Just recently moved to the area so trying out all the nearby pubs. Went for dinner with family.

Service was quick and staff were friendly. I had the salmon. Was delicious! Definitely will come back for food and drink.

What a fabulous and surprising rooftop venue atop the Balaclava Hotel!

We hosted a luncheon for a few dozen people on International Women's Day for our Divas of the Round Table event and all our expectations were not only met, but truly exceeded - across the board.

We arrived up the lift and stepped out to a space that lends itself to the perfect private function away from the hotel vibe downstairs. I'd say its a bit of a hidden secret of Melbourne.

The menu options were perfect and the attention to 'food detail' for quite a large group of our women (with more then half a dozen who had rather particular dietary requirements) was perfect!
It was all so intuitively thought out for each individual. Your kitchen chefs and crew are to be thanked and praised for a wonderful selection and generous portions - no matter what the dietary requirement we had put forward.
I can honestly say that factor ended up being quite a conversation at our table at the time and there was not a person at our event who didnt comment on how pleased they were with the food and options on all three courses.

Also - we cannot thank Lee enough for his exceptional service from beginning to end for our event. It's not often we find someone who goes that extra mile these days, but the service factor we received definitely puts this rooftop venue and the team at Balaclava Hotel now at the top of our list for future options for further events.

Thank you to all the team - they all made the day perfect for our event.

Delighted is the perfect description...
Highly recommended for a private function on the rooftop.

What an incredible afternoon celebrating Divas Of The Round Table at an amazing roof top venue!! Lee you were sensational!! From conception to completion you accommodated everything we asked for with a level of customer service that I honestly is almost unheard of these days; and then to have it followed up on the day with your presence in person ... Divine!!

What an incredible day for all of us ... and thank you for showcasing and recommending this amazing venue Lee!! Didnt even know it existed ... and with all the events I host .. you are totally my go to - thanks for making all of us look and feel amazing today. PS the food was amazing here - so shout out to the chefs xxx

this place is in the heart of Balaclava with good seating arrangements. but the food and drinks were somewhat okay. it is a busy restaurant which has pokies too. we tried the parma and wings. would still visit the restaurant for occasional drinks.

What a fab venue! Had a lovely evening there the other week, with our fantastic waitress Erin. She was fabulous, super engaged and welcoming! Would defiantly recommend to all. Her drinks were great.

Food is great and also Ruby, Oscar, David and the rest of the staff. give great customer service 10/10

Had another great Parma lunch with a drink. Great customer service from Oscar and Ethan as always, fantastic customer service, food and music. 10/10

Always been great place to go but has only recently begun to feel like your local pub should, always being greeted with a smile and friendly chat especially from the new night supervisor who always makes you feel welcome and creates an enjoyable warm atmosphere. I have been coming here for years and now I will be coming back for many more 5stars

Went to this pub with my friend. Met some really nice couples in the upstairs bar. This bar is really quiet & peaceful. Downstairs we were watching the football & had good conversations. The staff gave me soda Waters for free. In the past the food is good quality & reasonably priced. All the staff are friendly. I wish these pubs would get rid of their pokies.

Basically this pub is great for a beer, a feed & a chat. Basically excellent venue

Don't bother ordering the steak, asked for medium rare, got medium-well done. Told management, they refused to get me a new one and wouldn't even replace my drink.

EDIT: Later when the manager was out of sight I complained directly to the kitchen, who cooked me a new steak on their own volition. Therefore this negative review is only directed at the manager and their extremely poor attitude on that night 8/7/23.

What a sad bunch of staff.
Most of them couldn't even crack a smile or manage a thank you when serving.
One younger female staff member was quite pleasant, but apparently she's new there.
Again, they had no light beer, both on tap or in stubbies. Same as last time I visited 2 months ago.
Most disturbing was an altercation I witnessed between a female patron with a grievance and a male manager.
After yelling and swearing at her and having her ejected, he went on to abuse others that were questioning his behaviour.
Certainly not a pleasant place for a meal and drink.

Really love it here! Super friendly staff, amazing service, food delicious and very well priced for the portions. Heaps of seating downstairs in a nice unpretentious old fashioned everything wood pub, or if you are after something a bit less casual, upstairs looks completely different like an upmarket cocktail lounge. Highly recommend!

