Best Australian style Pub in the Country.. perfect lighting, comfortable, great cosy couches .. decent range of ales , sports on tv , a few pokies for a bit of quick fun ..top location..it ticks all boxes

Really nice place this, the ambience is perfect for a good chat and drink, the lighting is perfect for that wind down drink after a long day.
We ate Bar food menu, it was good and hit the spot but not super nice i ordered a snitty, but they don't have regular gravy ??'?🏼‍♂️, just shy of $30 the Turkish sandwich seem to better value though

Its a ok pub if your want to have a Punt or watch the footy with a bit of atmosphere, but don't eat here!
I ordered a Chicken Parma and for $30 it was horrible. It was a processed Chicken frozen filet that had been deep fried. The thinest slice of chicken between 5mm of bread crumbs. (See photo) was doughy to eat and I couldn't finish it. Salad was a packet mix. Staff all looked disinterested. Not a great experience.

Always the perfect cocktails 🍸. Maybe the BEST espresso Martini EVER!
GREAT place to relax and wait before catching a train too
Also the bathroom is just so amazing. What a place

Had pork ribs absolutely delicious. Wish the bones had more meat. But all in all a pleasant experience. Staff were attentive when serving. Tables cleared promptly. Thank you for a great dinner

Great place to sit back and watch some sport, venue has great bar and tab as well as pokies.
Typical Melbourne vibe with great Melbourne staff who are only to happy to help.
There are even escalators at the entrance how flash lol

This place has a beautiful ambiance, within such a beautiful old building. Watch sports, gamble, share food with friends and family, while you have drinks. It was a nice experience for us friends. The staffs are very welcoming. Even when they are busy, they make sure they serve us with a smile on the face and very politely. Highly recommend place for a fun hangout, gamble, drinks and food.

Our experience at The Mail Exchange was as wonderful as it usually is. All staff were amazing but In particular the staff who took and delivered our lunch orders and manager who went out of his way to ensure the audio visual was setup perfectly, and even googled for me when I wasn't sure how to set my PowerPoint presentation on loop!
Couldn't have been more pleased.
There could be a little more variety on the menu, with a few more vegetarian options and snack items, such as soup and toasties, but everyone seemed to enjoy their lunch.
Thank you so much!

Always love going here. The food is consistently delicious and the place always clean(tables, smoking areas, pokies). Relaxed watching the footy with beers before having cob loaf and steaks in the formal dining area. Highly recommend this wine - see photo.

Its probably not everyone's cup of tea but if you ignore the gaming the venue is a good place to do some work and check your emails with a coffee or have an informal meeting. Close to transport makes it a good place for travelling workers day or night

It was just a great change to walk in from a grey street scene to a very colourful and subdued decor and it had Quiet ambience.
Staff are very conducive, convivial and helpful. It has a diverse range of brewed liquor as well as spirits.
Food was delicious and delivered quite smartly, as it was prompt.
All in all, it was a great lunch for our group of 20.

??'? Nice relaxed place to hang out with friends while waiting for trains. The desserts were yum - very sweet, the passion fruit tart personally needed something "more" on the inside instead of straight puree, but overall, it's quite a big space, sections to have some drinks and watch the footy or head over to the dinning room for resturant food.

Yum! I love this gorgeous old building with original steel beams inside. The hotel is in the basement, but it's not dingy. Although it's an extensive place with many places to eat, drink and meet, it's intimate and welcoming. The food was absolutely delicious. The pork cutlet was juicy and not dry. The pasta was very flavoursome, both meals were. Cooked to perfection. Good choice in the menu. Staff were very accommodating, even though we walked in with the after footy crowd. Best to book if you have a large crowd. Cool event room (with window to the street traffic) and pokies are available too if that's your thing.

We had a large group (around 23 people) and we were in our own room! Splitting the bill and paying for our own was made easy by the friendly staff. The vegetable Korma was *delicious*!! If you're going to have the Eton Mess, recommend to share it with someone. It's bigger than it looks and very rich, sweet

Food was serviceable, the burger was definitely better than my previous experience with the parma. Great proximity to public transport but atmosphere is lacking as the dining area is pretty dead (though the gaming area is buzzing)

Update
We were back at Mail Exchange tonight for dinner pre attending The Lume and I was seriously disappointed. I ordered what turned out to be probably the worst parma I've ever had, definitely processed style chicken you get from the Coles deli with some terrible out a jar sauce on top. I didn't even eat half of it.

The chips fared better and were nicely seasoned but some were chunkier than other others and the fatter ones weren't as well cooked. The only positive I'll highlight is the security guard was the most vigilant I have ever seen any venue be in checking covid vax and even asked for my ID to confirm it matched my certificate

Original review
Having worked practically opposite this place for years I've eaten here on many an occasion. While the menu is pub food the interior is not too bad inside with the pokie machines kind of segregated to one spot and the dining room relatively uninterrupted by their neon gleam and electronic dinging. There's also an escalator inside (random).

