29/09/2022
Marong Family Hotel, Saturday 27th August 2022 – Dinner
Marong is a little town about 13km west of Bendigo, boasting the very popular Marong Family Hotel. Marong Family hotel has a few dining areas within, as well as the traditional bar service, and a fantastic outside area for meals and functions.
We had a table booked for 6:30pm, and arrived early, with a few minutes to spare.
Upon entry to the venue, we could immediately see that they were extremely busy, as it was hard to move through the venue with so many people. It took 8 minutes to be greeted and shown to our table, as we waited for others in front of us to be served and seated. The greeting was extremely friendly, and welcoming, with an apology for taking so long to attend to our dining party.
The tables throughout the venue were set for maximum patronage, with little room to move between tables once patrons were seated. Not only did this lose the intimacy of the dining experience, but it also made the environment extremely noisy. Tables seated so closely next to each other, people could be part of the conversations being had on the tables next to them, as everything could be heard from nearby diners.
If we had wanted an intimate dinner for two, tonight was not the night for it, it was way too busy for that.
Once seated at the table, the server said she’d be back in about 5 minutes or so to take our orders, once we’d had a chance to look at the menu.
The menu had a great range of foods, catered for children, with Vegetartian, Vegan and Gluten free meals available.
22 minutes went by, and we had to go and find someone to take our order for us, the staff were just so busy bringing out meals and clearing tables, that it seemed placing our order was forgotten about.
I ordered the Chicken Parmigiana with chips and salad, at a cost of $24.
Given how busy they were, the meals arrived in a reasonable amount of time, and were hot and fresh. Some of the chips were underneath the parmigiana, and if you’ve been following this page, you’ll know this is a pet hate of mine. The chicken was quite thick, and cooked perfectly through, moist and tender. The topping of ham, Napoli and cheese was delicious, and there was ample covering the chicken.
Chips were a thick cut, and perfectly seasoned, and delivered hot. Slightly crisp on the outside, and soft on the inside – the way a good chip should be.
Salad was bright, colourful and very fresh. Base of lettuce, with julienne cucumber, carrot, onion, tomato and topped with freshly shredded beetroot. The dressing was lovely and refreshing, and not overdone.
Meal size was large and filling. And all elements on the plate were delicious.
Once our meals were finished, and being cleared, the server asked if we’d like dessert. Our dining party obliged, and dessert was ordered without leaving the table
I ordered a Brandy basket with Bailey’s icecream and fresh strawberries, at a cost of $12.50.
it was presented well, and the brandy basket itself fresh and crunchy. The Baileys ice cream was delicious, and I’d love to be able to buy that by the tub! The Strawberry on top was fresh. Given the explanation of the dessert on the menu, I expected more than one Strawberry on the plate, but one was ample with the serving size of the dessert.
Brandy Baskets are one of my favourite desserts, so it’s great to see them on the menu, I wish more places would offer them.
The Marong Family Hotel is a very popular, well attended and very obviously loved venue.
With the high quality of the meals at such a great price, and friendliness of the staff, I’d be excited to come back during a quieter dining time, and try again, I believe during a quieter period, I would enjoy the atmosphere more.
The biggest downside for me, was the tables needing to be a bit more spaced apart, so it wasn’t so packed with people, however after 2 years of Covid interruptions, I can understand that they are making maximum use of the space they have.
All in all, they had great food, and are very reasonably priced. I hope to come back again soon
