I don’t normally walk along Flinders Lane but have now been here two weeks in a row after Supernormal last week.
Garden State Hotel, Melbourne, Australia
A couple of us decided to head out for a beer after work and a friend chose the Garden State Hotel on Flinders Lane.
Given the proximity to Collins Street the place was heaving when I arrived just before 6pm on a Thursday night.
The venue is a sprawling place over 4 levels with a couple of bars to grab drinks from.
We managed to nab a table down the back towards the Rose Garden under the trees, it was a very nice location and there was a standard choice of beers and a bar menu.
We decided to eat here but we should have known the meal wouldn’t be overly good when we ordered our steaks medium-rare only to be told we’d get them how the chef decided to cook them! Seriously, WTF? For $22 we got an overcooked minute steak that was quite underwhelming. The only saving grace were the Roasted Potatoes.
The way the place has been built, with bare concrete walls and glass roof made the place an echo chamber so it was impossible to have a conversation over the noise of everyone else and the blaring music.
So after we finished our food we decided that we’d move onto somewhere where you could actually talk to the person next to you.
By all means, go to the Garden State Hotel for drink, but I’d be skipping the food!