Bar Spontana — Restaurant in Melbourne

We went to Bar Spontana for a family dinner, opting to have the Feed Me at $58 per head. It's a welcoming place, with a staff member greeting us, asking if we'd been before, providing some background about Bar Spontana as we were shown to our table. The decor is cosy whilst having a slight industrial feel, there are booths seating four to six people and smaller tables. Music was playing, at a volume low enough to be background rather than competing with conversation.

After choosing the feed me, we opted to select a bottle of wine, landing on the Sangiovese. There is a choice of cocktails, spirits, non alcoholic drinks, beer, cider and wines, including various vegan options.

The feed me platter started with the Deep Fried Enoki, crisp and flavoursome, the fish sauce providing a salty taste. So easy to nibble away at these.

Next came the betel leaf roll with oyster mushroom and chilli, the grilled baby octopus, pork jowl and ox tongue. All were grilled to perfection and fragrant with spices. Then the Beef Spicy sausage with turmeric and galangal. Of these, favourites were likely the sausage and the betel leaf.

Next came the sticky rice ball, fired chicken and Esan Pork Sausage, as well as the Fried Banana Blossom Salad. Again, all fragrant with spices, and the various textures complementing one another.

Finally to complete this amazing meal camel the Pumpkin Tom Kha with white fungus and Chilli Jam and the Charcoal Chicken with Galangal and Pickled Watermelon Rind - these were accompanied by steamed rice. Again delicious, with the pumpkin being a favourite.

The staff were friendly, welcoming and attentive.

The food was amazing, definitely recommended.

Thanks to the Bar Spontana on-line menu which I've used as a prompt for all the items included in the Feed Me Experience.

Finally - getting there. Located in Saxon Street, Bar Spontana is about a 2 minute walk from Sydney Road. It can be easy to miss, tucked away behind apartments and houses.

Update: we visited for a second time during July. This time we opted to choose our meal, including some of our favourites from the Feed Me Menu ( Beef Spicy Sausage, Pumpkin Tom Kha and Charcoal Chicken). We discovered some new favourites - Nothern Style Raw Beef and Whole Grilled Fish. Since it was a celebration, we included some cocktails - Spontana Martini and Spro Tini. The Spro Tini being very refreshing. Just a...

Bar Spontana, formerly 4 Saxon Street, is now a Thai eatery and bar serving up regional-inspired flavours with a fiery kick. Before visiting, we patiently waited for reviews of the relaunched restaurant and, based on the positive feedback we saw online, we decided to book a table on a cold and rainy Melbourne night.

The atmosphere and vibe at Bar Spontana were warm and welcoming, with cool music playing softly in the background and mood lighting setting the tone. The overall service was good, though it did get off to a slow start, taking over 25 minutes to get our bottle of fizz. Once the service picked up, however, it was much improved.

For our meal, we started with an assortment of skewers - baby octopus, pork jowl, ox tongue, and beef sausage. The flavours were mouthwatering and well-balanced, with a real kick when dipped in the accompanying sauces, one of which was particularly fiery. The skewers were served with a side of fermented accompaniments to help cut through the richness. While the taste was excellent, we felt the portion size didn't quite justify the price, and we'd recommend either increasing the number of skewers per order with a minor price increase or adjusting the pricing down with the current serving size – it just felt off.

The northern-style raw beef dish was perfectly balanced, with a long, spicy finish that packed a punch. It was served in a bowl with some toasted sticky rice, mint, saw-tooth coriander, and cabbage, creating a delightful umami-rich experience. The hat-yai fried chicken was also a highlight, with a well-seasoned crumb and a nice spicy kick, complemented by the chargrilled broccolini.

To finish, we had the house-fermented Esan pork sausage, which was our top pick of the night. Packed with flavours of garlic, fermented glass noodle, and coriander root, it was a unique and delightful combination of texture and taste.

Overall, our first impression of Bar Spontana was positive. While the slow start to service and the value proposition of the skewers were minor drawbacks, we were impressed by the restaurant's ability to serve up Thai flavours that challenged the typical stereotypes one would expect when they hear Thai food (green curry anyone?). We're excited to see a Thai eatery that's willing to push the boundaries and offer...

Celebrated my birthday here with a big dining group of 20 guests. In summary, our experience dining at Bar Spontana was incredible and I would highly recommend Bar Spontana to anyone who is looking for somewhere tasty, and special, to celebrate a special occassion, or even just to dine casually. Special mention to Josh who was exceptional throughout the whole booking and dining experience. I couldn’t be more grateful for the service, food, and care.

The service exceeded expectations - all conversations from booking up to dining was met with fast responses and a lot of care and consideration. Conversations surrounding seating and menu selection was very considered and catered to our needs and preferences, and costs was very fair and transparent. It is clear from my experience that Bar Spontana cares for their guests’ comfort and enjoyment. On the night, all of us were also impressed by the attention given by staff. All staff were also ssooo friendly!!

The food is VERY delicious, authentic, and of high quality. I can honestly say Bar Spontana is one of the best Thai restaurants in Melbourne. All the flavours are there (authentic!! spice!!) and all ingredients clearly, very fresh. All guests commented on how delicious the food was and many couldn’t fault any of dishes shared that night. A few of us had dishes we’ve never tried before - soo tasty!

Dining at Bar Spontana felt particularly special as I find it very difficult to find many of the dishes offered available elsewhere in Australia - dining at Bar Spontana felt like you were eating in Thailand.

The drink selection - also, incredible. A beautiful, long list of wines is offered, as well as other alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. As a large dining group, the team at Bar Spontana was considerate enough to offer different drink selections and packages to make our dining experience smooth, and this was much appreciated.

The ambience of the restaurant on a Friday night was very fun, cozy, and lively.

I cant recommend Bar Spontana enough and only have positive things to say about our dining experience here. The food is beyond exceptional, and I am still thinking about it to this day! 5 stars and more - thank you so much to the team at...