Manager was incredibly rude to us. We thought the roof top area was open so headed up there for lunch but was eventually told come back downstairs as it was closed, which we had no issue with. After finishing our lunch (more on that later), I realised I left my jumper in the outdoor area upstairs. I asked one of the Waiters if they would let us up there (as it was now locked) and referred us to their manager who rudely told us to wait 30 minutes while he ate his lunch in-front of us and would not let the other staff help me despite the place being almost empty... Despite saying I had to leave now he showed no empathy and bluntly kept telling me to wait there for half an hour for a job that would take him 2 minutes. The lady at the bar was incredibly kind and understanding though as said she would grab it for me as soon as she could, apologised that she wasn't able to help me and that I could come by later on to pick it up which I did a few hours later. In terms of the food, it was below average for the price we paid and the options on the menu are quite limited. Would not recommend coming here for food. Only good thing about my experience was the very friendly lady who served us our food and helped me with my jumper.

Went for dinner here the other night. Staff were friendly but the food wasn't great. The fish and chips looked like it had come out of the frozen section of the supermarket and tasted bland. The chicken Parma was dry and the chips were almost stale. Really hope it was a once off and it improves as the space upstairs has been nicely renovated and is great for a drink.

We were celebrating 2 birthdays yesterday and we had a party of 16 people. We were served by "Karl" I think was his name. He provided us with excellent service. The food was well priced and delicious. We will be back again! Thanks for making the day special for us Karl. Great job!

Secret is out now with the Bala changing for the better. Had lunch on Saturday with my friends and everyone enjoyed their meals. I ordered barramundi and it was delicious. Will definitely go back there again with value meals and excellent service. You should check it out!!!!

Had the porterhouse medeum rare with pepper sauce and greens with a tangy dresding. Simply amazing. Do yourself a flavour and get down here your buds will thank you for it!

Was a really good pub, the pokies room is one of the best I had been to. Balaclava hotel was my local and I was a regular there in till all of the amazing staff members left. Now the staff are so rude, they don't make you feel welcome at all and the venue is never open at the opening times advertised also always closing by 1-1:30am even though they say 6am. I don't recommend visiting this what was an amazing, friendly pub.

A surprise on Carlisle St!
We came in expecting a standard St Kilda pub environment, and after the rooftop dining was recommended, we made out way upstairs to an awesome rooftop dining area with a great chilled ambience!!
The staff were all excellent. Riley especially was great and made sure we had everthing we needed.
The food was served quick enough that we weren't waiting but not so fast that we felt rushed. Oh, and it tasted GREAT! The Veggies that came with the (yummy!) Parma were top quality. The garlic and cheese bread was superb and the Korean chicken appetisers were SO GOOD!
In short, the Balaclava Hotel didn't just exceed our expectations, it blew them away!
Definitely a diamond in the rough!

The Balaclava board was AMAZING!! Those boneless Korean fried chicken and kimchee sandwiches ooolala very well done. They were so yummy omg🤤🤤🤤 very friendly service there as well!

Great venue with great range of beers and spirits although my wife asked for a brandy and coke and they had none. Remy or St Agnes are traditional staples behind a bar so she had to settle for a Cognac instead "with Coke" sad.

Nice place that is newly renovated. I only stayed on the groumd floor, & thought the venue to be great. The whole place is laid out well with plenty of space, especially between tables & between pokie machines making it easy to implement social distancing. Any interactions with staff was always positive in nature, with all staff very nicely presented.

Friendly staff with great service alongside #the best steak ever # great parma. New renovations were much needed but the wait was worth it. Great pokie venue with good variety of machines.# I have had good wins here too# Good luck

Visited the newly renovated bar for a friend's birthday. The rooftop is a terrific area for a gathering nice and warm and a good range of nibbles. What made the night a stand out success though was the fantastic service given by Sam and Lachie. So great to find that old school hospitality and service do exist.

Amazing service, fast and friendly. The rooftop space is lovely, even on a cold night. Recommend the garlic bread and sweet potato wedges.