Royal Saxon

Serving proper pub food, this is a vibe worth checking out. Nothing will blow your mind but it's quality food, with quality service, absolute quality low maintenance super chill and an upper casual atmosphere that is dog friendly with quality prices - how can you go wrong? A little down the way from the party scene of Swan St, shouldn't deter you as it boasts a four-legged kid friendly courtyard and a 3hr happy hour every day from 3pm. And the food is as decent and stylish as the venue. Loaded with mozzarella, the Garlic Bread Pull Apart was #cheesepull porn of epic proportions. The Pork & Chive Dumplings were packed with flavour and the Lemongrass Fried Chicken was great for sharing. The Vermicelli Bowl comes with a choice of grilled beef, chicken or tofu but missed the spring roll addition. And to have a $20 steak night on a Friday is unheard of! And in itself is the best reason to dine here. But the best reason to stay is the Boozy Scoop Alcoholic Gelato! Made to taste exactly like the real thing, these cocktail icecreams were great and housed a decent 40% alcohol content. This place and menu was made to be able to dine here on the regular and in the Summer will be a great location to enjoy a drink or three.

Royal Saxon is a really nice venue with pleasant customer service. There are options for either indoor or outdoor dining/drinks. The lunch menu for $23 which includes either wine, beer or soft drink and a good range of meals to choose from is excellent value. I ordered the lemon pepper chicken poke bowl and it was delicious. I was able to order directly to my table via a QR code. Thank you for a nice dining experience. I will definitely be back again for lunch!

Average CUB owned public serving commercial beers. Called in for a quick beer, and it was average. My partners beer was so bad we couldn't drink it. Now that's saying something lol. And not in a good way.

Fantastic pub in South Yarra with a great vibe - good alternative to the clubs around. Happy hour prices are fantastic Ordered the chips and a side of olives and smoked Bocconcini, so good. Excellent selection of entrees. Espresso Martinis are grand here, good selection of other drinks too. Will be back, honestly give it a go. May wish to make a reservation if in groups or during busy periods

Hosted my father's 80th here with 20 people. Set menu for lunch with lots of share plates, and everyone able to choose their main from one of 5 options. The food was magnificent, the service was faultless. Simon looked after us on his own and nothing was lacking. The vibe was super cruisy for a Sunday lunch. Would highly recommend

One of the best local pubs in the area, fantastic food and atmosphere with no pokies just straight live music and fun for everyone especially after a long week of work, also big thanks to being agile and providing a takeaway option for my my lunch at work very tasty food and drink options here.

Live music and courtyard vibes🔥 could not have asked for better atmosphere for few drinks and snacks! Do checkout their everyday specials for lower price!

Fantastic venue! Held our high school reunion upstairs in the bar/balcony area! Simon & Jamie were fabulous to deal with & very accommodating while organising our event & their bar staff on the day were lovely & friendly! Great variety of drinks & food! Highly recommend this venue! Has a number of fabulous different areas for functions indoors & outdoors! Definitely worth checking out! Also had dinner here initially when looking at the venue which was delicious!

If I hadn't had looked up at a specific time, I would have completely missed this place. However, I did, and I saw it, so when I was on my way back, I jumped off of the tram to check it out. Well, it is certainly worth checking out because as a pub it is actually pretty cool. They have quite a nice courtyard out the back, and just an all-round relaxing atmosphere. Oh, and they also have some rather nice beers on tap as well.

This is one of the few places left in Melbourne where you can make a booking for a group of more than 10 people and not get asked to do a set menu. Both visits to the Saxon have been more than enjoyable. The service is impeccable and the food (both times I went, I had something from the special's menu) was mouth watering! The outside area has a great vibe and I particularly love the massive tree right in the middle of it. Beware though, it gets pretty packed and before you know it, you will be surrounded by smokers!

