I've been to the Phoenix three times in a month. The first time I had nachos. They were yummy and plentiful. The second time I had the chicken and avocado toastie. It was also good. So when I went in today I was determined to revisit the toastie and encouraged my friends to try it. I was left with egg on my face because it was horrible. It was in halves. I ate half of one half (yes, ok, I ate a quarter!) but could eat no more. The toastie was a large hamburger bun. The avocado was a smear of dip. No pieces of avocado. The scraps of chicken were sparse and lonely. But it was the cheese!!! I am not sure what sort it was, but it certainly didn't work with the rest of it. It was strong and cloyingly sweet: to the extent that neither myself nor my friends who also ordered it ate more than a small portion. It was nasty.
I would also like to request the owners do something about the toilets. They may have been clean, but they're dark and desperately need a coat of paint. I have felt more comfy in some public toilets.
I have eaten lovely meals there in the past, and it is reasonably priced. But today was not a fun visit.
It's not all negatives. The dining room is nice with lots of windows. And the service was top notch. So I would still suggest it is a good central place to visit. But perhaps steer clear of the chicken and avocado toasty.

Went for lunch on our way home to Melbourne after meeting family in Point Lonsdale, A big selection on menu, Parma was huge and hot all the way through nice salad and dressing, perfectly cooked chips.
Great customer service provided by Chris.

I often enjoy beef roast but yesterday the vegetables were lovely but the beef mainly fat. I don't eat fat so I was disappointed

Truely a lesser known gem of central Geelong. Fast service and very friendly staff, hats off to the chefs who genuinely looked happy to be crafting the Fresh salads, crispy chips, big parmigiana, very juicy burgers and big kids meals. Colouring in menu kept the kids entertained while we dined in a surprisingly quiet atmosphere.

We loved the food. It was not that busy probably because of the public holidays. I think they should increase the beer options. Some European beer would be great.

The chips were almost perfect obelisks which got my suspicion up but thankfully the Parma was shaped like satans throne complete with el Diablo himself putting me back at ease

Absolutely wish I had read the reviews before dining at this terrible place.

Booked in for tea on our way home.

Ordered a garlic bread and no side plates came with it (have to pick up your own meals from the heat lamps in-front of the kitchen). Politely asked the young man working if I could have some side plates and I was offered saucer plates from the bar then he proceeds not to understand what I said as if I said space plates, "oh I'll have to go to the kitchen to get plates or I've got these" he says. He comes back to our table of 3 with one side plate!

We ordered A parma, fish and a kids fish meal. Parma looked like it had seen better days and the fish was soggy served with cheap tartare from Aldi I suspect! The salad was atrociously old with the tomato being white almost and fluffy point. The cucumber and carrots were dry because of how old they were and the lettuce was sad.

Deeply dissatisfied with our meals I called over the women who seated us and politely explained that we were not happy with our meals. I explained that the fish was soggy, the parma was not to standard and the salads were old. She proceeded to go back to the kitchen and speak with the chefs with the meal in her hand then comes back to tell me she can remake the meal fresh and that the salads were made today....Do you call dry cucumber, carrot and white soggy tomato fresh I asked? I told her I work in this industry and that was definitely not adequate food. I asked for a refund and I was immediately shot down and told, "No I can't do that" I said I'm not happy with my meal and nor is anyone else at this table and after a few attempts of asking for our money back I was offered the meal that was taken to the kitchen and brought back out sitting in her hands or the meal re-cooked. I was told "There's nothing wrong with it"..." I can only do a refund if there's mouldy food etc" she said. It was clearly mouldy!!! The tomatoes were white!!!

I demanded a refund and then I asked to speak to the manger and turns out she was the manager! She proceeded to argue with me over the meal and I actually had to ask her why she was going to continue to argue with a customer who wasn't happy with their food!

I don't know what sort of joke this pub is trying to tell having her as a manager because I sure as hell told her she needed to do better! I didn't get her name because it was turned the other way!! If I was a secret shopper she would have been toast, because I am utterly disgusted in her behaviour. There was no customer service or care taken for her customers.

I was given $25 back of $75 worth of food. How do you justify this?! When the whole lot was crap. Service disgraceful.

I will never dine at this place ever again and my word I will be in touch with the head boss of this place because she is no manager and should not be in that role! Why are you hiring people who don't know how to count side plates? And whinge when they have to get them from the kitchen?

Don't go there!

Nice meal and reasonably priced. Very efficient and friendly bar man.

