Richard's Restaurant Reviews

New website

2008-11-01T08:26:00.002+11:00

I've migrated to a new site and I'm using wordpress for my blogging platform now. Visit me there at richard-rowland-perkins.com. I've migrated all of the posts from the old blogger page to their new home here. Happy eating!
Richard

We've moved

2008-06-05T02:21:00.003+10:00

Hey all. We've moved out of Oz and are now settled in our new place in San Jose. We'll probably eat at some memorable restaurants in the SF Bay area, so expect new reviews periodically.
Cheers!

Red Emperor

2007-07-14T11:03:00.000+10:00

11 July 2007,
Ur3, 3, Southgate Avenue, Southbank, VIC 9699-4170
An upscale Chinese restaurant with excellent river views overlooking the Yarra and historic Flinders Street Station, the food is consistently excellent but pricey, the staff is eminently qualified to make menu suggestions, in fact we usually just ask tell our waiter to select for us and have never been dissapointed; their steamed scallops with ginger and black bean sauce were beautiful, the peking duck served was excellent, we've also had a delicious steamed perch with tempura vagetables, and a mouthwatering pork and green bean tangine with black bean and oyster sauce, can't comment on their desserts as we've never had room for one after eating here; ambiance 9 of 10; food 10 of 10; service 9 of 10; dinner cost $75 each

Daniel's

2007-04-09T10:11:00.000+10:00

29 Jan 2007
225 Rundle St, Adelaide, 8232-2300
An Italian themed steak and seafood restaurant with a great balcony view of the street below, the oysters were served very fresh but without the vinegar and onion I prefer, the arta putanesca was delicious with a portion size that was more than enough for two, and the dessert selection was beautiful; ambiance 7 of 10; food 6 of 10; service 7 of 10; lunch cost $12 each

Sumo's Noodle & "Sushi" Bar

2007-04-09T10:10:00.000+10:00

26 October 2006
Macaulay Rd, Kensington
A sadly disappointing small chain Asian cafe, the sushi bar had a selection of only 3-4 roll boxes, the Nasi Goreng was not bad but tasted more like Chinese fried rice than the tropical Indonesian dish we expected, the Curry Laksa didn't have much to recommend it either, still the place was clean, the fare inexpensive, and staff courteous enough;ambiance 6 of 10; food 5 of 10; service 6 of 10; lunch cost $8 each

Macaulay Charcoal Chicken

2007-04-09T10:09:00.000+10:00

18 October 2006
497 Macaulay Rd, Kensington, 9376-7746
spit roasted chickens turn slowly over a huge open grill of, you guessed it, charcoal in this Kensigton lunch and dinner favorite, their large sandwiches are both inventive and delicious, we tried the Mr. Avocado and theTandoori Queen and found both to be excellent; ambiance 6 of 10; food 10 of 10; service 8 of 10; lunch cost $11 each

The Fish Place

2007-04-09T10:08:00.000+10:00

16 October 2006
534 Macaulay Rd, Kensington 9372-5145
a classic fish fry, this Greek family run takeaway house makes great eats cheap, provided you like your fish battered and fried to flaky golden perfection, so far we've tried the barramundi and the flake fillets with 'small' size chips (1 fillet and chips is enough for two!), their batter is always light and crispy, the fish firm and not greasy the way some fish fry gets when the batter is too thick, with the simple but hearty chips all wrapped in butcher's paper, you've got finger food at its finest and you can't beat the price; ambiance 6 of 10; food 10 of 10; service 8 of 10; dinner cost $6 each

Bopha Devi

2007-04-09T10:06:00.000+10:00

30 Sep 2006
27 Ballarat St, Yarraville 9362-0941
an small inexpensive Cambodian restaurant steps from Yarraville station in Melbourne, recommended by the Cheap Eats guide, the small brick walled dining room gets filled with boisterous (cheerfully loud) fans early on busy nights so reservations are a good idea, Mee Hokkien (noodles and whole scallops fried with veggies in a light brown sauce) was good, k'nyei stir fry (ginger and chicken fried with yellow sauce over rice) was even better, the local merlot held its own competing with both of these strong flavored dishes, dessert of coconut sticky rice wrapped banana was also delicious; ambiance 8 of 10; food 10 of 10; service 7 of 10; dinner cost $29 each

La Notte

2007-04-09T10:05:00.002+10:00

22 Sep 2006
140 Lygon St, Melbourne 9663-6861
a hearty cafe with attached bottle shop, they serve a simple yet satisfying breakfast of eggs, toast, bacon, sausage and grilled tomatoes; ambiance 7 of 10; food 8 of 10; service 8 of 10; breakfast cost $17 each

