Yarra Valley Harvest

We have been frequenting this restaurant on a monthly basis for a few months now, with our elderly mother who resides in a local aged care centre and our 8 year old son who has coeliac's disease, he has extremely violent reactions to food with wheat.My son did not feel like eating a big meal for lunch, because of his food condition we always bring a sandwich just in case he feels like eating something.Instead of greeting us warmly, we were immediately barked at by the waitress who said 'you can't bring your own food in here, we need to charge you an extra fee if your son eats that sandwich here'. She said she would need to talk to the manager, which we overheard saying in a loud voice 'we can't allow this as then everyone will do it and we'll set a precedent!!!!'.We explained the situation and said that he wasn't really hungry this small gluten free sandwich was is just in case he felt like something.My husband, my mother in law and I were going to sit down and have main course for lunch, with wine and possibly desert and coffee. This is what we normally would order.The specials of the day were barked at us and then we were told on this 'one occasion' they would allow us our son to have his sandwich and they wouldn't charge us, just on this one occasion. She then barked at our son for using the door to the restaurant to the courtyard and said he shouldn't be using that. Well? Why was it open?On previous occasions we have spent between $200-$250 on our meals as a family in this restaurant. and we have been making it a monthly event.Well guess what? Being lectured and barked at, isn't really the treatment you go out seeking on a weekend when all you want is a nice meal in pleasant surroundings.For the sake of not letting a young child with an extreme food allergy just have his home-made sandwich IF he felt hungry, you have now the lost our monthly patronage. Which if I calculate correctly could be worth $3000 per year. I guess you don't care about those types of figures. As a small business owner myself, I'm very aware of the cost of making customers unhappy.Our experience at Healesville Harvest on Saturday was not great and we'll be voting with our feet and will not be returning.Big thumbs down to you Healesville Harvest, maybe have a good hard think about what you actually provide at your establishment? It's not about just providing good food and wine in a lovely room, it's how your customers 'feel' after their time with you and how they were treated, what sort of experience did they have.Our experience with you was woeful, your staff do not know how to provide a welcoming environment and do not know how to communicate with anyone, especially children. Instead we felt like we were in some sort of a bootcamp, having orders and information barked at us, being told what we can and cannot do.We walked out of the restaurant after finishing our wine and went to the Cherry Tree Cafe a few doors down, where we had a lovely lunch served by friendly staff.

The kitchen staff need to take a serious look at themselves. Table of 4 waiting over an hour for food. At some point received 2 meals 30 minutes in. Waited another 30 minutes for two of the same meal. Basic chef rules, all food goes out on the same table and still forgot some extras ordered, had to send back. Can't fault the wait staff, they did the best they could, despite the kitchen letting everyone down.Over priced also with menu items also for such small amounts.

Absolutely let down by this establishment. It was a busy weekend due to RNBvines being on the previous day and yet the café did not staff for this, and the staff were either new, overwhelmed and or pissed off toward customers. 7 of us had to find our own seating, seek our own menues and when we ordered was put off by the manger warning us about the long wait in such a manner that made us believe she wanted people to leave. Our orders took up to 1.5 hours to come out and the serving sized were so small when you pay $27 for your breakfast. The coffees/teas arrived cold. One of the meals had an unlisted item that was a allergy risk and had to be taken back, there was offer of apology, or a refund. It was expensive, slow service, cold food and you pay high costs for allergy specific items and any extras for that matter.There was one staff member however who saved the cafe's day because she acknowledged our brunch experience was horrible and apologies on behalf of the café...this shouldn't be left up to a 17 year old who is working her weekend job. She was very lovely and saved me from asking for a full refund of 7 people. Won't go back ever again.

A very nice place to take a break between Melbourne and Marysville.

Great sunday roast lunches - outdoor space is great even in the rain (large umbrellas give very good rain protection)The roast chicken lunch was amazing - coffee was also good!A great spot for a excellent country meal and a beverage!Note that this place is signed Healesville Harvest when you are looking for it from the main road!

Nice fish and chips. The restaurant vibe is good as well. The great thing is the food came out fast, only 10-15min. What a good lunch .

another restaurant cheaping out and using qr codes to order mealswould have given 5 stars but they decided to use qr codes instead of paying someone to wait patrons.food was lovely, I had a mushroom burger and it was the best one I've ever had. it cost around $120 for four people, that would be very much worth it if we had of had proper table service.the location looked amazing and the beer garden was so nice. very fancy looking interior.again can't get over the fact that there were staff members wandering around doing nothing yet we still had to order through a qr code app.

Food was yummy. However, the food is extremely over priced and very small portions. $70 for two small coconut salads and two cans of beer. Lovely atmosphere though

Overpriced poor quality pub food at sanctuary cafe took over 25 minutes to come out. Bangers and mash were just ok, squid had asian salad that wasn’t fresh or enjoyable, the kids schnitzel and chips were bad. The schnitzel was obviously pre-frozen as it was watery and flavourless, the chips not good. All that for $67 with a juice and 2 soft drinks. Next time I’ll bring sandwiches so we can enjoy lunch.