The Sugar Gum Hotel

I am a regular customer of the Sugar Gum Hotel and have always enjoyed dining here, which is why this experience was so disappointing. I ordered the main calamari with chips and salad. While eating the salad, something fell out of the salad bowl onto my plate, as I was picking up the salad with my fork. It turned out to be a dead moth. I was absolutely mortified, as this is something I have never experienced before, not even with supermarket bagged salads. We immediately informed the waitstaff, who were polite and apologetic and offered a refund, which I appreciated. I hadn’t even finished my meal at that point and was otherwise enjoying the calamari, which was very tasty. We spoke with the manager to understand how the salad was prepared. She initially didn’t know, and said will ask the chef. She explained that the salad is supplied in a large box and is “triple washed,” and that the chefs also wash it before serving. However, the salad leaves were completely dry, which made this explanation difficult to believe and suggests the kitchen may be relying solely on the supplier’s washing process. The manager also said that “these things can happen,” but as a long-time customer, I find this unacceptable. With experienced and qualified chefs, incidents like this should not occur. This experience has unfortunately made me question the food safety standards here, which is disappointing given my previous positive experiences.

J · 2026-01-26

Good Ambience, chicken Parma was just OK and Grill chicken was very Dry. Dirty chai Latte was fantastic. You can spend time in gaming room with a Beer. Next visit may be Thumbs for a beer or a coffee but No food. CHEERS!!!

winnie walia · 2025-09-30

Shout out to Ali, the young waitress we had last Thursday night . She was friendly, pleasant and helpful. I was really impressed with her great customer service and organisational skills for such a young person. Keep up the great work and know how much we appreciated you!

Renee Pizzecco · 2026-02-10

Sorry to leave a not so good review…. But coeliacs be aware…… Ordered a GF roast of lamb, specifically asked waitress if my meal was GF, including the gravy, was assured it was, however on her return to delivery other meals, I was informed that gravy was NOT gluten free. The chef didn’t read the labels on the tin… no fault of the waitress or person who took my order. Sugar Gum was not that busy, the chef hadn’t read the order correctly, hence just a small amount of gravy made me vomit several times. I did appreciate the free cappuccino.

sue macfarlane · 2026-02-11