X is the new kid on the burger scene.. and I have to say I'm a fan. Ordered the the Big D... The slaw used was a mix of Asian Thai fusion and the pulled meat (pork n beef brisket) was done to perfection. Topped off with a light brioche bun... amazing! If ur wanting something a bit different.. This is the one. The Big D burger is a standout ... The combination of infused slaw with pulled meat works! and is definitely "that" taste journey I will return for! Also tried their KFC as well.. bit salty for my liking.. read more

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When you walk into a place and think "oh yeh another burger joint" but you are pleasently surprised that the brioche is about where all commonality ends. Ok yeh, Maccas does Brioche now but do they do it with amazing cut meats or southern fried chicken? I was confused as to what to call this place as it serves up an array of Americana type dishes with interesting add ons. What you can say is Dexter pulls off a very unusual offering while still being casual enough to not feel you need a PhD to understand the menu. I ordered the Big Dexter. Pulled Pork and Beef Brisket.... wow it was yum. I usually do the half way swap with the wife so we can experience more of the menu but there was no hope for this one. This was accompanied by Shoe String Fries finished with a BBQ Rub. .... Hold up. I can't forget... I actually started with a can of Tecate and Burnt Siracha Corn. Which was a great introduction to a lazy Sunday at Dexter. Can't wait to go back! Apparently the meat donuts are in high demand read more

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Impressive place. Good atmosphere, lovely and interesting food, really great staff. You know you're in for something different when the sign out the front doesn't have the restaurant name but rather just "X". As in, X marks the spot, as in you've made it and you've found us. It's an unusual and clever touch. I thought the Uber driver has been misled by the technology and taken us to the wrong place. Instead, we were right there and ready to go. The X cleverness symbolises the whole restaurant in a way. This is a very well run business. The hordes arriving at the door in spite of the torrential Saturday night Melbourne mail outside said it all. This is a seriously popular place. Everything operates in harmony here. We enjoyed every dish. We selected the feed me option. It's a great option. There's ample food and every dish is great. We couldn't finish it all. That was partially due to me insisting that we also have the meat doughnuts. I'd read so much about them that I just had to taste them and indeed they were fantastic. But, truth is the dish put us in overreach territory. I doubt I could fault any dish here. They were all wonderful. The food just keeps coming with the feed me option and it's very good. Pulled pork, sliders, pickles, salads and slaw, brisket, chips, ribs and the famous Kentucky fried cauliflower. It's awesome stuff. A succession of really tasty, good looking and nicely composed dishes. If I could fault anything, and this is a really picky one, it's that the food almost came out too quickly. It seemed like about two minutes after ordering that dishes kept coming out continuously at a rapid rate of knots. Just a few more minutes between dishes would have been useful. I mentioned this was a very well run business. The staff attest to that. Each of the servers we encountered was lovely and very efficient. They were very very good at their jobs especially our favourite server from Estonia. The kitchen staff are obviously exceptional here too. As mentioned, great food came out continuously in the blink of an eye. Those cooks out there are exceptional. Gosh the northern suburbs have grown up. The range of food out this way is amazing now. The traditionally harshest critic at our table wanted to give Dexter a 5. He said he'd been to a lot of "these BBQ places", as he called them, and that this one was easily the best. High praise from a tough man. The other guests felt similarly but in the end the group settled on a comfortable 4.5. Dexter is an ace place that you cannot and should not miss. I will return to try the dishes I missed this time around. read more

Very good meats this place make. Our short ribs and rump steak were tender and flavourful. The fried Korean chicken and the meat doughnuts also did not disappoint. Very creative and yet unpretentious. Love the food quality this restaurant serves. Staff attentiveness is also a joy. Definitely a gem of a find in this part of Melbourne read more

Dexter - Our sharing plate of short ribs and rump steak. Lovely! - American Near Me - Melbourne, VIC

It's all happening in Preston! Dexter is a great little restaurant bar. We haven't eaten many things here but have tried the famous meat donuts! They weren't really my thing ... but I was glad to try them. We had a night cap here the other night - sticky date pudding and a glass of wine. The pudding was delicious, although we would have liked a little more of the delicious sauce. It wasn't too sweet and I liked that. The bar staff are very friendly. Overall a great local venue! read more

Dexter - The picture is a bit dark ... but it still looks good! Sticky date pudding. - American Near Me - Melbourne, VIC

Decent feed and good value for money nothing that isn't worth it on the menu honestly!

