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.

The Cedar Tree Restaurant Review

198 Bay Street
Brighton Vic 3186
Phone: (03) 9818 0647

Food
Authentic Lebanese cuisine. To open we had a selection of hommos, baba ghanouj and labnee dips, served with lebanese bread, onto a selection of entrees including traditional middle eastern balls of spicy dried beans, vegetables, and middle eastern herbs, served with a drizzle of tahina sauce and fetta cheese mixed with mint, onion and spices in filo pastry. Mains consisted mostly of meat dishes such as the opening dish with the banquet which was chicken fillet pieces sautéed in a mixture of fresh coriander, garlic, ginger and finished with a squeeze of lemon juice. Served with cinnamon rice. This was followed by further meat dishes and then a sweet dessert of Baklawa and turkish delight combined. All the dishes were very enjoyable and well presented.
Service
Attentive and responsive. Meals came out at a reasonable pace, not too long to wait.
Value
Again I would have to recommend the banquet for better value, starting at $35 per person and plenty included. Separate mains start at around $20 each.
Decor and Atmosphere
Nicely painted interior with a number of lebanese photos and emblems throughout, featuring of course the cedar tree. Well presented. Later in the evening a belly dancer strut her stuff to some louder traditional music. They regularly feature belly dancing on weekends and look out guys, she likes you to get up and dance with her!

The Base Camp Restaurant Review

648 Glenferrie Road,
Hawthorn, Vic 3122
Phone: (03) 9818 0647


Food
Nepalese cuisine. The menu showed some reasonable selections, though only upon asking did we discover they also had a great value banquet available. The range of dishes on the banquet set menu appeared extraordinary at first, seeming to be a LOT of food. We asked if we should choose which dishes we wanted and were informed that we got ALL the dishes on the menu included. So we thought - great! As it turns out they were only small portions of each dish, but nonetheless it was a great banquet in which you got to sample a large range of foods of the nepalese cuisine, including lentil soup, 3 entrees, many mains with mildly spicy meats and veg with sides as well as 2 desserts - fruit salad and rice pudding.
Service
Very friendly service with a smile. A charming waiter served us. Professional and prompt.
Value
Especially good value if you go with the banquet. Pretty standard prices for mains, under $20 generally.
Decor and Atmosphere
The main front room boasts that,"Framed pictures of snowcapped Himalayan peaks such as the majestic Everest, Kanchenjunga and AnnaPurna adorn the walls while Nepalese flute and sitar music plays quietly in the background," though both times we have dined there in the past couple years we have been seated in a small extra room at the back which is wood panelled and cosy with tasteful nepalese decorations and dim lighting.

Tien Tien Restaurant Review

2/29 Fitzroy Street
St Kilda, VIC 3182
Ph: (03) 9537 0889

I was told by one of the friends I dined with that Tien Tien meant "every day". Special mention and thumbs up to the management as we went to Tien Tien at 'Earth Hour' and they had all their lights out and served all meals by candlelight for the hour.
Food
A large selection of thai, malaysian and vietnamese cuisines. The soups were reasonable and the mains were very enjoyable from our selections of thai lemon grass chicken and malaysian curry with rice. Decent sized portions.
Service
Competent, professional and prompt.
Value
No banquets available. Mains from $13 to $25 generally.
Decor and Atmosphere
Funky lights, but particularly lovely by candlelight at earth hour. Well presented and warm atmosphere. Comfortable seating.

Gurkhas Nepalese Restaurant Review

190-192 Chapel Street
Prahran
Ph: (03) 9510 3325

Gurkhas have several restaurants in Melbourne, located at Brunswick, Richmond, Carlton, Melbourne and Prahran. This review is for 'Gurkhas Brasserie' in Prahran.
Food
Nepalese Food, a cuisine from the Himalayan Kingdom. I have to admit I'm not much into vegetarian dishes, but the 'Gurkas Special" vegetarian appetiser was refreshing and scrumptious - a vegetable mixture topped with yoghurt, sauce and plum sauce. I particularly enjoyed the goat curry in the mains and the chilli chicken wasn't bad. The nepalese rice pudding was a great way to top off the meal as a sweet and tempting dessert. All of this was provided in their 'simple feast' banquet option, along with tea or coffee. Also available are main courses from their 'vegetarian bazaar', 'meat bazaar', 'seafood selection' and 'gurkha grill' and most of these are reasonably priced individually as mains.
Service
There were plenty of waiters on hand and they provided prompt and professional service.
Value
Some excellent value options with 4 banquets to choose from starting with the 'simple feast' at $21.50 per person, and most individual mains at reasonable prices as well.
Decor and Atmosphere
Dim lighting, tastefully decorated, photos and pictures to set the cultural atmosphere.

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.

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.

Lao Tuojia Restarant Review

19 Glenferrie Road,
Malvern 3144
Phone: 03 9500 1919

Food
Cuisine originating from north western China, as are the owners of this recently opened restaurant. This style of chinese cuisine (actually Xinjiang or Uyghur) is really quite different to your average chinese restaurant in Melbourne. Featuring hand made noodles and specialising in lamb dishes. A most interesting and delightfully unusual won ton soup. The dishes have more of a home made feel.
Service
Very friendly, helpful and happy for a chat as we were the first ones to arrive for the evening (though it certainly got busy later!). There were no banquets on the menu but when we asked she created one for us at a great price!
Value
Awesome value if you ask for a banquet. Only $16 per head for 4 courses and very large portions.
Decor and Atmosphere
Comfortable atmosphere. A little eclectic with knick nacks. Not overly classy.

