The food here is amazing. Have been here a couple of times and have loved every bite. We stopped…read morefor lunch and had the 5 selection deal for $32 per person. You get to choose 5 plates from the menu and they come out tapas style so a share plate. There are so many great choices on the menu to choose from. But sharing the 5 plates is enough for you to feel satisfied with out being overly full. Every plate was a delight and the accompanying salads were light and refreshing. I especially lives the tempura eggplant dish with the green mango salad with chilli it was delicious. The crying Tiger was also amazing with the wagyu and the spicy citrus dipping sauce. It's to die for as is the sticky pork belly The staff were great they were attentive and happy to explain any part of the menu we were unsure about. Also very friendly and made sure we were happy with everything. I will be back here for sure pity it's so far away for us but it's a good place to look forward to coming back for a great feed.

St Cloud had a nice ambience as soon as I walked in, it was modern with exquisite styling. The…read moreservice was very good, served immediately as soon as we walked in. Attended us very often to clear plates and refill water. Only one minor hiccup was when the lady reached across the table to serve the beer rather than coming around but this was very minor. The food soon came after ordering and the salads came first. The young papaya salad came first. The flavour was fresh, probably because it was opening day but lacking interesting and exciting Vietnamese flavours although the chilli added a nice spice. Unfortunately a bit boring 4/10. Next came the Vietnamese slaw which came with Grilled Organic Chicken. Both were $8, the chicken only came with 5 pieces which is not worth what we paid for. The slaw was all cabbage and didn't have any fish sauce or lime which are classic vietnamese flavours. The beef and the fish came next although nicely cooked very miniscule. Worried that they might've ordered too less ingredients on the day. The was no pho available, very disappointed. Didn't think the restaurant was ready to open. Also most of the staff was well trained but some seemed clueless and had no idea where they were going. One of the good points was the curry of the moment which had classic vietnamese/malaysian flavours: was very delicious 9/10 and also ample supply of drinks, might've mistaken this for a bar rather than restaurant. Vietnamese coffee also was tasty. All in all this restaurant had spent a lot of money on renovating this shop but to be perfectly honest was very busy and was not prepared to open today with limited supply of ingredients and seriously to run out of pho by lunch time is ridiculous!!! Very disappointed and will not go back in a hurry

East meets, well, the East at Hawthorn's newest all-day dining destination. St Cloud prides itself…read moreon its honest, healthy, fresh and home-style Vietnamese food. St Cloud's design is sleek. The white painted brick exterior carrying through to the interior with its contrasting white ceiling, black concrete floor and black tiled bar and counter areas. The furnishings also follow a white/black mix. Hanging light bulbs and large folding windows fill the space with light, though just enough light to keep the lower level intimate. The restaurant is split across two levels; the downstairs dining space with small tables and benches and the main bar, and the upstairs dining space with larger group tables, a second bar and an outside deck with more small tables and a long bench. Hanging and potted plants are scattered throughout to add a splash of colour and the upstairs deck's long bench doubles as a lush planter box. The food menu is split into two halves, lunch and dinner, with each half further divided into various sections. Lunch dishes include street food, such as banh mi, spring rolls and chicken ribs, rice paper rolls, pho, salad and noodle bowls and desserts. The dinner menu follows the typical Asian fusion-style of small dishes and large dishes. Rice paper rolls and salads are also on offer. Small dishes include banh knot pancakes and BBQ scallops. The large dishes are the highlight with giant sharing portions of pork belly, lemongrass beef short ribs and claypot curry. There is a banquet menu option with a random selection of dishes for those that cannot decide what to choose. Dessert options change weekly are not printed on the menu. This visit featured the beef short ribs which were incredibly tender and flavoursome. Carrots, potatoes and herbs are tossed into the large tray that the dish is served in. A selection of small dishes were also ordered and included the prawn and pork spring rolls, chicken wings, banh knot and chicken peanut rice paper rolls. The dishes were all of a good quality with a mix of flavours, however many of the small dishes included the same sides of beanshoots, lettuce leaves and dipping sauce, which felt a bit over-repeated. Dessert on this visit was a little spectacular; lime and coconut panna cotta with lychee, plum and meringue. A wonderful dish with tropical, citrus and sweet mix of flavours combined with contrasting creamy and crunchy textures. The drinks menu is plentiful with a range of beers, wines, cocktails, slushies and juices. Coffee is from St Ali, hot chocolate from Elixir and tea from Larsen and Thompson and Matcha Maiden. Service was great during the Saturday night dinner period, which was surprisingly busy at 6pm. Hawthorn has had quite a few quality openings recently and St Cloud is a welcomed and already popular addition to the neighbourhood.

