Rangoli Indian Restaurant Review

3/ 60 Fitzroy St
St Kilda
VIC, 3182
Ph: (03) 9593 6599

Food
Indian Cuisine. Banquets available. Some delicious spicy chicken in the entree. A massive amount of food laid out for the main courses in the banquet with delish naan and great vegetable curries. More than I could ever manage to eat and some unusual desserts not found at all indian restaurants.
Service
The service was wonderful. We had a delightful waitress and the host was very charming as well. The accomodated us with our small child and provided a high chair and extra space partitioned from the others.
Value
A bit more expensive than your average indian restaurant in Melbourne. Banquets are generally over $40 per person.
Decor and Atmosphere
Spacious and very well presented. They have done a great job doing up the old St Kilda Railway Station building. A modern feel and heaps of tables. Suitable for large groups.

Ajiya Japanese Restaurant Review

Shop 11a Metropol
60 Fitzroy Street St Kilda
Phone: (03) 9593 9853

Food
Japanese Cuisine. Not a very large selection, but there are some good options on the menu. There are some different meals than what you would generally find at a japanese restaurant like Japanese burgers and chips, but they also have some of the more traditional dishes. They offer free Miso soup to everyone as an entree. Also an interesting dessert choice of green tea and cookies and cream ice cream - not separate but together in the one ice-cream- and actually it was very refreshing.
Service
Lovely, friendly, very helpful and polite service. They go out of their way to make sure you are looked after.
Value
Good value. Most japanese restaurants I find are quite expensive but this is very reasonable. Probably because it focuses on takeaway as much as dine in. Not so upper class.
Decor and Atmosphere
Well presented and modern, but more of your casual dinner or lunch than a formal night out at a classy restaurant. Very comfortable and clean.

Purple Shells Restaurant Review

153 Acland Street
St Kilda 3182
Ph: 9525 4988

Food
Seafood and BBQ Chinese Restaurant. No added MSG. Mostly your standard sort of chinese fare as generally found around Melbourne. Large servings of soup which were hot and filling. Good selection of hot entrees which I enjoyed. The mains were a bit more luke warm and ordinary, but not too bad. Lemon chicken was a bit too battered and deep fried. They also have a vegetarian's selection, omelettes, roast dishes and prawn/scallop dishes available.
Service
The first waitress was a bit scattered, but a second lady took over and took control and looked after us.
Value
Good value banquets available. Your standard mains are reasonably priced. You'll pay a bit more for individual seafood and roast dishes
Decor and Atmosphere
Neat and colourful, not overdone. A few simple decorations.

KL Café Restaurant

92c Acland Street
St Kilda, VIC 3182
Ph: (03) 9534 3721

Food
With the name inspired by the south east asian city of Kuala Lumpur this restaurant boasts a large range of Malaysian, Chinese and Thai foods. Some very spicy dishes which were also very tasty. A great selection to choose from in all 3 cuisines including seafood, vegetarian, rice dishes, noodle dishes, prawn specials, calamari and beef. A striking dessert which we just loved was the Kueh Dah Dah which had bright green crepe wrapped around coconut with ice-cream. The people at the table next to us were mesmerized, wanting to know what we were eating! My partner nicknamed it the 'steam rolled frog' due to the bright green colouring.
Service
Very attentive and reasonably friendly.
Value
One of the best value restaurants in the St Kilda area, which is notoriously filled with your expensive yuppy type restaurants (particularly along Fitzroy st). Not this one. The banquets that are available will give you much better value than ordering individual dishes, but the mains are reasonably priced too.
Decor and Atmosphere
I think the locals know this is one of the better value restaurants in the area, because they flock there. You will be challenged to get a table if you haven't booked. We managed to get the last one. Some very interesting artistic pieces inside. A feature ceiling with an oval shaped recessed area painted with clouds and stars and lit up which is quite delightful. Also a wall featuring a city landscape backlit and silhouetted. Some tasteful painting gives the place a nice atmosphere, though it is not a large restaurant. There were some intense flashing lights on a branch near the front entrance that were a bit distracting to the eye, but that was our only real critisicm.

Tandoori Times Restaurant Review

196 Barkly Street
St Kilda, VIC 3182
Ph: (03) 9593 8166

Food
Traditional indian cuisine. A piece of advice, skip banquet A and go straight for Banquet B. We had dined here previously and enjoyed the A menu, but having B this time we were blown away. Absolutely delicious! A real step up, and our discussion with the manager proved he was of the same opinion. With entrees of lamb cutlets, fried coconut mushroom, tandoori chicken; generous portions of king prawns, lamb saag, butter chicken, garlic naan and chicken rice and then dessert of your choice to top it off. It was hard to believe this banquet went for under $30 per person. Top quality, loved every bite.
Service
Very friendly service, a bit slow at times. But it was worth the wait.
Value
Any of the banquets are excellent value and all meals reasonably priced.
Decor and Atmosphere
Be treated to some interesting Bollywood on the projector screen if you're not too involved in conversation. Pretty simple decor, tasteful and relaxed. Certainly a popular place on a saturday night.

