Wine Bank On View

Across the board, Bendigo surpassed all my expectations, with the food and dining scene being no exception! I really liked wine bank, the outdoor indoor dining options allow you to sit outside on a warm summers evening or sit inside the once occupying bank. The food was delicious, in a tapas style you’re able to try a range of different dishes without breaking the bank. I was there with two vegetarians, who were able to leave feeling full, which goes to show the dynamic nature of the menu. They really liked the tofu and so did the meat eaters so definitely give this a shot! The drinks were all great, and cheap! Especially by Melbourne standards, with the cosmo and the whisky sour we ordered costing $14 each! I have to recommend the cosmo it was big, packed a punch and tasted great! Also want to mention that the individual helping us with the blue hair was great and really added to the collective experience of the group!

I absolutely loved this wine bar!! The food is remarkable. So delicious!!. The menu is designed in a share, snacky style which I love. So you don't come here for a large, full meal. You come here to experience a range of smaller dishes. The service was really good even though it was busy. I'll definitely be back!

We were very disappointed in our experience at the Wine Bank. This is normally one of our favourite restaurants. There were only tapas style food. We ordered a cheese plate which only included one cheese. The food was delicious though. Dessert were just out of a glass cabinet. The service was very poor. The wait staff seemed very disinterested, No one came to ask if our food was good or offer another glass of wine. I had to even ask for water and then it was like warm rap water.

I don't often give negative reviews, but I really am left with no choice. the negative review is about the standard of the food served and in no way a reflection of the service and wait staff who were professional. If I had to use one word to describe the food standard it would be "PRETENTIOUS". Absolutely and utterly pretentious! I can only imagine the people who have given a good rating to this type of substandard effortlessly prepared food as also pretentious. Or easily impressed. Or maybe there are quite a lot of false positives? The food simply wasn't tasty at all. On first glance I was surprised to see the prices seemed a little on the cheap side. There must be a catch I thought? But on seeing the portion size when the food came out, I quickly realized I was incorrect in assuming it was cheap. Quite the opposite in fact. Portion size was incredibly small. Eagerly awaiting what I expected to be a succulent juicy grilled fish accompanied by a small delicious salad on the side, I was terribly disappointed to to see 3 or 4 extremely thinly sliced raw pieces of fish with a sprinkling of cracked pepper and a garnish of 3 segments of a mandarin and a couple of slices of what i think was fennel on the side. I should have paid more attention in French class and I may have noticed that French word for "raw" discreetly hidden in the menu description. Or was it Italian, I am not sure? I laughed it off and awaited the beef dish I'd also ordered. Shortly after the beef dish arrived and again the menu description failed to mention the beef would be raw as well. (As the menu described the meat as being rare but not uncooked. Deceiving! Another plate of very thinly sliced raw meat with a hint of garnish. Hmmm? Again disappointed and a feeling that someone really is taking the piss? I felt like the Chef was not really a chef at all and an imposter chef has somehow infiltrated a fancy restaurant and convinced his patrons that the food is amazing. Simply by using the very nice historical building as a backdrop, nice decor, surrounds and fancy French words in the menu to blind people from the fact that the food was absolute rubbish and simply not good value at all. The overly glamorized food and articulate wording in the menu made for an even bigger disappointment on the foods arrival. The Imposter chef is obviously deluded and most likely really believes there food is "Edgy" and tastes decent when in truth the food was lack luster and lacked any real effort in the composition or taste. Awful really! There was so little effort put into the composition and taste of the food. I couldn't eat it. It was simply awful and I feel the effort put into the taste was nothing short of lazy and uninspiring. I should mention there were some meals that were enjoyed at the table. The fried hot chips were well enjoyed by all. A small serve, but tasty none the less. Another person who dined with us enjoyed the cheese platter. While one of the children liked the lobster which was thinly spread in the tiniest of finger buns you can imagine. Accompanied by side serve of kettle chips which you guessed it, were lazily just taken from a packet of crisps. I am really left quite skeptical as to the validity of all these positive reviews. A lot of friends and a lot a Gmail accounts most likely to hide the substantial amount of honest reviews that reflect my own sentiments, which are seemingly hidden under all these questionable good reviews. In summary when I left the restaurant I felt as though I had been pickpocket of all my hard earned money and incredibly unsatisfied. I was still bloody hungry and needed to eat again when I had only just left. I felt and still feel cheated.

Had to wait 1 hour for our food. The garlic was too big you cannot deny you had them in your dish. The menu said potato gratin we got roast potatoes instead. Not sure if the menu needs reprinting or the kitchen staff did not know the menu. Also a table got served before us but they came later than us. The place looks nice enough but the service did not quite match. Be prepared to have dessert somewhere else.