Always excellent quality and very tasty, the specials are always interesting. Not too loud so a…read morenice place to go for a proper meal. All the staff are very nice!

One of the best Restaurants in Melbourne! Seriously under-rated - an absolute hawthorn…read moreinstitution...Can't go wrong here.

Enjoyed a nice meal at the bar. Sampled 4-5 small dishes that the bartender recommended. I really…read moreenjoyed my cocktail but the food was a little on the salty side for my taste. Overall, a decent Asian fusion restaurant and very trendy atmosphere.

The staff were nice and accommodating, but the flavors weren't impressive. Reservations needed I'd…read moresay if more than 2 people or eating after 6p

I had seen that my friend had been here multiple times , so I thought I'd give this place a shot…read moremyself. They require a credit card to hold the booking which was fine by me. I was 20 minutes late for my booking , but there was no issue when I had arrived. We opted for the $88 feed me menu where we were given about 9 items.. I didn't keep track as I was so hungry and the food looked delicious that I forgot to snap a couple of the items. Everything about the dishes were amazing. The burst of flavour, and that kick in spice (pretty much in every dish) was great. I'm not usually a chilli eater, but the amount of spice used in the dishes weren't too over powering which was great for me. It is hard to pick which would be my favourite out of all the dishes, but the pork belly, curry and roti definitely stood out for me. If only they provided unlimited roti canai ; I would have been in heaven. Will definitely be coming back again!

Hey, Food was so…read moregood look like the menu pics. People where so nice there service was so good. Please go there and try it for you self (not for everybody) Bye (Keep the stuff that i said in mind)

I truly don't understand how Anchovy has snuck under the 'cool restaurant' radar. Have you ever…read moreheard of it? I'm guessing not, but it's a venue you should really know. My other half and I went in for an early Valentine's Day celebration. He'd heard through word of mouth that Anchovy was a dining destination like no other. We walked in on a Friday evening to a busy restaurant. All tables are high seating, and most seemed like shared tables. We were sat at the bar, which I love because I can easily hassle the bartender for more drinks. Speaking of the bartender, ours was SO KNOWLEDGABLE it was almost funny to watch. He seemed to know the back story of every single wine/cocktail/food item on the entire menu, which to be honest, got a touch annoying after a while but I can imagine many people would appreciate the learning. Back to the menu, after a brief perusal we decided to go with the Chef's Selection for $60pp, which we though was very good value. The menu could best be described as modern Australian/Asian fusion. Our waiter/bartender asked if there was anything on the menu that we really wanted to see within the Chef's selection and the only thing we desperately wanted to try (other than everything) was the Vietnamese Blood pudding - it just sounded so damn intriguing! So here's what us lucky ducks got on the chef's selection: + Taro chips with spice salt, + Calamari with lotus stem, scud chilli, herbs, + Vietnamese blood pudding with ginger, herbs, wrapped in cosberg + Rice paper roll with ocean trout, coconut, pomelo + Pan fried whole flounder with curry vinaigrette, dill Plus a dessert of Cherry clafoutis with crème fraiche. I honestly can't pinpoint what my favourite dish was though I do highly recommend the bloody pudding for something completely different. The rice paper rolls were outstanding and the cherry clafoutis was simple yet amazing. The wine menu is also very impressive, with some really great local wines available. The staff, as mentioned, will be very happy to guide you in your choices. Anchovy is absolutely a place you should check out. It is charming, intimate and with absolutely outstanding food and service to boot.

Great ambiance, vibe, and decor. A visual and audible treat. I especially liked the 80's music…read moreplaying throughout the dining room. Service is quick, friendly, and attentive. Good menu with a lot of interesting options. Tried three different appetizers and the winner was the sashimi. Wonderful flavors with king fish. The butter chicken with curry was excellent. Just wish it came with some naan to soak up that wonderful sauce. Cocktails are creative and great. Just a bit measured and small, but I get it. Would dine here again and again.

Chin Chin is one of the popular restaurants in Melbourne and a reservation is required. However,…read morethe location in Sydney has far better food and a more curated menu. Service in both locations was excellent with very knowledgeable and attentive servers, unlike other establishments in Australia. Food was elevated - packed with amazing south East Asian flavors from the diospara.

