The Waiters Restaurant

Introduction: Formerly The Italian Waiters Club. Pretty much unchanged for the last 20 years in Myer Place near the top end of Bourke St.
Ambience Generally crowded at the top of a narrow stairway (20 stairs) Bare tables variety of chairs which would likely not sell at a garage sale. Eclectic clientel.
Service: Pleasant enthusiastic more like Uni students than full timers.
Food: Better than good! Oxtail was excellent as was the Salmon Steak and Chicken Livers. Spaghetti marinara was passable and substantial Veal schnitzel and Veal scallopini were a bit ordinary. The vegetables were nothing to write home about.
The tartuffo was very good as were the pancakes.
Mains $16 to $22 Desserts About $7
Wine BYO or $5 by the glass
Price: about $50 for two
Comments: Something of a City treasure Value for money
Score: 14.5/20

Topo Gigio

Introduction: Friendly NOISY family style restaurant facing Toorak Road
Service: Prompt
Food: Cuisine bougoise - handsome serves. The veal shank was large tender and tasty ($19.90), the flounder covered the plate ($26.50).

Vegetables were large pieces of steamed broccoli cauliflower and carrot and mashed potato - I should have had the salad!
Wine: Inexpensive Suited the venue
Price: About $65 for two inc. dessert (+- $7)
Comments Plain food to the point of dullness.

I'm pretty sure the little girl eating fish and chips at the next table liked the place more than I did so I asked her for a review. We'll see if she tells us
Score:12.5 /20

La Madrague

Introduction: Tucked away in the industrial part of South Melbourne this restaurant is 'in your face' French.
Ambience: French
Service: A little slow to start but reasonable
Food: I could find Criticisms but the tastes were excellent Onion soup was all Cheese and onion - no soup, the large ravioli stuffed with sea food very good, the salmon cooked to perfection, the sweet cuts of beef tender and tasty.
Wine: Modest range
Price: About $120 for two
Comments: Will definitely come again
Score: 16/20

Supper Inn Again!

An entirely different meal to our last visit including Hot and Sour soup, Beef ball congee, Shitake mushrooms with spinach in oyster sauce, crispy skin duck, sweet and sour battered prawns, deep fried 'flounder' and tempura coated beans and tofu.
Every dish was of a high quality. The only disapontment was the flounder which was really a sole - a very different fish
Score: Still 15/20

Jade Princess

To: <qwerty@bigpond.net.au>Subject: Restaurant ReviewDate: Thursday, 10 February 2005 7:55 PM
Would like to tell you about a quaint little Chinese restaurant in Beaconfield Victora, always busy because the food is good. The service is good though when they are busy there could be a bit of waiting time. To top it all off the prices are reasonable! Fridays and Saturdays it's advisable to book. Good family restaurant. Phone number is 03 9768 9188. Address: Shop 4. 68 Princess Hwy, Beaconsfield.
Contributed by C.B.

Melbourne Oyster Bar

Sent: 3 February 2005 4:01 PM> To: 'qwerty@bigpond.net.au'
We went as a party of four, for dinner on a Saturday night.
Has anyone ever seen the television commercial, advertising the restaurant? Well it isn't anything like that. You are led to believe, the menu will be full of new exciting, and enticing dishes, and it would be an new innovative dining experience. We were all disappointed.
I ordered the grilled salmon, ( $35), it was boring, the same standard as any other local bistro. My friend ordered the ox fillet, ($40), sounds interesting , but is wasn' t. The oysters, we were all anticipating the biggest and the best, was again a let down. The Caesar salad was small and limp, the garlic prawns were average. Where was the spark, the new edgy ideas we were promised, nowhere.
Décor was strange, there are three levels, and it feels like you are dining in three class distinction, ground floor is economy class, and top floor is first class. Our waiter for the evening, was rude and never around when we needed him. But on the plus side, they have a good choice of wines, on the wine list. All in all, the verdict on the evening was expensive and boring. For a special occasion diners, look else where. Not very good.
Score: 11-12.5/20
Contributed by PD

Purple Sands - revisited

Comments: Hard to ignore the 12 plates and 4 certificates awarded for various areas of cooking (Yum Cha, vegetarian, meat and poultry and so on), by Food festival organizers, AMEX and the Herald Sun, over the last 5 years, while PS was in Doncaster.
Lunch specials, eat in or take away, are available all day and for $8.50 are excellent value. Sweet and sour sauce was well balanced.
Despite their award for Yum Cha the few dishes I tasted were nothing special
Score: Up a little 13/20

EQ Cafebar

Introduction: The closest Southbank eatery to the Arts Centre
Ambience : Dark and noisy
Service: Impatient
Food Variable. The Mezethes ($20) were tasty the fish cakes ($8 or $14) were not. The confit of Duck leg with chick peas, preserved lemon and grilled nectarine ($24) did not please me but the potato gnocchi, pan fried with marinated taleggio, sage and fresh tomato ($16 or $24) was excellent.
Rhubarg and cherry trifle was lovely and the Alfogato - a shot of liqueur and espresso coffee poured over vanilla bean icecream (both $11) was interesting
Wine: Mundane
Price: Expensive at about $70 for two
Comments: Not my cup of tea!
Score: 12.5/20

Watergrill

Suburb: South Yarra
Introduction: A big informal barn of a place with large glass windows facing Toorak Rd. Open cooking area
Ambience: Noisy friendly Paper covered linen table cloths
Service: Try hard but long way to go
Food: Excellent. We shared Mariniere mussels in white wine garlic sauce with French fries ($20) A deep fried Barramundi with lemon and olive sauce ($28) and a Bouillabaisse: Provencale soup with rouille (thin sliced crisp toasted bread) and croutons ($32) with a side dish of creamy mashed potato ($7) and finished with a dark rum panacotta accompanied by a small tower of strawberries and cream separated by thin sheets of dark chocolate ($12) strangely described as a millefleur. The bouillabaisse was a surprise, a pile of crustaceans, that tasted wonderful but you have to be prepared to eat with your hands.
Wine: House wines (Andrew Garrett) fine A reasonable choice for the buff
Price About $100 plus drinks
Comments: Whilst it is easy to be picky about some minor deficiencies in the cooking this is a place to come for reasonably priced very good seafood ( the wood chargrilled lobster looked wonderful)
Score: 15/20

Fisherman's Pier

Geelong 52224100
We had a wonderful luncheon on a Sunday afternoon. The ambience was very romantic and the views from the restaurant overlooking the small boats in the bay was splendid.
I must confess I gave my waiter a difficult time, but he came through with flying colours. He explained the menu, made the cocktails of our choice, they even offered us an umbrella when we left to get to our car because it was raining.
We chose oysters Kilpatrick (divine) with a glass of wine, Grilled Barramundi, the seafood pot dish with boulainbasse sauce with ruille, plus cocktails.
Wine choice was fantastic too. Price was approx $70 each for everthing.
Loved it , can't wait to go again.
Excellent.
Score: 17.5/20
Contributed by P.D.