I attended a private party at Vin, and the whole experience was bitterly disappointing: rude staff, excruciating slow service, total mismanagement of the event.

We arrived to discover that the table was set for only 25 guests as opposed to the 31 that were booked. Pre-dinner drinks weren't actually served as guests arrived; it wasn't until 30 minutes or so into the function that the drinks service began. When one of the guests ordered a beer, they were told that the keg hadn't been hooked up yet. There was only one waitress assigned to our function. She was expected to pour all of our drinks, sever the canapés, take all of our orders at the table, and serve all of the food. The service was excruciatingly slow. About an hour or so into the function the canapés were yet to be seen. Our host asked the waitress where they were, and was told that they weren't going to be served until they were specifically requested. Our set menu had been pre-arranged, but there weren't any menus and/or a menu board. Fortunately, our host had printed all of her own menus. I hate to think what would have happened had she not done this. We were told we weren't allowed to serve our own drinks, so all of the guests sat at the table with empty glasses. A few of the guests ended up grabbing bottles from behind the bar and serving drinks themselves in an attempt to try to fill some glasses. Our dinner orders weren't taken until every single guest was seated. We, of course, didn't realise this until the waitress was asked why the orders hadn't been taken. The dinner package finished at 11pm, but guests were still finishing their mains at this time due to the delayed service. A fabulous birthday cake had been brought in from elsewhere but this too never appeared. The host had to hunt it down and try to get it presented/served. By the time it did eventually arrive, at least half the party had already left. When the bill arrived, our hosts had been charged for coffees and soft drink despite neither of these items ever appearing.

With all of the fantastic venues and restaurants in Melbourne, why would you ever book a function here?

Approximate cost: $30