Stokehouse Cafe Review

The whole set-up wasn't as good as it used to be. Why would you block the view of the beach with big black bars?
Food was pretty good but overpriced for what you get, but we had the 6pm sitting and they hovered around us (and every other guest who had a 6pm sitting) to get out by 8pm - pretty uncomfortable.

Old Stokehouse much better.

If you want a dinner in St Kilda on the beach - go to Donavan's.

Fantastic location and great food. Wonderful experience

Beautiful long lunch, have always wanted to go and did not disappoint. Views were devine.

It s always great coming here, having a drink and watching the world go by. Service is always great, food list is fine, bar service is always friendly and prompt. I keep coming back

Great food . Great service. Expensive but worth it

Really nice raw bar and really funky deserts. I had cucumber gelato

Brillant location & layout. Service was top notch thanks to Alex who made everything effortless and enjoyable - grazie! If unsure on the main course opt for the lamb over the John Dory Bar staff slightly too pushy to sell but other than that great spot & recommended.

Absolutely fantastic ambience and Bayside views, along with sensational food and generous servings when it came to the mains. Exceptional staff as well. All round great experience.

Fantastic food and service. The location sells itself overlooking the ocean inclusive magical sunsets. The balcony is fab for pre dinner drinks. Perfect for special occasions

Went for a business lunch on Friday just been.
Very unprofessional with taking orders, service and
We re pushed out still with coffees and drinks that had just been ordered. Do yourself a favour and avoid this place .

Outstanding. Superb food, charming service, thank you

Outstanding service and delicious food. Would definitely go here again.

This place has such amazing food. Simply delicious!

Very delicious and reasonably priced dinner with a view. Sunset dinner is incredible. Wow

Stopped by on our walk along the beach.
Food was good Beer selection was great.

Absolutely amazing experience! Food was great, exceptionally good service. All in all I would rate an almost perfect 10/10

Wonderful food, good service and fantastic hand soap in the toilet

Disappointing but we did have high expectations. The restaurant missed the mark and was just an unfinished noisy space serving good but pricey food. Service was only average.

Great place, I come here often. Amazing vibe when you first walk in and the staff are very friendly. The food is always top quality.

Very disappointed in this experience. To be told they have no chicken or fish was pretty poor. Only positive was the waiter who was very friendly.

The view and food is very good. The rise and pistachio semi-freddo highly recommended. For out of towners like us, a name and street number on the building would have been helpful. Otherwise, thoroughly enjoyed it.

Sunday lunch stokehouse upstairs .we were told when we booked to promptly be seated at our time of booking or arrive half hour early if we wanted a drink prior .arrivved 11.50 for our 12 noon booking to stand in a queue for 30 min while tradespeople were still on the job .no drinks available either up or down stairs .... so dont know why they insisted we arrive early ???? 3 of us squished on a table for 2 with delecate constant shuffling of glass wear .plates and food ... noise level Overpowering had to work very hard on a 3 way conversation .wine list limiting as was the menu .very disappointing afternoon .only plus was the very Profesional and charming service from Rohit .... dont let him go hes your saving grace ....

What a view of the beach! The prawn tacos were so delicious we tried making our own at home! Although the mains are a little small the sides and bread servings are generous so you don't leave hungry. Having come from Sydney we we're supposed at how good value a restaurant on the beach could be. What amazing service and well trained staff.

Nice food but have eaten at better restaurants for the $$$. Waiting staff not that engaging and wine list pricey. Loads better fine dining special occasion restaurants in Melbourne! Disappointed as had been here a few years back and it was sensational

Recently dined at for dinner for a 30th, booked months in advance, arrived at 7.50 for an 8 sitting to then be seated at 8.40. No apology, no drinks offered during this time for the inconvenience, extremely disappointed, simply not good enough. Will not be going back and will be advising all friends and family to avoid. So disappointing.

Came here for a work Christmas function. WHAT A VIEW!!! Fantastic bar, lovely service, and great knowledgeable staff. The food was hit and miss, 50% amazing and the other 50%...disappointing. Overall pleasant dinner function. Will come back for the bar and view!

Was alright apparently order went to someone else. So long wait and was average. Nothing offered for long delay either

Last Aussie meal for a while and this place didn't disappoint. Fine food, lively atmosphere and excellent experience.

It doesn't meet the hype. Great location, however the venue itself appears unfinished. We thought we were going for a fine dining experience upstairs, but were met with a casual lunch that was at the same level as an upmarket pub. The service left us waiting for long periods and was not what you would expect for the price point. The food was simple and unsophisticated. Some may love, but like us others will walk away disappointed and thinking should I go back?