Once you find the X your there. My wife and i had the KFC califlower, string fries, big dexter, pig sandwich, dexter red beer and dexter lager. Below are our ratings 0-10 being best. KFC Califlower 7 String Fries 8.5 Big Dexter 9 Pig Sandwich 9 Red beer 8.5 Lager 8.5 read more

Emailed the Dexter crew before heading their way informing them of dietary destruction and they were quick to respond and very accommodating. The pig head croquette burger was delicious! Juicy shredded pig head meat encased in a crunchy potato coating. The pickled pineapple was really nice and cut through the richness of the head meat. Friends who came with me had the caramel beef short rib (to die for), the kurobuta pork loin (incredibly melt in your mouth) and the rump cap (succulent and perfectly cooked). With the ever growing number of burger joints and American influenced grub popping up. Dexter is definitely one to add to your list of must try I the northern suburbs. read more

This place is amazing ! Was recommended by a friend and it was definitely a great place to go! I was amazed at how good the food was! The staff were lovely and although not a big restaurant the space was very inviting. We ordered the famous meat donut ! Yes donut x meat - sweet, pillowy outer and inside was savoury meat. If I come back next time I'd love to just eat lots of these ! We ordered the big Dexter burger - full of meat and flavour and a little messy to eat but delicious. Also ordered the short ribs - generous serving and melt in your mouth meat with tasty mash, slaw and bread. The chips were also delicious ! The wait for our meals were a little longer than ideal but it didn't bother us. Will definitely be back again ! read more

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Meat Doughnuts... M.E.A.T Doughnuts... It sounds weird yes, but it tastes delicious and I am honestly surprised that nobody else has ripped off the idea. Although I can understand that living up to the original is a tough task. So my number one recommendation when visiting here is to get the doughnuts, they are only available at the dinner service because they are made fresh daily. There are then three options for your main, a burger, smokehouse or grill. They do cover vegetarian options which is nice if your after a lighter change. Each item I have had off the menu has been superbly fresh and the meat tender and juicy. Despite its location in Preston this little restaurant is always busy, so if you don't have a booking you can expect to wait. The other option is turn up early. They also do takeaway if you live close enough to get the goods home before they get cold. read more

Quick, happy, friendly service. Excellent food. My goodness that beef brisket was melting in my mouth. Would I go there again. You bet your life. read more

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Delicious! Great vegetarian options (believe it or not!) but would be excellent to have a few more. I had the tofu burger which was AMAZING: southern coating, incredibly crunchy surrounding piping hot tofu in a bun with Asian style coleslaw and hot sauce. Not sure if there is a different frying vat for vegan option, nor if bun was a non vegan brioche bun, but that was ok by me. read more

An Exciting and Excellent Sweet and Savoury dish wc is the best Seller. How Genius is that!??? You have to taste it to believe it. Friendly staff and very relaxed environment. But make sure you book before racking up dont want to go home disappointed. read more

Peter was very friendly and courteous. Our table was on the inner part of the restaurant which was cosy and cool in an extremely hot day in Melbourne. There were good choices of food and drink. Ribs were excellent and fried chicken was tender and juicy. Waiting staff was very helpful and knowledgeable. Highly recommended and we shall be back soon. read more