The Bengal Tiger Restaurant Review

520 City Road,
South Melbourne Vic 3205
Phone: 03 9699 4791

Food
Tandoori and Indian Cuisine. They've introduced a few banquets since I last dined here, which is a good improvement. The banquet for 2 included pappadums, entrees, 3 mains, rice, naan bread, dessert and coffee/tea. All dishes were of reasonable quality. Licensed and BYO (wine only).
Service
Top quality service - I was extremely impressed with all aspects of their service. Thoroughly attentive without being intrusive.
Value
Very reasonable. Look out for their specials on different nights of the week, which they display on the board out front.
Decor and Atmosphere
A warm and comfortable atmosphere with a bit of character. An old style building that appears to have originally been built as a hotel. Simple decoration not overdone.

Nyala African Restaurant Review

131 Brunswick Street
Fitzroy, VIC
Phone: (03) 9419 9128

Food
African cuisine featuring dishes from South Africa and Ethiopia. They had banquets recommended for 4 people but they were willing to offer them to us for two peopls and we had one of the banquets which included deserts. This banquet was great value with a range of different foods, with plenty on offer in generous portions. There was cus cus, spicy dips, three different meats for mains in spicy sauces. Choice of deserts was included in the banquets - the sweet cus cus and South African custard tarts with ice cream were great choices.
Service
Exceptional service. African waiters wearing traditional African robes give it a genuine feel.
Value
All very reasonable priced, no complaints with the pricing. Large amount of food and banquets available. Reasonable corkage ($2)
Decor and Atmosphere
Interesting ornaments and paintings all for sale. The painted lights and bar were pretty funky. Ambient African music. Comfortable, relaxed and cosy.

Bhoj Indian Restaurant Review

54 Promenade, Newquay,
Docklands 3008
Tel: +613 9600 0884

Food
The food is great, all traditional indian cuisine. Tasty banquets available.
Service
Very professional waiting. Classy. You get the feeling you should be a little more upper class just to step in here.
Value
The value for money isn't great. You are paying for the classy atmosphere and the food is just as good at many of the cheaper indian restaurants around Melbourne.
Decor and Atmosphere
Clean, classy, well ordered. Perhaps a little clinical. Lacks a bit of style and funk.

Sugarcane Restaurant Review

268 Park Street
South Melbourne 3205
Phone (03) 9699 3637

Food
Thai food. No banquets available, but a lovely selection of dishes. The mixed entrees were delicious and the main meals were well portioned. We dined with an extra couple this night and all were very impressed with their meals, most complimentary.
Service
Good service, not too intrusive but there when you need them.
Value
Main meals were around the $20 mark, so with no banquet available this could cost a little extra, but not too expensive overall.
Decor and Atmosphere
A cosy atmosphere, modern music rather than reflective of the cuisine. Some lovely decoration and lighting. Well presented.

Florina's Greek Taverna Review

209 Glenferrie Road
Malvern VIC 3144
Phone (03) 9509 1762

Food
A plentiful selection of bountiful greek dishes in large portions. Lots of meats, lots of food.
Service
Good service. Well organised.
Value
Quite reasonable. About average for greek cuisine.
Decor and Atmosphere
Simple, fairly plain but smart. I dined upstairs in the function foom for a friend's birthday. They catered for the large group quite well. We even got to dance the zorba after the meal!

Moti Mahal Restaurant Review

230 Glenferrie Road
Malvern VIC 3144
Phone (03) 9509 2931

Food
Great selection of dishes, all delicious. Great garlic naan.
Service
Good service. They have an interesting technique which you occasionally see at Indian Restaurants, where they never write your order down no matter how many dishes you are ordering. Yet they always remember it all!
Value
Good price. Value banquets available.
Decor
A change in decor recently. Always a nice relaxed atmosphere with candles.

Bambu Malaya Restaurant Review

442 Glenhunty Road
Elsternwick VIC 3185
Phone (03) 9528 3842

Food
Superb. Very filling and well flavoured malaysian cuisine. Fantastic coconut juice.
Service
Generally good service, I've been back a couple of times and there was one occasion where it was a little slow, but mainly they are very good.
Value
Good value. Not too expensive.
Decor
Cute, not way classy but well presented. A small restaurant with a few cute decorations and some fish and interesting instruments on display.

Café India Restaurant Review

725 Burwood Road
Hawthorn East VIC 3123
Phone (03) 9882 6833

Food
Great food. Tremendously good value, traditional Indian. I recommend trying the rose flavoured lassi to drink, yum.
Service
Very good service, friendly, polite and well timed.
Value
The best value indian food restaurant I have ever come across!! You will not find a cheaper 3 course banquet for indian food anywhere! And the quality is just as good as many of your much higher priced restaurants.
Decor
A little outdated with wallpaper etc, but cosy and a nice atmosphere.

Blue Train Café Review

MR5 Mid Level,
Southgate Landing,
Southbank, Victoria, 3205
PH: [03] 9696 0440

Food
A variety of different dishes available in different cuisines, as well as some of your standard fair like fish and chips or pizza
Service
Hip young waiters, good service and you won't wait too long for a meal
Value
Fair, prices have gone up a bit over the years
Decor
Casual atmosphere, not ritzy. A view over the yarra toward the city that can't be beat! I recommend a seat out on the balcony

Pacific Rim Thai Restaurant Review

68 Bridport Street
Albert Park, VIC, 3206
Telephone: (03) 9690 8008

Food
Very nice. All dishes were lovely. Love the entrées.
Service
Efficient waiters, fair service.
Value
Good value if you go for the banquet.
Decor
Cute and cosy inside. A nice setup. One of those fake fire fireplaces to sit by. The building is very nice, but the view of the service station is not so great ;)