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.

Automatic Cafe Review

at crown casino,
Southbank
Phone: 03 9690 8500

Food
Mixed cuisines, a selection of pizzas and all manner of assorted dishes such as indian, pastas, steaks, asian. The tandoori chicken salad was very appealing. The steak is a bit more expensive on the menu, but cooked well. This restaurant/cafe is very much the sister to the Blue Train at Southbank, on the Yarra.
Service
Young hip waiters, friendly and helpful. Patient when we had a toddler with us.
Value
The individual dishes are of reasonable value. There are a range of prices depending on what you choose to order.
Decor and Atmosphere
Funky, modern and relaxed atmosphere situated right on the river with some lovely outdoor seating on a warm evening overlooking the city on the Yarra. Pretty casual.

Afghan Gallery Restaurant Review

327 Brunswick Street,
Fitzroy Vic 3065
Phone: 03 9417 2430

Food
Traditional Afghan Specialties. A good selection of dishes, some interesting entrees with a little spice, mains had mostly mild tomato based sauces with rice. Afghan food also seems to feature beans in a few entrees and dishes. Very sweet desserts. I have to admit though I was just a little disappointed with the food only because the last afghan restaurant I dined at had taste sensations to die for, and this didn't quite live up to that standard.
Service
Mostly pretty good service, a little slow at times as they were busy. Polite and friendly.
Value
They had several good value banquets available to come in under $30 per person budget, or you can pay the extra $5 and have dessert included.
Decor and Atmosphere
I really liked the interior, it had an old style tavern atmosphere with exposed bluestone and wood on the walls, dim lighting. A little tasteful music. Some nice tapestries and pictures.

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.

Koh Samui Thai Restaurant Review

130 Erskine Street,
Middle Park Vic
Phone: 03 9696 3080

Food
Thai food. No banquets or set menus unfortunately. There were some nice flavours in the tradtional thai dishes. I didn't try as many of the dishes as I often would because the price was a bit more expensive.
Service
Average service. Never hugely busy, but not overly attentive.
Value
As expected in the Middle Park village, Albert Park area, restaurants tend to be pricier as the areas are somewhat upmarket. Would be ok if the food and service was sensational, but nothing special there.
Decor and Atmosphere
Nice quiet atmosphere. There are 3 sections of this restaurant with two entrances, meaning the restaurant is much bigger than it first appears. In fact I have been there twice each time thinking the different entrance was a different restaurant ! The front section is small and quiet in a beautiful plane tree lined heritage street. Going down a narrow corridor leads you to a larger back section, which is more spacious. There is a television which plays some video and soft music. An outside courtyard leads upstairs open air function space - the courtyard carries the heritage "blue stone" brick theme. Interesting look for the area.

Warwick Thai Restaurant Review

400 Sydney Rd,
Brunswick Vic 3056
Phone: 03 9381 2111

Food
Thai food, not a very large selection on the menu. No extras. Not the fanciest or best ever thai dishes, but they do provide really large portions, so you get plenty of food with your main meal.
Service
Good service. They have a very large room to wait on, so they miss you occasionally, but they're pretty good considering.
Value
Good value, as you get plenty of food for your dollar. Banquets only available for large groups.
Decor and Atmosphere
Really quite an interesting interior (see photo above). Huge space! Looks like an old style hall or church inside. A separated section for takeaway at the front, and a gorgeous looking dining room up front that must be for special occasions. A bit stuffy, could do with some better air circulation. I wouldn't want to be there on a hot night. Some music wouldn't go astray.

Minh Minh Restaurant Review

94 Victoria Street
Richmond 3121
Phone: 03 9427 7891

Food
Vietnamese, Lao and Thao dishes are all available on the menu. All quite tasty and of a good quality. I particularly enjoyed the Phat Bai Ka Phrao which had a hot and spicy flavour.
Service
Frenzied, frantic and forgetful. The place was packed, and the waiters were trying, but struggling.
Value
Reasonable value, no banquets or set menus available other than for large groups.
Decor and Atmosphere
Noisy! A lot of people talking over the top of one another and if there was music I couldn't hear it over the ruckus. Also being so full it was a bit cramped. The decoration was quite nice with a decent paint job.

Sakura Restaurant Review

329-331 Clarendon Street
South Melbourne 3205
Phone/Fax (03) 9699 4150

Food
Japanese Teppanyaki. Prepared in front of you with flair. The show is just as important as the food in this style of restaurant. The chef did put on a good show with his food, but I think that while the food was decent, I've had better teppanyaki.
Service
Fair service. We were left waiting throughout the whole meal dying of thirst with the salty dishes, and no waitress in sight to ask for drinks.
Value
You will pay a bit more for Teppanyaki which is to be expected. Banquets started from $42 per person.
Decor and Atmosphere
Very well presented, traditional japanese decorations. The atmosphere was very good and the chef put on a good show with egg flying into our mouths and deft catching of the rice into our bowls. It made for some good entertainment.

Phuket Thai Restaurant Review

229 Glenferrie Rd
Malvern VIC 3144
Phone (03) 9500 0100

Food
A large menu selection of curries, soups, salads, fish, flaming jet wok specials and vegetarian. I tried a mixed entree and it was a selection of deep fry. The main courses were not bad, traditional thai dishes.
Service
Good service. The waitresses all in very smart, thai dress.
Value
Very reasonable.
Decor and Atmosphere
Nicely laid out, some thai decorations but not over the top. Fairly simple with some colour. A busy but fairly relaxed atmosphere.

Ipoh Jaya Restaurant Review

90 Queensberry Street
Carlton VIC 3053
Phone (03) 9349 2988

Food
Malaysian hawker style, with a few other cuisines mixed in to the menu. Some nice hot curries available. Also a full bar service for parties etc.
Service
Fairly attentive service.
Value
Banquets at a slightly higher price than some, but not too bad. Average meal price around $15 a head for a single dish.
Decor
Kind of quirky and ecclectic. The restaurant is on the first floor, upstairs in an old style building.

Nyonya Malaysian Restaurant Review

191 Lygon Street
Carlton VIC 3053
Phone (03) 9347 8511

Food
The food is great, a wonderful selection of dishes in the banquet. I have been here a couple of times and always enjoyed the meals. On my most recent visit though we were advised there was no dessert available with the banquet and they replaced it with singapore noodles. The singapore noodles were lovely, but I would have preferred the dessert after the main course.
Service
Prompt service. There was a bit too much hovering around our table while we were eating however. I think diners prefer their space when eating.
Value
Good value prices.
Decor
Pretty average, nothing flash. Could use some sprucing up.

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!

Gharana Restaurant Review

113 Victoria Avenue
Albert Park Vic 3206
Phone: (03) 9686 2444

Food
Absolutely delicious. Both Indian and Pakistani style dishes are available, though the main focus is on traditional indian cuisine. I sampled both and both were excellent.
Service
Extremely attentive waiters, perhaps even a little over attentive. But very polite and helpful.
Value
You will pay a bit extra here compared to your average restaurant of similar cuisine. I guess you pay for the area and also the more classy atmosphere.
Decor
Very well decorated, sophisticated and upper class look. They also have an LCD screen playing some Bollywood clips.

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.