Venue and service we're great, food was quite average

It was rubbish before the fire (insurance job perhaps?) and is just as bad now. Avoid. Service is terrible unless you are known as "the THE crowd" and the food is poor to average. Best go elsewhere.... In fact anywhere BUT overrated St Kilda.

Make sure your staff is looked after. You have an amazing staff try to keep them.

We have dined upstairs, downstairs and enjoyed drinks at Pontoon. Terrible service on all counts, we have give them a many chances but the stuck up attitude and rude waitstaff are a disappointment to the good food and beautiful setting/views on offer.
Perhaps if you are white, you may have a different experience.

Bolshi staff at beginning of night herding us into tables.
I had asked if it was ok to have drinks on balcony with another branch of our family who were dining separately.
Actually mentioned we may linger past the booked time. On the phone I was told no problem
The staff were extremely militant , weird when we are drinking their champagne etc.

Rest of night ok. We usually drink top shelf wine , however, if we are drinking still water we prefer from the tap. Excellent Melbourne drinking water and , most importantly, more sustainable- less wastage bottles etc.
We asked for a jug of water several times but the bottles kept coming. Really annoying.
Food ok, noisy.

Wouldn t recommend .
I m talking upstairs in formal restaurant.
Gorgeous position and view.

As with all restaurants with a water view and crisp white tablecloths, I think Stokehouse prices are higher than they need to be, however in all other aspects I've had a very enjoyable experience.

The staff were welcoming and friendly; I frequently enjoy dining alone and value excellent attentive customer service. They knew the menu in detail and were able to make well-informed recommendations.

I was only after something quick and light, and with the complimentary bread and buffalo cheese with olive oil dip, a simple side and salad were sufficient. The flavours were delicate and celebrated each of the simple ingredients.

The decor was tasteful and complimented nature's beauty with elegant style.

The food and wine was good. Dessert was very delicious. However, the overall feeling was that the restaurant running style was very commercial, bit cold, no warmth.

Very nice setting on the beach, I do feel it could all be table service however the food is nice.

Gorgeous view of the sunset on the beach and good food

An all time favourite! I'm still nostalgic about the old building and have so many memories there but now we have a new building for the Stokehouse. The food speaks for itself and our waiter was fantastic! The views are some of the best in Melbourne and even on a cold day!
The wine list is impressive and the food even better.

Relaxed setting with fine dining quality food and drinks. Love the cocktails and cant go wrong with a long lunch here

The food and service was very good ! The portions are tiny .

Love this place it s beaut, fresh good vibes, super clean and everyone s sound as

Rude, arrogant, narcissistic staff who provide even less than one star service. Food came out cold for the group of eight people at our table and when we mentioned this to the waiter and manager on duty they responded by rolling their eyes and unceremoniously took it away and brought it back out. As a person with special dietary requirements, i was limited to the menu meals. I asked for a salad without dressing and was served a plate with six leaves of cos lettuce with a price tag of $18.50. As for the meat portion of my meal, it was the size of a salad spoon with nothing else on the plate. When we finisghed the meal the wait staff were very quick to dismiss our group from the table telling us we wont be served dessert there but we can stand at the bar if we chose to or go downstairs and drink to our hearts content. Definitely not recommended to anybody who values good food or service.

Great atmosphere. Delicious food and awesome service.

Lovely view, nice atmosohere, fair few wankers around but otherwise great food and service!

Incredible restaurant, I absolutely recommend a visit while in St Kilda, or as a place to travel to from elsewhere in Melbourne.
The view is stunning and their food is fantastic!

Top class service and food upstairs in the restaurant! Very pricey but worth the experience. Amazing wine list and desserts you must leave room for or just over do it because the 4 course options beforehand will certainly tempt you to try one of each! Amazing views!

Went there for a Xmas party so it was a set menu. But the food was superb. Service was excellent and the atmosphere was great.

The only thing I can complain about was finding the place. There's no signage until you actually get inside the building

We went for an Easter set menu brunch today. Everything was good however our waiter was rude and just no pleasant at all. We'd all sat down and stayed in our seats from the beginning. Only one other couple joined after our starters arrived. When the various mains came out, several of us had ordered the sirloin steak cooked at different temperatures. The waiter gave us attitude when I was given the rarer one and I said I'd ordered medium rare. His pitiful excuse was that we'd all moved around. We didn't. Don't blame the guests for your incompetence. Not acceptable in this kind of establishment. You're charging us a holiday surcharge so do your job and be pleasant at the very least. Very irritated by his arrogance and rude attitude. For the record he was Irish (not that that is an issue in itself - just so we know who we are talking about)....

Exquisite service, food, drinks, views and ambience. Ample paid parking available on opposite side of road.

