Kingston Hotel - Canberra

On a recent trip to Canberra we stayed within 300 meters of the Kingston Hotel. I had received advice that it was a good, reliable place for pub fare. This was an under estimation. The first night we made no booking, arrived just ahead of a large group and every table was taken. Within seconds of us requesting a table, the staff quickly huddled together, found 5 extra chairs and a table. When we tried to thank them for this effort the attitude of the staff was that what they had done was expected and we need not be so grateful. They did this in a highly professional way. When I went to get 5 drinks, I requested a tray so that I could carry the drinks back to the table but I was told no, and the bar staff carried the drinks to our table. The variety of food was huge and everything we had, across 2 nights, was delicious, but it was the attitude of the staff that really impressed me. I'll be going back.

Fantastic burgers. Had the lamb burger, very juicy and tasty. Partner had the beef burger, it was huge with flavour and herbs in the meat. We will be back

Weekend in Canberra last weekend, I ate here with my parents. A good, very reasonably priced menu, with generous serves. The Kingston turns out a good pub meal, and the staff are lovely - very warm, welcoming and friendly our only problem was that we over ordered. The sweet potato chips were crispy, the mushroom entree perhaps more salty than I would like, however the swordfish was cooked perfectly, a fabulous main course.

Cook your own steak is such great value. Cuts range from $11-$25 and include a roll and salad bar. Adjoining bistro offers a great range of meals and the sweet potato fries are a must.

OK.  That is all that it was. OK.  Heavily overrated chunks of meat. You can cook yourself around a neanderthal-like  fire grill talking with the bros about bro things. Or something like that. You can also get the chef to cook it for you.  The menu was limited to either big meats or big carbs. With a token salad mixed in the menu.  Oh yes, and there was a salad bar...  There was a bunch of us there, and everyone had a plate size of MCG stacked with about 5 days worth of meat on it on top of a pile of chips.  Food was not bad, but just there was no integrity about. There was nothing rememberable about it aside from the ridiculous sizes.  The staff were friendly and helpful, although the bar staff was showing a bit of attitude and sever lack basic politeness.  Suppose the venue is good for those who like brown man-food or real big meat eaters.  The adjoining bottle shop allows you to take your wine into the pub for extra $3, and they have a reasonable selection. So that was a nice convenience...  Anyhow, it was ok. But I would not run there again.