I generally order the salt and pepper calamari which interestingly comes with a spicy pineapple dipping sauce. The portions aren't the largest but I'm pretty sure I eat way more than a normal person should so they are probably the correct nutrition sizes. The reviews on here are fairly scathing but remember the type of establishment this is. I think it's perfectly fine for pre football drinks or dinner and given its proximity to Etihad stadium I do believe that's exactly how it's treated

I'll preface this by saying I'm frequently told I have "cast iron guts" and that I'll "eat anything". That is to say: I'm not what most would call a fussy eater.

With that said, I paid $29.90 for a chicken parma which was somehow soggy and overcooked at the same time?.. With a dry and wilted salad and brown overcooked chips.

I ate it, of course. I don't waste food; where possible. But would I order food here again? No... I can get much nicer food elsewhere. I can still tell good from bad even with my "cast iron guts".

'The Pub' at Crown Casino for instance have consistently provided good food, they're only 3 tram stops from here and have $20 weekly specials.

It was parma night there tonight, actually. I only took a punt on Mail Exchange Hotel because of a late finish at work and a storm outside. Realistically they're the only conditions I can recommend eating here: if you're pretty desperate.

Had an amazing experience at the Mail Exchange Hotel. The staff were fantastic, fast service and they cater to people that have allergies as my mother in law cannot have capsicum/paprika. They avoided using both those ingredients in everyone at the tables dishes. The food was wonderful. Affordable price and great atmosphere.

In-Depth Review:

Start of Service 5/5
*Greeted by the security guard at entrance. Surprisingly he is very friendly, first point of contact with a friendly approach gives you a welcoming vibe. Very good service.

Food 5/5
*Wagyu Burger: Surprisingly for a hotel/gaming pub restaurant, this burger was really good! Bread was not too soft, not too hard or dry, cheese was a nice choice for the soft, yet tasty seasoned wagyu patties which were great in flavour.
*Pides also were generous in portion and were excellent in taste and filling.
*
*

Value 2/5
*The cost of the wagyu burger was almost $30, came with chips, was on the steep end of the price range, however you do end up full after the chips and the burger!
*Pides were $17.5, also on the very high end of the spectrum in terms of pricing.

Atmosphere 5/5
*A darker themed bar which includes pokies, seated table restaurant, lounges, friendly security. I'd bring colleagues or friends or even dates here. Very versatile venue.

End of Service 5/5
*The first and last point of contact is the friendly security guard, along with the excellent food service, I'd definitely be back here. I was here for about 1 hour waiting for colleagues and you can kill time here and be in your own zone or be with friends.

Overall 5/5
*Based on the above criteria, this venue is 5/5 for its versatility, able to go alone, or in a group or a date with great food, fun pokies and great service. Well done!

Great schnitzel Parmi. South Aussies would be impressed. Decent prices. Well worth a visit.

Loved the Chicken Schnitzel Parmigiana. Great food. It is highly recommended to book beforehand, but they managed to accommodate us as walk-ins.

Beautiful place! Staff were extremely friendly and welcoming. Had a lovely lunch and decided to come back for dinner.
A definite yes to this place. Loved it so much have booked my husbands birthday here in July.
Tip become a member for amazing drinks discount. Thank you so much update we had a absolute ball. Staff were wonderful highly recommended.

This was our first time here, and definitely coming back again. We booked a table for dinner and were greeted by very friendly staff.

We ordered the vegetarian Linguini in tomatillo's salsa, and the Chicken Parmigiana with fries (they call them Bad Boy chips!). Both were cooked to perfection, and we enjoyed them very much.

Great beer selection, and an amazing vibe. This place is huge!

One of my favourite places in Melbourne.
Staff members are always friendly and very comfy lounge area to watch sports.
Also love the new menu.
Delicious pork cutlet ??'?
Special Thanks to Angelo for recommending this dish ??'?

This place is excellent if you want to play pokies and enjoy a great drink. But to go out for food and and a drink, having the pokies buzzing next to you is rather distracting. But for a night out on the pokies.... The perfect place!

Amazing facility, New machines, classy spacious lounge area, genuine friendly staff, after losing my money I usually feel peeved but at M. E. I still was in a good mood.. Now that speaks volumes in itself

Cya next week

Delicious deconstructed hamburger. Staff are always happy to accommodate different diets. Great for lunch.

Had a great lunch with friends celebrating. Staff very helpful and friendly and the meals were thoroughly enjoyed by everyone. Great venue, easy access from Southern Cross Station and a lovely way to spend a Saturday afternoon.

Surprisingly amazing food, good atmosphere and staff are awesome.
We had dinner there, watched the footy live on their screen, and stayed for hours, when originally we just went there to use as a meeting spot to meet friends and play the pokies for 20 minutes. Overall a good little venue.
Espresso Martinis are 5 star!!

Easy process. We made a reservation, got there and at our table in 5 mins. Great table service, timing and quality of meals. Recommend booking though because the venue is go-to. Highly recommend

So good to go to the Exchange before the footy. Staff friendly, professional and with a good sense of humour. Our food was delicious and delivered on time. We went back there after the footy and kicked on. Good atmosphere!!

A really nice pub to catch up with friends. Great food & service. Its close to Southern Cross station, so easy for everyone to get home safely.

Loved this place! Nice atmosphere and beautiful Christmas decorations. Highly recommend the garlic cob and sunrise cocktail! Our waiter Wes was really nice and so professional. Will be coming back!