The Balfour Kitchen - New Farm

Monday night is BYO nightSo I was in a pretty good mood with my Chandon and Pinot in hand when I arrived The setting is not what I thought.

Balfour Kitchen is an idyllic setting only metres from Brunswick St with excellent service that leaves you with no misunderstanding that you are in a hotel

There is very little not to love about this hotelBoutique in every imaginable way, it's one of my favourites anywhere in the world.

A charming, tastefully decorated restaurant with lovely ambience. Classy and everything one looks for in a special dining venue. The Entrees were really well presented and very tasty. The Mains could have been a lot better. TheLamb Rump was very fatty and chewy, the Belly Pork was not crispy and quite fatty. Chef should see to a new butcher.The Desserts were creative, yummy and well executed. The service was brilliant.

After being greeted by a fast-talking, unshaven early 20's waiter with "Hey guys......." it was a series of ongoing disappointments. The manager storms through the door in the first three minutes muttering under his breath about not being able to please anyone (obviously based on another guest sitting outside) and then proceeds to serve us a piece of complimentary bread, the size of a 50 cent piece?! We order a drink, and then our meals. When my partner booked, she was adamant that we would need a vegetarian meal and was assured it was no problem. This was supported by our waiter..eventually......after he realised it was me who was the vegetarian (don't assume, my friend?!) He offered "provided you trust us, our chef will create you something special"! Entrees were good, and I eagerly awaited my "special" main meal. In between, our fast-talking waiter interrupted us twice, without permission, to see if we needed anything else. Our drinks were half-full, we had water and...yeh, no, thanks! The moment arrived, out comes our main meals. I take a look at my partners...so far, so good and then mine is placed in front of me. My "Special" meal was a main-sized version of my entrée. Wait...it gets better. The Manager comes over to offer his apology and says "leave it with me, ill get chef onto it immediately and create you another meal". Sorry for this...we hope you'll come back again and give us another chance?! Hmmmm. So, after 5-minutes and my partner uncomfortably starting without me, they dish me up a plate of broccoli and cauliflower florets tossed with olive oil and three pieces of bistro lettuce as a garnish!!!! Oh yeh...and tried to charge me $27 for it!!!! It continued on....poor service, continued delays etc. The only reason I give it a poor, not terrible rating is because they discounted our bill (at my request) and we were finally able to escape. After a 10/10 experience on multiple occasions at Spicers Hidden Vale, we had high hopes. Sadly, we were disappointed. Save your money...there are dozens of better options, with suitable wait staff, vegetarian / vegan options and somewhere to park.