hours home. Was offered a refund by manager and an apology but reading through the reviews which I should have done before I booked shows and proves nothing has changed here for a long time. Only accomodation in town and only place open for dinner seems to give them the right to overcharge and disappoint. Extremely disappointed and disgusted!! Will NEVER EVER recommend. Just hope I actually get my $112 refund

Okay, what an impressive looking building in such a small town, it would have been a bold move back in the day, and still she sits proud. Such a long day behind bars, riding from Welshpool to Leongatha and back to Fish Creek, was very much looking forward to a cool shower and a lie down. The building is just amazing, but unfortunately, the accommodation is due for a demolition ball. Who puts fawn carpet in a motel room.... You'd probably not need a dna forensic team, the stains tell the story. So to be honest, old, tired and due for some modernisation. Sheets and bathroom clean, but the sofa couch was , eeekk. When it came time for dinner, the menu all seemed fantastic. I had the chicken parma, which would be one of the best I've ever eaten, and the salad was just as good. The place was bustling for a Tuesday night, so numbers show just how popular it is. The staff were nice, but it seemed most were back packers and not very good on the service side. So great food but lacking in accommodation, and service could definitely go up a level.