Dear, dear me.

the refurbish of the mile end hotel has been, in my opinion, a great success; it is pretty, inviting and fun. i am sure it will bring a host of new customers curious to try out the place.

But unfortunately, the food doesn't quite live up to the gourmet adjectives laden hype. If a schnitzel is advertised as 'porterhouse schnitzel', it implies that you can tell that it is, indeed, a decent cut of meat. This meat was indistinguishable from any other meat, quite thin and ordinary. Also, paying extra for sauce always annoys me; it's like charging for both the burger meat and the bun. And my friend's meal was average too. Squid is cut into rings or smaller pieces for a reason. It may be nouveau to offer it in one or two larger pieces but the squid will usually end up rubbery on the inside before it crisps up on the outside.

also, the wine list was fairly expensive - no good quality wines for under $8.

but the icing on the cake, was the waitress coming in whilst a party of six were singing happy birthday over a lit birthday cake.

she had words with them because there was some sort of charge for byo cake. so awkward!!!
I am sure it is easy to wait until they have finished blowing out the candles, and then just quietly mention the charge; no harm done. If it had been my birthday, I would have been disappointed.

A nice place for after work drinks, with its well done refurbishment and otherwise good service.

Approximate cost: $20-25

The Mile End Hotel was a pleasant surprise. Have worked very close by for months but not been tempted. Had lunch there today and the food was great! Beautifully presented and very good quality, perfectly cooked. Reasonable wine list and very friendly service, as well as a decent coffee. Will be back

Excellent little local, has nice bar and bottle shop and cute little dining area with slightly above average pub food, excellent value for half-price lunches. Schnitzels especially good. The patrons in the bar can be a bit of a put-off though.