A quintessential 'Melbourne' experience. A trying year for all in hospitality and it was fantastic to be back at the Stokehouse and enjoy great food, great service and great ambience. The team here (like most of hospo) are working their butts off in peak season with fewer numbers in their ranks than ever and ought to be appreciated for pushing through. Love visiting Stokehouse.

First time visiting! View is amazing, reminds me of the Nobu in LA... oysters yum small like I like them, bread and the cheese dip stuff is amazing we got 3 serves. Parmesan chips were very distinctive flavour, corn risotto was nice, different flavour but nice. Prawn taco was nice but again different to what I m use to. Guys had steak and pork.. apparently pork is the best he has had!!! Worth the visit, book ahead and ask for a window seat if it s sun set!

We dined at the Stokehouse St Kilda recently to celebrate a family birthday.
I have never written a google restaurant review before but wanted to share our experience.
When we booked we were informed about the 2 hour time slot so made sure we arrived on time only to be kept waiting when others were being seated.
The menu was limited. The quality of the sirloin and portion size of the John Dory was disappointing. The multiple sides didn't impress either.
We pre ordered a birthday cake and that was underwhelming.
Our waiter was lovely and the table service was excellent.
We love supporting our local restaurants but wont be returning to the Stokehouse.
Its pretentious and overpriced.
Walk down the road for a better dining experience.

High level of service and high quality food. You pay for what you get. Not for the pub scene, quality restaurant.

Good service,, Food totally underwhelming,. Over priced and under valued. Set menu over priced

WoW...
ONE OF THE BEST EVENTS I'VE BEEN, LOVED EVERYTHING ABOUT IT.
Thanks guy's, Nick, Marty and everybody els.
Regards, OZZiE.O

So many good reviews. I can't believe it. Very Disappointed. Very expensive and no value.

I loved my experience at Stokehouse and I was surprised to read of other people's recent experiences that were negative. I guess you will have to go there and judge for yourself.
Location is idyllic.
The wait staff that attended to us were all friendly, attentive, and informed.
We loved the Brooke Farm caviar with accompaniments - my partner said you could die happily after having this.
I also had a wonderful beef short rib special with accompanying red wine which was outstanding.
Both these items are what you would call expensive in average terms, but as we don't get to dine out like this every day, I just enjoyed the moment and did not care about the pricing.
So yes, Melbournians are spoilt for choice and perhaps there may be other places equally spectacular that might provide better value. But my take is, when you have a rare opportunity to enjoy your partner's uninterrupted company, in a beautiful location and at a restaurant that strives for excellence on all levels, DON'T SWEAT THE SMALL STUFF!
Hope you have a great time there.

The view and service was great along with the wine but the food was average. Nothing bad about it but nothing outstanding especially for the price tag.

Amazing food, service and beach view to add to ambience

Amazing location with good selection of drinks and simple and tastey food.

High crime area African gangs rule will never go anywhere near this whole suburb

Food was terrible and expensive,the service was terrible and the food quantity and quality was very bad. would give it zero star if possible.The only good thing was leaving the restaurant.

Great location and view.
As for food and service, got served 55 mins after seated.
Partner ordered medium steak which came out rare and chewy.
The spring salad was a joke, 12 dollars for few cos leaves and tangy taramasalata that you had to go looking for on the plate.
Thats not a salad. The chef and owner should really review menu and stop riping people off

Took my wife and kids for our 10 year wedding anniversary. Amazing views and lovely ambience however the dining experience was average. Seafood platter was bland and tasteless. Sirloin was nice however incredibly small. Service was average almost non existent. I needed to call over random waiters to order our entrees and mains. Everything just felt difficult. Overall was not a positive experience.

Quite disappointing. Told on arrival by a fairly apprupt host that we only had two hours. Service was very rushed and not what I would expect from a high end restaurant no one came to ask about help with the wine. The food was so so - a rather overpriced experienced. Good views though.

Love the decor upstairs at the brand new Stokehouse. Love the service from the minute you walk up stairs. The raw bar witch multiple choices of seafood, we loved the tuna ceviche. A great wine list, beers and cocktails. All palates are satisfies with multiple meat choices and seafood.

One of the worse "fine dining" experience i have ever had. I've made a booking online for 4. A stuff call me the day before and ask me to confirm a booking for 2. I said its for 4 and ask for the time to change to 7pm. She went away and came back to me and said that its all fine. So I turn up 6.55 and they said we only have your booking at 6 and wants the table back at 8. By the time we're sited we had 45 mins to eat. They rush us through our meals and as soon as we finished our main we were told to leave. The food was ok nothing great. Will not recommend to anyone and won't be coming back. Very bad experience for my sister birthday.