The Botanical - Melbourne

In planning our first visit to Melbourne, I had gotten several recommendations for “the restaurant at the Botanical Garden,” which turned out to be Botanical, 169 Domain Rd, Melbourne.The restaurant has a lovely little “shop-like” entrance, and sidewalk seating for its “bistro,” but that was not in use, on this cold, rainy morning. As it was Lunch, we were seated in the interior area of the bistro section. The more formal dining room was lovely, and I can imagine that Dinner there would have been nice, as well. There is also an interesting bottle shop, but I only browsed. Our seating area was very comfortable, with well-spaced tables, and as the front of the building mostly glass, it was bright (even on a cloudy, rainy day) and airy. Though nearly full, the noise level was very low, and general conversation across our table was easy.For a “bistro,” the Lunch menu is very adventurous, so we were definitely in our element.We started with a couple of glasses of the Jansz “Premium” Brut Rosé (Yarra Valley), and the Airlie Bank (Tasmania) sparklers, while we studied the menu.We sort of mixed things up a bit on the food:Smoked Kingish w/ quail egg, enoki mushrom, radish and yuzu (Entrée) – extremely good, and a good choice on our part – we sure did a lot of Kingfish on this trip!Local Bay Calamari w/ pink pepper, roquette and lemon oil (Entrée) – Another very good choiceCorn-fed Duck Breast w/ confit of leg, salt-baked celeriac and purple kale (Main Course - split) – A very good Duck dish, and glad that we did split this.Cheese Plate (4), with Perenze Ubriaco goat’s milk, The Mountain Man washed cow’s milk, Charlton Blue sheep’s milk and the Brillat-Savarin soft cow’s milk – we had a bunch of wines to match with these cheeses.We added:Castagna “Inguene” Viognier (Beechworth) B-T-GIncognito Chardonnay (Adelaide Hills) B-T-GCraig Lee Chardonnay (Sunbury) B-T-GMount Mary Chardonnay ‘10 (Yarra Valley) 0.75L – almost went with the Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey “Les Baudines” Chassagne-Montrachet (but that would have been a deviation from our Australian-centric wines)Rockford Basket Press Shiraz ‘10 – 0.375L (Barossa)With our sparkling water, the total bill came to AU$458, but remember the wines that we had.OK, before you worry, we were cabbing it, so no driving, and little walking involved.We spent most of the afternoon at Botanical, and as things turned out, I wish that I had scheduled Dinner there, rather than two of the places we later dined, as the wine list was so very much fun, the food excellent, and only matched by the service.The building looks small, from Domain Rd, but is extensive, with open dining areas (and private areas) throughout the building. Each was lovely, when we toured them. I was also impressed by the bar area. This is a very serious contender, and its recommendation by several on the TA Forums was an excellent one.Now, while we stayed in just a few parts of the wine list, it, plus the drinks list, is about 78 pages long. I loved the diversity of the main list, but also the B-T-G list, and even the half-bottles (something that we often seek out, when dining as a couple). Besides a lot of the heavy-hitters (we did not even scratch the surface there), there is also a “value” area, called “20 under 20.” With the bottle shop attached, the options are truly limitless. Looking over their events calendar, I only wish that we had been in town, for a few of those, as well.Botanical does everything well, and we are so glad that we got to experience it, even if it was only Lunch in the Bistro. On our return to Melbourne, we will definitely schedule dinner – and maybe get lucky with one of their wine events.

A colleague invited me to The Botanical for an early dinner. It has a smart bistro feel and an enticing menu. Had the hanger steak special - excellent. A nice IPA before dinner and a Vic Shiraz with the steak - very happy. Service was good and all up I would definitely return.

We had just spent 2 glorious hours wandering around the Botanical Gardens on an unexpectedly mild Melbourne April afternoon and were looking for a beer and a snack. Exiting the South Gate, drawn by cooking aromas

A Saturday night out with friends so we decided to go back to an old favourite. My wife

There was no pig on the menu but that was made up by the waiters attitude ..rude and arrogant . Appalling service . Food was ok .. tuna loin entree .. not sure I have ever seen a loin of tuna before ...award winning no more .. pass