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My criteria for judging a restaurant high on the scale of excellence is fairly broad. It's fair to say I'm not hard to please but it's even more accurate to say that I'm also easy to disappoint. Both standards have low thresholds but in the case of the former so many places fall short. Not so Dexter. From the moment I was greeted upon entering and all the way through entree, main and dessert (with drinks to accompany) I was attended to with a high degree of competency and good nature. Which leads me to believe that the staff here love what they do and do what they can to bring you along with them. Dexter is a 'local-lad(s)-return-to-their-roots-and-make-good' story that just happens to encompass exceptional barbecue with modern twists and local products prepared and served with honest appreciation for their origins. From their unique and delicious take on a savoury meat-filled doughnut to any of their main dishes and sides it's easy to appreciate the level of dedication to keeping things simple and letting the ingredients do the talking. So many other barbecue joints will beat you over the head with their saucing and rubbing but at Dexter is all about nuance, and flavour extracted from the cooking process. Something which is right there for you to watch in the incredibly close confines of the open kitchen. I can't recommend this place more highly...so I won't...in fact I urge you to ignore this review and go find your own friggin' place to eat. This one belongs to the locals. read more

Came here when I craved a burger, having seen the high rating on yelp. I ordered the beef briscuit and with its hefty price tag of $15 I expected something fabulous; it didn't disappoint. Though the bun was mush from all the juices, I didn't care once I took a bite. Yum! The meat was tender and tasty. Unfortunately for this place, everything else is letting it down. The decor is that uber cool industrial feel which isn't homely or comfortable at all and honestly, a bit out of place in Preston. The prices on the menu shocked me a bit, considering the menu itself was disgustingly stained with the dribbled food of previous patrons. What a turn off. We got a small serve of chips to share which was a good size and they were crunchy, which I like, except the aioli was quite bland. I also couldn't help but notice that the joint conforms to gender roles with all the kitchen staff being male and all wait staff female. The only non white staff member I saw had the glamorous job of washing the dishes. For a place that obviously considers itself edgy and progressive, it's got a long way to go. read more

This place sucks a fly fell out of my water there chicken burger had this weird sauce the music was to loud there was not much on the menu

Having not had breakfast yet I was enticed into a burger to fill the void. Dexter is a popular place, and on Sunday lunchtime it was pretty busy. As I walked in and saw the plates of food sitting in front of the hungry customers, I could not wait for my turn. Needless to say if your looking for a mostly vegetarian meal, this is not your place. I ordered the Pigs Head Croquette burger with a small shoestring fries. Interesting thing the Croquette, basically a bunch of pulled meat that has been slow cooked then packed into a crunchy Pattie type capsule, that is deep fried to be delivered straight to your mouth. The burger with so much coleslaw and pickles was a juicy treat, however I could not taste the pineapple as it was overpowered by the rest of the burger. The fries were covered in spices however I feel they lacked the flavour they promised. The meat in the croquette made up for everything and I was highly satisfied and stuffed. It looks like they do proper pulled pork here that includes soaking it in juices. Will come back to try something else. Bring your toothpicks :) read more

Dexter where the X marks the spot! This hot little start up is best described as a cool CBD eatery in an up and coming suburb. Think Heston Blumenthal meets American BBQ. The food is based around American bbq meat and 'buns' which is like a burger but without the patty and without the cheese. They combine chilli slaw, smoked meats and pickles to make some of the best buns I have tasted. The meat doughnuts remind me of something that may come from Heston Blumenthals restaurants and are confusingly delicious and also happen to be my favourite menu item. They also serve with craft beer only sourced from local craft breweries. The decor is trendy and every time I have been it has been packed to the rafters. You can order take away and have a drink at the bar while you wait. Do yourself a favour and get down for an eat in experience or take away. read more

The food is amazing, but this place gets ridiculously busy at dinner time. Staff are efficient and friendly. YOU MUST HAVE THE KFC.

My gosh, this place is the best! We ordered the banquet & got grilled corn, brisket sliders, pulled pork, ribs that fell off the bone, bone marrow mash & slaw. I left feeling delightfully satisfied! The were fantastic when is came to organizing a gluten free meal, one without red meat & another with a long list of allergies. This was my third time here & it won't be my last! read more

Quick service and not too expensive. The lamb ribs are a must-have. Tried the tofu burger which was quite basic but had a good texture. Cookies for dessert are good but definitely not worth the price. Would visit again read more

Yep. Really really good. Not cheap but kinda worth it. Awesome service and great beers on tap. 4 of us went "The Whole Hog" and it was pretty yummy. Really fresh, quality ingredients. Will return on our next visit to Melbourne. Recommend it quite strongly. read more