Play Pokies at Lara Hotel in Lara

Attended with our kids just last week, meals very mediocre, the play area was revolting. Behind the guard fencing there was dirty cups, food and so much dust and god knows what that it was building up its own landscape. Pretty sure it hasn\'t been cleaned in years.

My experience at the Lara hotel began well enough. I was greeted by a friendly staff member who took my takeaway order, noted the dietary requirements clearly, and offered to call when the food was ready.

Unfortunately, that was the only positive part of the experience.

When I returned to collect the order, the atmosphere inside was immediately uncomfortable. A staff member appeared to be loudly confronting a group of seated patrons, not simply calling out to them, but speaking to them in a way that felt public, tense, and very unprofessional. It was not the kind of scene you expect to walk into when collecting dinner.

At the counter, there was no one available to assist. I waited until the same staff member I had just seen raising her voice at customers eventually came around to serve me.

For $87, I received three meals. One of those meals had specific dietary requirements, which had been written on the order slip.

Credit where it is due, the person who took the order did their part. The problem is that those requirements clearly did not make it to the kitchen, or worse, they were simply ignored.

The food itself was very disappointing. The portions were small, the quality was poor, and the overall standard felt closer to something from a corner store than a meal from a local hotel charging restaurant prices. For the cost, it was not just underwhelming, it was insulting.

What should have been a simple takeaway order turned into an uncomfortable and frustrating experience from start to finish. Between the public display of poor service, the ignored dietary requirements, and the extremely poor value for money, I cannot recommend the Lara hotel.

This experience was so poor that it genuinely made me reconsider the decision to live in Lara. If this is meant to be one of the local hospitality options, then frankly, that is a joke.

I walked in expecting a decent local meal. I left questioning how an establishment can charge premium prices while delivering so little care, professionalism, or quality.

Place is a mixed bag.

Good:
There is a playground for the kids.
The have Carlton Draught, tank beer.
The staff are nice.
Good location near the train.

But, the food is inconsistent. You might get a good one, but you might get a different meal to what you ordered last time.

100% worth every $.

Had a boxing day lunch here with family and every meal was pure deliciousness.
Brushetta, Korean bbq wings, Chicken scallopini, Chicken Roulade, steak sandwich, gravy\'s, Calamari, and huuuuuge bowls of chips. All great size servings.
All staff were friendly, polite and nothing too much to ask.
Cannot fault anything!
A big Thank you to everyone from A South Australian

We took a chance being new to the area. We didn't look at reviews or anything we just booked to have our own experience.

We walked in were greeted and shown our table along with getting our menu's. We sat there for a bit not really knowing what to do. My mother in law had to go and ask so that kind of left us thinking we had made a mistake going there. Once we understood how it worked we were a bit more settled.

The atmosphere I'm going to say mainly families. I was quite impressed with how quick our daughters food come out being a toddler they do t like to wait so that was 5 star alone for anxious parents. She had chicken nuggets and chips probably the best chicken nuggets I've tried.
We had hope for our meals Partner ordered the lamb shanks myself and my mother in law orders the chicken parmigiana. We were not disappointed the food was filling a delicious good quality food used and presented how it should be.

We left saying we are definitely coming back also the guy servicing the food at the food counter what a lovely person.

Keep up the good work