The Maylands Hotel is located deep within a side street in a popular outer fringe eastern suburb. I’ve actually eaten here many moons ago, and have fond memories of the experience. The place has undergone renovations since my last visit, and I must say the venue looks modern and elegant. There’s a decent selection of food options on offer with seafood, pasta, steaks, modern Australian dishes and your traditional pub fare.

For dinner, I ordered the Honey Mustard Lamb Medallions. The dish came out 20 minutes after ordering and was above average in presentation. My initial reaction to the dish was that the amount of lamb was conservative with about 150 grams of meat on the plate. It turned out it was enough, although with their higher price point, I was expecting a bit more.

The lamb was lean and perfectly cooked. Each medallion had a nice pinkish centre, and the meat was tender and succulent. The subtle sweetness from the honey mustard marinade complemented the rosemary mint balsamic glaze well. The saltiness from the fetta balanced out the dish well. The roasted pumpkin was soft and delicate, and added nice colour to the dish.

My friend had the Atlantic Salmon which came with an orange and fennel salad that was topped off with a balsamic glaze. I tasted the salmon, and we both agreed it was slightly over cooked.

For dessert, I had the Sticky Date Pudding. I know puddings come in many forms, but I was surprised to see my dessert come out in the form of a slice. It reminded me of something you’d buy from the supermarket. While my friend and I both ordered different desserts, both our dishes looked remarkably similar. The middle section of the pudding was quite soft and moist, however, the edges were rather firm. It did taste like a sticky date pudding and there was the odd piece of date thrown into the mix, however, I’ve had better and tastier.

My friend had the White Chocolate and Raspberry Pudding. I had a taste of this dessert and thought it was less sweet than my pudding. This particular pudding slice was soft and moist throughout.

The staff were friendly and the service was good. Drinks were served promptly an constantly refilled, and plates were cleared as we finished. The meals did take a bit longer than usual to come out. The atmosphere was relaxed, particularly with the comfortable surroundings.

The pricing here is higher than average with main meals heading towards the $30 mark. My main set me back $28.50, while the dessert was $10.90. I know some places try to get away with smaller serving sizes by focussing on presentation, but even that wasn’t great.

Verdict: There is truth to the negative reviews you read about this place.

WHERE: 67 Phillis St, Maylands