Lemongrass

2007-04-09T10:05:00.001+10:00

20 Sep 2006
176 Lygon St, Melbourne 9662-2244
an elegant Thai cuisine restaurant on restaurant row, the decor inside is beautiful as is the food, but the flavor leaves something to be desired, the Thoo Thong (crab dumplings) were cutely tied off with grass ties and the filling was reasonably tasty, the Pla Pao (whole barramundi in coconut and lime wrapped in banana leaves) was beautiful, drizzled with layers of dressings at our table, but the texture was mushy, bones were awkward to remove, and overall flavor was too sweet for me, prices were also quite high, their lunch buffet may be a better bet; ambiance 9 of 10; food 6 of 10; service 6 of 10; dinner cost $35 each

Sale e Pepe

2007-04-09T10:04:00.001+10:00

17 Sep 2006
232 Lygon St, Melbourne 9663-2599
another exellent Italian restaurant on Lygon's popular restaurant row, on busy nights their aggressive barkers usually throw in a bottle of wine and appetizer on the house if you don't sit down to their table immediately(their high entree and main dish prices make up the difference though), the veal parmegiano was melt in your mouth good but about twice as big as it needed to be, the tortellini was freshly made, stuffed with savory meat and spices and drenched in a well executed cream sauce, the free house wine was a fruity shiraz/grenache blend that paired both dishes well; ambiance 7 of 10; food 9 of 10; service 8 of 10; dinner cost $25 each

The Quarter

2007-04-09T09:58:00.000+10:00

17 Sep 2006
27 Degrave St, Melbourne 9650-6156
a small french style cafe off Flinders St serving excellent breakfasts with very friendly and attentive staff, eggs benedict was 'solid', their 'works' breakfast platter was 'fair dinkum', hearty and satisfying fare; ambiance 8 of 10; food 9 of 10; service 9 of 10; breakfast cost $18 each

The Spaghetteria

2007-04-09T09:57:00.000+10:00

15 Sep 2006
132 Lygon St, Melbourne 9663-4333
a well maintained pasta and pizza place on the south end of Lygon's restaurant row,the immaculate and spacious dining room inside and cozy open air tables outside both have attentive waitstaff, the spinich bruschetta was served on a foccacia like bread instead of the sliced toast we would see stateside but was tasty anyway, the thin crust gamberetto pizza with shrimp, garlic and fresh tomatoes was also good but not to die for, their house merlot was very good; ambiance 8 of 10; food 7 of 10; service 8 of 10; dinner cost $17 each

The Village Chef

2007-04-09T09:56:00.002+10:00

15 Sep 2006
18 Napier St, Melbourne 9370-5553
a self styled bakery deli in Essendon near the Essendon train station, the cozy brick interior feels like a real bakery should, the chicken supreme sandwich was fair but nothing to write home about, the chocolate muffin however was very good, I suggest coming here for the snacks more than the meals; ambiance 9 of 10; food 6 of 10; service 6 of 10; lunch cost $7 each

Pasta Rustica Ristaurante

2007-04-09T09:56:00.001+10:00

14 Sep 2006
148 Lygon St, Melbourne 9663-8125
one of many great pasta dens packed side by side in a strip of Italian places on Carlton's restaurant row, in the evening each restaurant employs an engaging 'barker' on the sidewalk trying to entice passing pedestrians off the sidewalk into their tables, lasagne bolognese was very tasty as was the gnocchi navrone and the serving sizes left room for dessert, a sticky date pudding with excellent presentation but only adequate flavor & texture; ambiance 8 of 10; food 8 of 10; service 8 of 10; dinner cost $25 each

Balti Cafe

2007-04-09T09:55:00.000+10:00

13 Sep 2006
Lygon St, Melbourne
tasty Indian eatery in the south end of Carlton's restaurant row, open for lunch and dinner, chicken tikka masala had good tomato flavor and spice but not as creamy as the versions we grew to love stateside, palak paneer was good though; ambiance 7 of 10; food 8 of 10; service 7 of 10; dinner cost $20 each

Hell's Kitchen

2007-04-09T09:54:00.000+10:00

12 Sep 2006
20 Centre Place, Melbourne, near Flinders Station, 9654-5755
cute lunch spot on 2nd floor overlooking pedestrian walkway; food was decent but not great; curry had heat but not much flavor; lamb sandwich was better, tender without being greasy; very casual, friendly atmosphere; ambiance 7 of 10; food 6 of 10; service 7 of 10; lunch cost $12 each

Welcome to our restaurant review list!

2007-04-09T09:48:00.000+10:00

Hey all and welcome to the new Blog! Margot and I moved to Melbourne from San Diego in September of 2006. Since then, I have been accumulating short reviews from the huge variety of restaurants we have enjoyed. I thought this would be a good place to share them.
Each review will start out with the name and location of the restaurant, followed by a short description of the venue and the food we ate. I'll also throw in some pseudo-quantifiable grades for ambiance, food, and service, and try to include the cost per person when I remember to.
Enjoy!