We are going to Melbourne at end of July and staying with some good friends. We would like to treat them to a dinner out somewhere special.

Do any of you have a favourite restaurant in Melbourne that you think would be appropriate? We are adventurous foodwise so there are no restrictions. Happy to splash out, so even somewhere with a stunning degustation menu would be fine. Or your favourite cheap and cheerful suburban.

Suggestions gratefully received. Please include what you consider to be the 'must-have' dish on the menu.

Thanks!

We went to a fabulous spot at the Docklands called Mecca Bah, middle eastern food, but really excellent, we ate mezze and then had gorgeous mains and fab wine - not toooo expensive, great location too.

[wwwthinkingaboutfood.blogspot.com]

I am not familiar with actual Melbourne restaurants, but I have had good feedback about the Colonial Tramcar Restaurant, it does a circuit of the city and is 'fine dining' . It is very popular as a tourist attraction and must be booked in advance.

And at the other end of the scale for a 'fun' night... and once again foodwise I am not sure, Draculas have a restaurant in Melbourne as well.

Actually I think there may have been a similar post in the past, try doing a search for Melbourne, all dates in forums.

cheers

A friend told me just last night that the Draculas evening in melbourne was fantastic.... a quality night out for show and food ,scarey at times before you entered the show, but very well done and the food was done in the "horror" theme too...choc coffin shaped dessert with white choc headstone and raspberry Couli coming frm the coffin!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/12/2008 11:45PM by Maryloo.

If I was going to Melbourne - I would ensure that I went here:

[www.movida.com.au]

Four legs good, two legs bad. George Orwell



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/13/2008 11:17AM by lynley.

I've not been to Movida but have read good things about it. My first choice however would be Nobu at Crown Casino.

[gourmettraveller.com.au]

I am really keen on going to Movida - haven't been there as yet but it is definitely high on my wish list. It is Spanish and their tapas sound fantastic.





Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/14/2008 11:25AM by helen.

Yes, MoVida is one I have been reading up on. It does look fab and there are good reviews for it on various public review dining websites.
When we were last in Melbourne 5-6 years ago we went to a tapas place called Kanela only a week after they had opened. It was the only Spanish tapas place we could find in Melbourne and we were looking for tapas because Auckland didn't have any Spanish tapas places (I guess we still don't, really). I now see that there are loads of tapas places in Melbourne and Kanela is still going strong!


Irene,
I did a search for Melbourne before posting this but the other posts were either for not the type of dining I was after or too old.

There are some good tapas places in Auckland now - CAC, Dida's, La Zeppa and The Eden Cloak Room are just a few off the top of my head....

Four legs good, two legs bad. George Orwell

Maryloo you did very well with your discription of Draculars.. It was so dark I could barely see what I was eating. The coffin theme was a hoot. Did you see the coffin under the floor in front of the bar???

I am not lucky enough to have been there Janice..well not yet anyway! It is a possibility ( and my wish)in the next 12 months tho. No my friend was telling me about when she went a couple of years ago on a girls weekend to melbourne! It sounds like a night with difference.

Try this website:

[www.thatsmelbourne.com.au]

We enjoyed the Copperwood on Lygone Street. Lovely food and friendly waitresses.
There are so many restaurants on this street to choose from.
We would recomment Copperwood.
Enjoy your holiday. Janice

A place we really enjoyed for the food and entertainment was a teppanyaki restaurant in Chinatown. All food was cooked at your table by your own Chef. It was fantastic and I can now add another skill to my C.V: Can catch flying food in mouth!!!

NOt particularly flash or expensive, but enjoyable and pleasant.

On another note good ole' Hamil tron doesn't have any of these type restaurants, does Auckland have any?

Quite a few teppanyaki places in Auckland I've just been to one which I've forgotten the name of on Ponsonby Rd. Not really for me I think! (though they had nice sake cocktails) It was quite cheap and not too flash either, but some of the central ones are more upmarket.

back to the original request here is a blog with quite detailed reviews of Melbourne eateries - gorgeous photos also....

[eatalmostanything.com]


Four legs good, two legs bad. George Orwell

Just an update to my original thread.. we ended up going to Giuseppe, Arnaldo and Sons in the Crown Casino complex. It was FABULOUS and everything was faultless. Tasty Italian food, mind-blowing service and great value for money. The whole night felt high-end and special without paying true high-end prices. Our Melbourne friends really enjoyed it.
I still dream about what else I would order off the menu if I could go back there tomorrow!
Have a look at their menu on the website:
[www.idrb.com]

For starters we shared the salt cod balls, the Enzo salami and the oregano-dusted prawns. Mains were veal shank braised in milk, pig's trotter stuffed with Italian sausage and served with turnip greens (that was me), steamed flathead fish marinated in olive oil, and the pork risotto. We shared 2 other dishes as sides, which were HUGE: the pea and air-dried ricotta salad, and the potatoes roasted with garlic and rosemary. Some of the dishes didn't really need extra side dishes but we thought it would be worth trying as much as we could. Only 3 people had desserts because the pig's trotter was so rich that I couldn't manage a sweet! Desserts were Gelati Affogato, mascarpone tart, and baked chocolate pot.
The waiter gave some of the best service I have ever had (we tipped big we were so impressed).
Really cute touch at the end - instead of mints at the counter they had a huge jar full of badges with their signature red and green bullseye.