Play Pokies at The Royal Hotel Benalla

Went here on New Years Eve with a friend. Really disappointing.
Food was overpriced & awful. Ordered the fish & it was well-cooked but did not taste fresh (I literally had to choke it down), & the accompanying salad was wilted with cheap-tasting dressing. There were only 2 vegetarian meal options, both of which sounded very ordinary & uninspired, & made me wonder if the chef had actually ever asked a vegetarian what they like to eat.
The drinks were also overpriced.
They have electronic pagers that tell people when their meals are ready which emit very loud beeps like a truck reversing, which did nothing to add to the already very unappealing atmosphere of pokies & zero character. The venue was very far from busy, so I did wonder why they were even needed. There wasn't even any music at all, much less some live music or other entertainment.
The staff were nice & friendly, but management were conspicuously turning off lights and shutting blinds at 8:30pm whilst giving dirty looks at us for being the last people in the bar. This would have been a bit odd on a regular night, but on NYE it was a joke.
This would have been a solid one star rating except for the friendly staff.

Service in the front bar was exceptional. Thanks Kath.

My meal was scrumdiddlyumptious.
I ordered the lamb shank with vegetables and mash potatoes.
They altered my partner's chicken parmigiana into a Hawaiian version for him Thank you

Added. It is odd to pay these prices and have to collect our own meals when the four/five staff were not doing anything.

The food was alright. Wasn't amazing. We got the roast unfortunately the potatoes and pumpkin was still rock hard. If I could put a zero for the service I would. The older lady with blonde hair and glasses that was there today for lunch service was absolutely RUDE. No hello or not even what can I get you. She literally Just stood at the till looking at us like why are we even there. And the look she gave us when we walked in was appalling!! She Literally didn't even talk while serving. And when we forgot an order she huffed and puffed and actually spoke and said very rudely now I have to do it on another buzzer.. like that's okay it's not an issue that we have two buzzers just loose your attitude. The man that was on there was polite but he could smile. Customer service was just absolutely appalling. I'm lucky we were just passing through and definitely not in a hurry to go back ! Dont waste your hard earn money I would be going to the other pub which they have great service and the atleast say hello 😂

The Royal hotel Benalla is nothing more than a glorified food court inside a pub. After placing your order, you're handed a buzzer, just like at a food court, and when it buzzes, you have to retrieve your own meal and cutlery from a window. Paying full prices for this service is outrageous; not only do they fail to bring your meal to the table, but the food is also mediocre at best, with no redeeming qualities. To top it off, the staff are old and rude, clearly lacking any sense of hospitality. The owner should consider selling the place or

letting go of the current staff, and bringing in new, capable talent who actually understands how to run a quality establishment. This place is a joke and needs a complete overhaul.

Stopped in for a meal on our way home, good pub food. Staff amazing