Australian F1 Grand Prix - Restaurants and Cafes close to the track

I'm not the biggest fan of the Formula One Grand Prix, and I don't intend on going to the Albert Park racetrack myself, but since you can't really miss the fact that it is coming up to that time of year again, I thought I'd give some tips to some of our interstate and overseas vistors. So if you are dining on a budget, don't want the marquee food and still want something decent, here are some of my personal tips. Make sure you read the reviews though. Please note that in this article I have included all my reviewed restaurants, but I don't recommend all of them !

Fortunately there is a wide range of restaurants and cafes within short walking distance to the Albert Park track and several tram lines make reaching other restaurants easy.

Fitzroy Street, St Kilda
Fitzroy Street is on the south end of the track and Armstrong Street in Middle Park is right next to the west end of the track. It is a really busy street with a huge range of restaurants and cafes.
If you are after something a bit upmarket and like Chinese food, try Mahjong, it is very close to the south end of the Formula 1 and offers a great Yum Cha. Also check out my review of the Banff Cafe if you're after a light meal or pizza. A walk a bit further down Fitzroy Street will take you to a Melbourne institution - Leo's Spaghetti Bar.

St Kilda West
Just a bit further up from Fitzroy Street, there is a small cafe hidden on Cowderoy Street in an old art deco shop. They make some nice foccacias.

Armstrong Street, Middle Park
Armstrong Street is the main light rail station from the city. There is even a great cafe right on the Middle Park light rail station - though whether it will be open during the race I don't know. If you walk along this street, you'll find some upmarket cafes and pubs. Along this quiet street you'll find a scattering of Japanese, Thai and Indian restaurants. Hidden up the street a bit is Koh Samui which I have reviewed.

Albert Park
To the north end, Bridport Street in Albert Park is not too far away. The restaurants here are a bit more upmarket, and not too many ethnic cuisines although Pacific Rim Thai is a real standout and right near both the track and tram route 96. Further down Victoria Street, which you can get to by tram (route 112) from the north end of the track there is a good mix of Indian, Japanese and Vietnamese cuisines. Check out our review of Gharana which has both Indian and Sri-Lankan dishes.

Clarendon Street, South Melbourne
There are a great range of eateries near Clarendon Street, but not all of them are within walking distance of the north end of Albert Park. The closest is probably Spirit of India. A little further is Sakura (Japanese). The 112 tram will take you further up to some fantastic restaurants slightly closer to the city like Sugarcane (Thai) and Garamerica (Indonesian).

Queens Road, Melbourne
Queens Road on the east end of the track doesn't offer much. There are a few cafes and plenty of hotel accomodation, but not much in the way of restaurants. Although further up towards Toorak Road on St Kilda Road, there are a few handy takeout places.

Have fun at the race !

The Banff Restaurant Review

145 Fitzroy St
St Kilda, VIC 3182
(03) 9525 4113

Food
Mainly known for its pizzas, they have a fabulous selection to choose from. Some very unusual pizzas, all absolutely delicious! Served with rocket lettuce and sour cream. They also serve pastas and they have a separate breakfast menu.
Service
They'll bring your meals out, but it's mostly self serve, order at the bar.
Value
Great value, some really cheap pizzas and pastas.
Decor and Atmosphere
Art deco delight, funky vibe, totally relaxed and warm and yet hip.

Mahjong Restaurant Review

165 Fitzroy Street,
St Kilda Vic 3182
Phone: 03 9534 8833

Food
Asian Cuisine. There are two sections to this restaurant. The front section serves Yum Cha, which are small portions, small dishes; and out the back is a more traditional restaurant which serves standard size 3 course meals. We dined in the Yum Cha section as the back restaurant was very pricey. The small dishes were very delicate and well presented. Tasty flavours. You would want to be sure to order several courses to fill up though!
Service
Waiters, waiters everywhere! You certainly won't lack for service, they have kind of overdone it. They are very well presented though, professional and classy.
Value
The prices aren't too bad in the Yum Cha section, you can order a few courses and still come in under budget. If you wish to dine at the full restaurant out the back though be prepared to pay for it.
Decor and Atmosphere
This place screams expensive interior designer! While the building it is in from the outside is a 1960s nightmare, the interiors have been immaculately designed and detailed to a T. A little clinical feeling for my taste, but they have really made an expensive effort here and it is very classy looking with no aspect untouched. If you like Boj at Docklands, I would say you get a similar atmosphere here. The front section is light and open, and the back restaurant area has dimmed the lights and changed the music and atmosphere entirely for a more private feel.

Claypots Restaurant Review

213 Barkly Street
St Kilda Vic 3182
Phone (03) 9534 1282

Food
Some superb seafood and spicy fishes. Unique and delicious flavours
Service
You can't book. There's a lot of self help here, but they're always full so it shows you how good the food is.
Value
Reasonably priced for seafood. Not bargain basement.
Decor
Small, often cramped. Certainly not your yuppy restaurant!

Leo's Spaghetti Bar Review

55 Fitzroy St
St Kilda, VIC 3182
Tel: (03) 9525 4454

A Fitzroy street institution. This place has been around for over 50 years.
Food
Generous italian dishes, some great pastas. Famous for the gelati too.
Service
Service is always good and professional.
Value
The price is quite reasonable. Not bargain basement.
Decor
They've changed the interior look recently. I liked the old look better.