My son and i ordered 2 x Parma's for lunch after one bite each we looked at each other and said that is the worst ones we have had looked good but chicken was very tough and chewy looked off and was tastless didn't want to make a scene spoke with the people at the counter they apologized and offered us replacements or more drinks we didn't ask for money back and declined any other meals very disappointed.

Salty over cooked chicken burger and chips barely edible. Partner ordered the missteak* sandwich. Frozen or reheated chewy meat

Really nice lunch, clean and nice staff,
enjoyed ?

Table of 7 for lunch, all meals ready at the same time and cooked nicely. Menu was basic but i thought it was great with many choices that suited me. No complaints from any of us.

Despite the food and drink being good, our separate meals were put through as entrée and main. So there was a frustratingly long wait.

The worst chips I have ever had. They were basically no name supermarket chips heated up in the microwave. The bar staff was good... the bloke with the mullet was exceptional. That is why I give 2 stars.

We walked from the foreshore up to the hotel, it took 55mins to get the light meals. The menu was quite limited.
The staff were avoidant and the restaurant was messy.
Very disappointing.

One of the best meals around. Service professional and friendly. Would definitely go back

Great spot for dinner & drinks. Really lovely modern atmosphere & fun night out. Will definetly be back, lovely staff were helpful & food was great too.

Just great. Good food good staff.

Great lunch with family, thankyou so much. Lunch was delicious & staff so friendly & helpful. Would definitely return the next time we are in Geelong.

My son and I went here tonight for dinner first time for dinner here all the staff are always so friendly here I been here a few time during the day first time for dinner the best thing my son loved was the ice cream he said best Ice cream ever he didn't even share much with me lol I had only a tiny bit it was such a good ice cream Thank you :)

You wouldn't see it on TripAdvisor, but this is a hidden gem in the heart of Geelong's city centre. Only minutes after sitting down for a schooner of the Very Best (VB), God blessed us with a series of free spins that included both mini AND minor bonuses. The smoking area was a quaint little spot to enjoy a celebratory vape. My only criticism is that my travel partner Adrian has to pay $1 for a coffee that we usually enjoy free of charge at many other local establishments.

This place is a great disappointment. Not only did they have our salt and pepper calamari on a heat lamp for half an hour, which was not classed as a salad in the menu name but was served underneath a pile of lettuce. We waited for over an hour for our food to be served. I ordered in a group of four and had to wait an additional 10 minutes for the food to come out of the table. They stuffed up our order and forgot to remove items from our food for which there was an intolerance.

Not to mention the chefs have no masks when preparing food. Unorganised and not good enough! Food was nothing special either and needs new management.

Great atmosphere. Meal was slow in coming. Good outdoor seating. Bar service is excellent.

where do I start I had an absolutely frightening experience at the Phoenix hotel first we ordered, we were the first people in and it took our meals an hour to get there and then two of our four meals were left on the service desk just waiting for someone to spit and dribble on it until we could get the other ones so by the time we got those they were cold as anything, the waitresses were nice but the meals themselves were horrible. oh my goodness gracious me I have never had a worse parmi in the world my girlfriend got nachos and they had jalapenos and other spices which weren't in the description of the menu. And then they had the audacity to serve my friends girlfriend a schnitzel that looks like it had been tossed around like a frisbee for five hours before getting on the plate. terrible terrible never ever ever coming back EVER!

Came here with my husband and children, food was outstanding and customer service equally excellent. Nothing was too much to ask. Will definitely be back!

The dining area has been renovated and looks good.
Food and Service was great and Staff helpful and courteous. We have been eating here with friends on a mthly basis for over 15 yrs and still keep coming back.

Good coffee and it's warm inside the bar.

Today 6 of us came for lunch. Service was good Meal was not. Out of all meals there were complaints. One was sent back as too cold to eat. Others would have gone back except we felt for the new young waitress as her first day, so we just ate cold. Main issue was coldness, and batter on fish very think and gluggy. Comment by one of the fish orders was it looked like a small peice of fish rolled into thick batter just like a sausage roll
We did say when asked if we enjoyed the meal, that we didn't No apologies or even an offer of maybe a drink. Won't be going back unless something is done Happy to talk to management.
Cheers Gail.

Lovely venue, delicious lunch, welcoming staff.

Lovely venue, delicious lunch, welcoming staff.

Great service and cold Beer

A great positive experience. The views from the dining area are great, on a bright and sunny day. The dishes chosen were excellent and good sized portions. Will go back again!

Really good food. Friendly service and quiet for easy conversation without competition to be heard. Great fund.

Fantastic meals with super friendly staff. Great for the whole family. Special thanks to Amy, Caroline and DamienFood is 5 stars highly recommended!!