What I enjoy about The Saxon is that its a concrete jungle. This may not be appealing to all, but for many The Saxon provides a great feeling of space & modern line with an open air courtyard full of blue stone, black iron & stylish architecture that dominates the eye similarly to the crowd it attracts. This place is almost always happening. During week days its a great place to luncheon or share a drink or two with friends fantastic for a summer afternoon anytime of the week. On weeknights its attracts a mixed crown, a combination of old & young professionals. The menu is Italian inspired with Antipasto & Tasting plates being a popular choice amongst groups. The Upper level also has a large bar and balcony which overlooks to a magnificent open air space. The Saxon also caters for functions in this area for 50-100 people. The Royal Saxon operates by table reservations and frequently uses door lists.

Ahhh. My brother's fiancee would hate this place. She's Canadian, and she's got this thing about the standard of Australian service (not entirely unjustified, I might add.) You see, I was here for a friend's going away, and for me the service exemplifies the very best traditions of Australian hospitality. They'll serve you the food (I had the potato pizza by the way, quite tasty.) And they'll do it with a modicum of indifference with just a soupcon of chat and recommendation. It's a relationship between equals. Beyond that, there's not a lot that I'd have to say about the Royal Saxon. They've got a nice garden, and there's enough Friday traffic that it's hard to get a table. The bar's well enough stocked, but there's nothing unique about it. Pizza was pretty damn tasty, though.

The Royal Saxon is a slightly-upscale bar/gastropub. They have a good selection of beers, wines, and cocktails, accompanied by a decent sized food menu. I visited a little before dinner time so I only sampled a couple of their dishes: the salumi misti and the roast potato. The meats in the salumi misti were quite good, and the potatoes were nice and crispy. The venue itself feels modern and it is quite spacious. They have a large area for people ordering meals, a good sized outdoor area, and an area immediately in front of the bar for those wanting to drink indoors.

I have always loved these guys they know how to make me happy, and really so they should I have been there enough haha Nothing better than when you finish a hard day and you can walk in somewhere where can have just a stiff drink or a bite to eat. Not to mention that these guys prove that you can be a great all round venue and still provide an interesting signature martini. When asked for the 'house' martini I was given the following; Cutlass Gin from West Winds Gin, Maidenii Vermouth (great Aus vermouth), served in a classic martini glass and garnished with two slices of red capsicum, interesting and unique. Who's up for a martini now?

The music was great for a Saturday night however the general crowd came off as obnoxious The cocktails were not impressive as they had tended to omit dressings that added to the visual appeal of a cocktail The staff seemed like they would rather be anywhere else, killing the atmosphere that was already on life support Overall the Royal Saxon struggles to live up to the high standards the name suggests. If you end up coming here on a night out, a group of fun friends is a must

Stopped in for lunch with a few work mates. The place looks great and has a good atmosphere. Although they were busy it wasn't long till we were seated and had started with the beers. Staff were extremely nice, even when I had to send my White Rabbit back. Apparently it was the bottom of the Keg. Switched it for a Little Creatures and I was back on my way. If I was after a good lunch, I wouldn't recommend the Royal Saxon, the menu sounds enticing and flavourful but doesn't deliver. Unless your after pizza and then it passes. We kicked on for a few hours and were never short of service or a full glass, so as an afternoon drinking venue, the Royal Saxon fits the bill.

I have visited the Royal Saxon on several occasions for work lunch and I have ordered the Nduja salami (hot), red onion, tomato and scamorza bianco pizza every time as it's quite tasty. So I can personally vouch for this meal if you happen to be looking at the menu and struggling to find a dish that you might enjoy. The service is faultless and the staff are lovely. So you will be looked after and not feel forgotten as with some experiences this has been a bad habit for some venues I have been to. The design of the Royal Saxon is quite interesting. You feel comfortable walking in and cosy with great emphasis on space. It's neatly laid out and modern as well. You won't feel lonely here, it can get quite busy. They have a bar if you feel like something to drink as well. If you like Italian food than the meals will appeal to you, I haven't tried enough of the menu to highly recommend the food here, but take the risk with the pizzas, they haven't disappointed me yet. There's a lot more to the Royal Saxon with an outside and upstairs area which I have yet to explore, but as it stands, my experience has been pleasant and haven't had a reason yet for not recommending this place.