The food was killer (in a good way). I went with my family--five people--which includes three…read morevegetarians. They were quite happy with the availability of vegetarian/vegan food on the menu. I (not one of the vegetarians) would highly recommend the "Crispy Coconut Cups" (a seafood appetizer) and the "Crying Tiger" (beef flank with a spicy sauce). Make sure you get an order of the roti too. The rice was bottomless with our banquet meals--so while I tried to keep room for the meals--the rice was quite good! Our server was nice and funny, not shy of cracking jokes. The seating is quite spacious and there are outside seats too--many of them covered by space heaters and under a shelter during the winter. Overall, I'd definitely recommend stopping here for dinner. Their "banquet style dining" worked well for us, and the portions ended up being exactly right for somebody who walked in on the slightly hungry side--which also makes their fast service and speedy kitchen helpful!

Absolutely fantastic! We had dinner as a group of 9 (reservation needed) on a Saturday night and it…read morewas so good. Great service and stunning food. I love the banquet style of ordering that feeds everyone at the table. We had 5 different dishes as well as some spring rolls and everything was delicious.

We were visiting Melbourne and wanted to visit a more unique kind of place. Supernormal fit the…read morebill! Here's what we noticed: - You'll definitely want a reservation as the place gets packed. For our party of two we were seated at the bar, which is a really long bar and appears to be the primary area where parties of two get seated. It was nice, fun to be able to watch the action behind the bar. - They had a great cocktail menu and so we ordered some unique drinks. Both were really good. - The menu is pretty broad with small plates to share and larger entrées too. We end up starting with the Korean Rice Cakes, which was probably a highlight of the meal. It was also a pretty generous size. Then they brought out the Lobster Roll, which was good, but probably a poor ordering choice for us since it really wasn't that unique...although it was very yummy. And finally, we had the Duck Bao, and it was excellent. There were so many other things we would've liked to order from the menu, but this was a lot of food for just two of us, although we saw other parties of two order so much more. But, we wanted to save room for the peanut butter parfait. It was worth the weight/wait! - Service was good. At first, it seemed like they were rushing to move us along, but then as more people came into the restaurant, it calmed down a bit. - The place has a great vibe, but it's a little bit loud as you would expect with a place like this. Bottom line: This was one of the best meals we've had so far during our trip to Australia.

Supernormal is an Asian fusion restaurant owned by famous Australian restauranteur Andrew…read moreMcConnell. The place is widely popular so I suggest making reservations if you want to give it a try. Overall, I thought the food was solid with a nice modern atmosphere, and efficient service. You start off with complimentary roasted pumpkins seeds which were a nice touch. They are highly addictive as I couldn't stop eating them! They offer a number of small plates for you to try various dishes so we ordered the shrimp cakes and selection of seafood on ice. We were here for lunch so didn't want to eat too much. The sesame crust on the shrimp cakes made for a nice crunch. The seafood on ice included a sampling of octopus, tuna sashimi, Australian abalone, etc. The seafoods were all OK. Nothing really stood out. For entree, we shared the slow cooked lamb shoulder. It's braised and cooked in what they called Yu Xiang Sauce. I have not had this type of preparation before so it was an interesting flavor. The lamb shoulder was a large portion and the meat was tender. The sauce is slightly spicy and is similar to Sichuan spices. It's really savory and probably best eaten with rice. Portion is large enough to be shared.

My husband and I celebrated Hawker Hall's big 10th birthday in the most delicious way possible --…read morewith their 10-course celebration menu. Every dish was a flavour-packed masterpiece, and by course six we were so blissfully full we needed a brief intermission... thankfully, it arrived right on cue with the spectacular dragon dance weaving through the restaurant! The energy, colour, and music were infectious -- a perfect blend of food, fun, and festivity that captured everything we love about Hawker Hall. By the time dessert rolled around, we were convinced: ten years in, and they're only getting better.

We had our best meal in Melbourne at Hawker Hall. Make a reservation if you can because it gets…read morepacked quickly. Luckily we were able to snag the last seats at a communal high top table before their next reservation came in. The interior has lots of brick and is extremely hip. They're super cautious of allergies, asking at the start of the meal, supplying a color-coded water cup to those who have them, and carefully denoting which menu items are a no-go. The attention to detail and caution was extremely appreciated and shows that they run a tight ship. The menu is Asian with a modern twist. They're really about their craft beer selection too. Family style is the name of the game. They'll course everything out as it's ready and the dishes are served in small to mid-size shareable portions. Sadly I can't remember what we ordered (5 months ago) but what I do remember is that everything was delicious!