Morley’s Bar and Bistro

2 Reviews on “Morley’s Bar and Bistro”

• VegEats

  I had dinner here on Wednesday night intending to return to 3 wild ducks and finding instead that the restaurant had changed. At first reluctant to go in due to loud music blaring from outdoor speakers we entered to find it much quieter inside. I had a vege burger with fries and my companion a prawn burger with fries. The menu is a cross between diner and the contemporary fare of the previous restaurant.
  On the night we went they had run out of meat burgers. The waitress was great – she made us very relaxed and was delightfully friendly although a bit scatty. Other groups seemed to be enjoying their meals. The ambience was comfortable although the change in decor made it a bit stark – with some of the warmth of the previous restaurant lost. The beer menu was interesting with a range of craft beers on tap including the locally produced Mornington Pale Ale. Food was great and tasty – plenty of salad on the burger – another deep fried vege burger and chips perfectly cooked and well presented. You won’t get too much to eat but you will be well fed. Price was slightly high – burger with a side of chips at $19. Total for two was $85. I recommend giving it a try as long as you don’t mind paying.

  May 1, 2017, 6:07 pm

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• Jay Jay

  Had dinner at Morleys Bar Bistro on a Saturday evening. It used to be called 3 Wild Ducks – recently had a rebrand from same owners.

  Unfortunately, I believe it is only a matter of time before this establishment disappears into obscurity. I feel for whoever has spent all the time, money and effort setting up this nice looking restaurant, however, it fails in a few key areas.

  It was extremely quiet for a Saturday night and I was skeptical upon arrival; unfortunately my concerns turned out to be well justified. It was not only quiet based on percentage of tables booked but compared to other restaurants that were virtually fully booked on the same night – from what we could see.

  PROS

  – Nice modern fitout

  – Clean environment / Bathroom facilities

  – Great service and very pleasant attendees – (albeit, felt a little rushed at times from the young man, and a certain vagueness from the young lady!)

  CONS

  – Lighting way too bright (form my liking!)

  – LIVE MUSIC – Annoying (solo acoustic playing pop, oz rock etc. style, definitely not to our liking and annoying acoustics to boot)

  – Broken toilet seat (hinge) spoils an impressive and clean facility

  – Food uninspiring and below average on one account

  -Croquettes – nice enough inside but exterior crumb was too oily, as if it had not been drained or oil was too low?

  Pizza – nice, well cooked crust and ingredients, however let down by potato, which should have been cooked a bit more and crisped somewhat. Instead, you get large, quite firm boiled & tasteless chunks

  Veal Schnitzel – The accompanying chips, and apple slaw were fine, nothing special.

  However, the biggest let down of the evening was the schnitzel. Again, an oily crumb coated a terrible (slightly small for $27) piece of veal. Almost every mouthful had horrible pieces of gristle throughout. The most annoying part was trying to cut it, so I fear the meat itself was slightly overcooked. I could have got better at Schnitz fast food outlets – not good.

  Dessert – Choc Parfait, nice enough – basically felt like I was just eating chocolate and vanilla ice cream with some honeycomb on it. One got the feeling this was prepared well in advance though.

  This restaurant feels as though it is aimed more at families / groups. Interestingly though, in taking a snapshot of the demographics from busy restaurants on the evening, I barely noticed antone under 18 years of age – perhaps there’s a sign there?

  Whilst it’s easy to criticize, again, I genuinely feel for whoever has sunk their hard earned into setting up this place, as I can’t see it lasting long. The hospitality/restaurant industry seems such a competitive, and unforgiving playing field.

  Morleys appears to be another sorry example of such judgment. Given it’s appealing design, and the fact that it’s only recently rebranded though, I’m really curious; Is this restaurant unpopular because people have already tried it and not been impressed, or for some other reason?

  November 22, 2016, 6:05 am

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