Take one Richmond Pub, gut it and leave only the exterior standing. Fill the interior with a concrete and glass box and some outside tables. That's the Royal Saxon Hotel. It actually looks pretty good and is a great place for an afternoon beer. The main thing on the menu is pizza and the pizzas are quite good - thin bases and some great toppings. The pork-belly is an obvious favourite, but I preferred the hot salami. There are much better pizzas in Melbourne, but the Royal Saxon is a great place for a beer that just happens to have some good pizza as well. Service was a bit hit or miss though - three mistakes (wrong drinks, wrong pizzas) in the one session seems a bit excessive.

Really nice decor and I hear the upstairs is fun at night. We went there on a lazy Sunday afternoon and enjoyed our beers. Everything is a tad more expensive than I would have expected. The large beers are not pints but you're billed like it is a pint ($8.50). The mushroom and rocket pizza was pretty dry and hardly had any toppings and was one of my least favorite pizzas that I have had in Melbourne ($20). The octopus salad was $18 for tiniest little portion with barely enough little chunks of (delicious) octopus to serve the three of us. We each had one or two tiny morsels. Perhaps its just a great place for drinks, as the decor and open air feel is very nice. Great design. The service was attentive and great.

This is a review of the restaurant. If I were to rate the service in isolation I would give it 1 star. BUT the food! It more than made up for the below average service. We had amazing salads with a side of roast chicken. There were amazing sugar coated walnuts in one of the salads, and the ice cream was home made and amazing. It's rare to be really impressed with the quality of food, but this night we were. The mint ice cream and chocolate coffee was sensational. Very pleased, though I hope the chef replaces his floor staff soon! Lighting was dim creating great atmosphere too.

Great Classy Venue. Beaware though this place gets packed and you might have to wait a while!. Good range of drinks, not to sure about food as I was there while it was a bar.

The Sax has been around for what seems like forever, which doesn't *necessarily* make it good (just look at Cliff Richard), but in this case it means they've had the time to fine tune some intricacies and now the Sax is a functional and versatile bar/pub/restaurant. The menu knows where it's at, there is no pub-standard overwhelming curry/pizza/pub meals/pasta/focaccia/dehydrated space food menu that tries to cover all bases and ultimately bollockses up *all* of them. Home-style Italian in style, you'll find antipasto, pastas, rustic mains, gourmet pizzas and some sweets. All food is organic, free range, locally sourced, seasonal and largely house-made (wild foraged morel mushroom tagliarini with house made pasta, anyone?), so it's guilt free. Provided you stay away from the desserts of course but that's a whole other kind of guilt that no amount of ethical sourcing can assuage, but then there's always a treadmill or bulimia for that. Points to note though: bring an Italian dictionary, and vegetarians should maybe think about getting a lentil sandwich on the way in or just hoeing into some cocktails and imparting an anti-cruelty diatribe while everyone else chews on a fat steak or juicy quail. Neat segue into cocktails: sweet tooths should check out the toffee apple, everyone else go the boozy mandarin julep. Lots of imported and boutiquey beers plus 11 on tap, and a great wine list including house wines on tap (right??) available by the glass/half litre/litre. The bar is well stocked but forget about the following: wet pussies; Jagermeister, Red Bull, Jagerbombs, Skittlebombs, Malibu, Midouri, and French martinis. The barstaff will give you a look that's drier than the driest dirty martini and a lot drier than the bartop on a busy night. Speaking of busy nights, expect to queue but not for long, then once you're inside you can either queue again to get past the velvet rope into the oddly exclusive upstairs bar with cosy booths, full bar and smokers' balcony. But downstairs is good enough for most, with a massive heated courtyard and a fire place. Just beware my housemate, Dopey Dwarf, who haunts this joint like the ghost of good music haunts Bono's house. I mean mansion. Or yurt, wherever he lives now. The Sax is an ideal spot for Sunday sessions and I'm not just saying that so you'll come and keep me company. The crowd tends toward the good looking and sophisticated, minimal hipster contingent, and Neville.