Hoiana

Review summary

1. L

   Ludwig

   Melbourne

   1 review

   1.0

   1 review

   Dined 3 days ago

   1. Overall 1
   2. Food 1
   3. Service 1
   4. Ambience 1

   This was undoubtedly the worst dining experience of my life, a real disaster. I feel like I'm cheating myself if I don't make fun of it for the wasted time and money! This so-called "restaurant" should just be renamed "Money-Stealing Factory"! The waiters were as slow as robots in standby mode. I had to call them three times before they showed up. Their communication skills were so poor that I seriously wondered if they had left their ears and brains in the kitchen. **Green mango tiger prawn salad?** Don't even mention it to me. The mango was cut into all sorts of odd shapes and sizes. I seriously doubt if the chef was blindfolded while slicing it. Some pieces were as thick as wires, others as thin as dental floss. This is fine dining? Fine my foot! Three weeks ago, they were generous enough to give two prawns, but now it's down to just one. They don't even bother to be deceptive. Do they think we can't count, or that we don't use the internet? The roast duck meat really made me furious! It took half an hour for the dish to arrive. Did you raise the duck eggs from hatching to adulthood and hand-feed them until they were ready for roasting? When it was served, it was as tough as a shoe sole, with no aroma at all and a fishy smell so strong that I wondered if it was directly fished out of a stinking ditch! It has completely reset my bottom line for "roast duck". **Beef pho?** It's obviously made with instant powder! The soup is like plain boiled water and the meat is like chewing on a rubber band. After eating it, I almost wanted to call the police to report you for wasting ingredients. As for your Sangria, it could run for "the most difficult-to-drink beverage in all of Australia". It's both sour and bitter, like it was made by mixing vinegar with coffee. Is this bartender here to ruin the party? In conclusion, this restaurant is the most outrageous one I have ever seen, without a doubt! The prices are ridiculously high, the food is trash
   

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2. A

   Alexia

   Melbourne

   1 review

   3.0

   1 review

   Dined 5 days ago

   1. Overall 3
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 2
   4. Ambience 4

   The food was beautiful but let down by inexperienced staff. Our order was messed up. We were told after ordering that they could not do the set menus (Christmas day to be fair) but they also cancelled the small plates we had ordered à la carte as well even though we tried to confirm they were still on order. Then my husband ordered a beer, which after 15 min still hadn’t appeared so asked again, only to have 2 beers show up later. The place wasn’t even busy as staff were just standing around at times. Definitely needs to have professional serving staff.
   

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3. A

   Abhay

   San Francisco

   1 review

   5.0

   1 review

   Dined 7 days ago

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   Lovely evening and great food. Cocktails were great. Leisurely progress through the set menu. Didn’t feel rushed at all. Lots of time to enjoy the food. Great to meet the chef at the end with the special tiramisu story- worth waiting for. We will be back again soon
   

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4. F

   Faye

   Melbourne

   2 reviews

   4.0

   2 reviews

   Dined on 7 December 2024

   1. Overall 4
   2. Food 4
   3. Service 3
   4. Ambience 3

   The octopus was delicious and others were good but some of the serving are on the small scale. The waiting staffs were very attentive but the kitchen dint inform about unavailability of the eggplant dish that we have ordered. Overall it’s a pleasant experience for our lunch.
   

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5. S

   Steve

   Melbourne

   1 review

   5.0

   1 review

   Dined on 25 November 2024

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   This is my second time in attendance for the amazing Hoiana experience! Special mention and thank you goes to the amazing Chef and Owner Kiki for your hospitality and energetic spirit. The food was delicious and all the staff were so welcoming and great to converse with. Kiki and team have done an amazing job in building Hoiana into a shining light for contemporary Vietnamese cuisine. Can’t wait to visit again!
   

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6. R

   Renee

   Melbourne

   1 review

   5.0

   1 review

   Dined on 25 November 2024

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 4
   4. Ambience 4

   Amazing food, generous portion sizes, great to share, unbelievable value for money. Will continue to go back again and again.
   

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7. D

   Darren

   Melbourne

   3 reviews

   1.0

   3 reviews

   Dined on 16 November 2024

   1. Overall 1
   2. Food 1
   3. Service 1
   4. Ambience 3

   The staff was accommodating when we changed our booking to 1hr earlier. Unfortunately, the experience was underwhelming, 3 out of 5 dishes we ordered were unavailable so we had to change our order twice, on a Saturday night. Plus, the food was not worth the wait and price. They brought the wrong dish after we had pointed in the menu and asked the waiter to repeat the order. They also missed some of the side dishes (rice paper, even though it was part of the menu). The service was rather slow. The FOH staff took a long time for 2 glasses of wine, 1 mocktail and 2 cocktails. They brought the drinks out one at a time, and the mocktails were quite small and not tasty enough for the prices they charged. They brought us water for the table, once we finished the water bottles, they took the bottles away and never refilled us until we asked for it at the end of the meal. The noodle soup was specifically bland and does not taste good at all. We came because of the good reviews, but these seem to be unreliable. Would not recommend.
   

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8. M

   Michael

   Perth

   4 reviews

   3.0

   4 reviews

   Dined on 1 November 2024

   1. Overall 3
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 1
   4. Ambience 3

   The food was good, but the portions were very small and overpriced. Despite asking multiple times for no chilies, my wife’s dish arrived topped with them. We didn’t want to wait any longer, so she just scraped them off and continued eating. Service also needs major improvement. Our drinks took a long time to arrive, and the first drink was served warm, though they corrected it later. We ordered entrees expecting them all at once, but one only came out with the main meal, which was disappointing. Overall, while the food was tasty, our experience was average due to service delays. We would have loved to stay longer, but waiting 25 minutes for a bottle of beer wasn’t worth it. Hopefully, the service improves in the future!
   

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9. K

   Ken

   Melbourne

   1 review

   5.0

   1 review

   Dined on 27 October 2024

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 4
   4. Ambience 5

   Excellent food, prepared to a high standard, with live music adding to the total experience.
   

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10. R

    Rebekah

    Melbourne

    1 review

    3.0

    1 review

    Dined on 26 October 2024

    1. Overall 3
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 1
    4. Ambience 4

    The food was amazing but everything was a disappointment. -We were given filthy menus with bits of food so on them - we had to remind staff for our drinks, and when they arrived they were wrong - they reached over us frequently to grab items instead of walking around, dropping dirty cutlery on us - we had to ask them to remove finished plates The live music was great, and the good itself was delicious. Wouldn't rush back due to service
    

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