Doot Doot Doot — Restaurant in Melbourne

Went here on the weekend and considering how much we paid for the experience, it was pretty average. Firstly, there's no obvious signage to Door Doot Doot, (this was acknowledged by staff and so it seems they're aware of the issue). So we waited at Rare Hare for about 10 minutes whilst the customers in front of us did their covid check in(there's no mobile reception there so you have to use wifi depending on your carrier, but instead of having signage up to advise this, they just tell you once you get to the desk). I get that it's unsightly to have signs everywhere but we were waiting for awhile whilst seeing staff milling about, looking at us but not actually serving us. It's pretty frustrating to experience. We checked in at Rare Hare, then we were walked over to Door Doot Doot. We had to sign in again at Doot Doot Doot, even though it was only around 50 metres away from where we had just signed in, and the same winery.

Anyway so we sign in again then head to the bar to order drinks, where we are told to take a seat & someone will take our order. Took them about 10 minutes to take our order and another 10 to make it. By this stage we have been here for half an hour, which is the time we allowed to have drinks before our dinner service. I asked a waiter if we could have our drinks tab moved to our dinner reservation to save time. He said we could, but that the "best thing to do is pay at the bar". I asked him to please transfer the bill. My friend then requested it again later, in my absence, and he got the same response. I don't know why they push back on this request - if they can do it, do it, if not, then say no? He also delivered our water placing his fingers all over the rim of our glasses. And before I took my seat outside at the bar I had to dust it off using my hands as they hadn't cleaned them, and there was obvious, brown dust on the chairs and tables.

We then went to dinner, and on the reservation it clearly stated a strict 1.5hr dinner seating. So I made sure we left our table at the alloted time, even though there were so many delays at the beginning. Turned out nobody needed our table after us. By this stage I was pretty fed up with the joint and we did not stay to have after dinner drinks at the bar as we had planned, we went back to Melbourne.

In total we spent ~$460 for 2 hours' worth of an average experience. The drinks were tasty. The food was fine (the duck meal was overpowered by the sauce). For this much money you really do kind of expect a great experience with the customer service to match. We were using this dinner as a tester for whether we wanted to stay at their hotel later in the summer and it's a definite no. There are other places on the Peninsula that offer a seamless, exemplary experience for less of a cost...

We've heard a fair bit about the restaurant thus, when we secured our accommodations at the hotel, we decided to book a table for dinner with our friends since we are a long way from home. There's quite a lot of hype on the restaurant so expectations were high. First you are greeted with the black and modern decor, with lights that dim and brightened throughout the night. As a person with some degree of night blindness, it bothered me. Our friends too. Maybe we are older, and this was way to trendy for us. Maybe it was to add to the atmosphere, but didn't do much for me. But the light fixtures were something else, definitely better viewed in the day IMHO. That way, you can truly see the extent of the fixtures. FYI, the restaurant is where you'd have breakfast in the mornings and I LOVED BREAKFAST. Every single dish we had was flavourful and fresh, and beautifully plated. Service by Emily was good, can't say the same for the rest, as we had to ask for service a few times in the mornings as they had forgotten some things. Likewise for dinner service! Exquisitely decorated plates for all the courses. I must say, we didn't like the oysters. While they were fresh, somehow the special sauce didn't do it for me, nor anyone else who had oysters on the table. As mentioned, we were all enjoying all the innovative courses, tasty and filled with textures and layers, until dessert... Dessert, every single one we had was such a letdown. It didn't help that we waited more than 40 minutes and asked for updates on it 3 times. Disappointing because we were so impressed with our appetizers and main courses and were at the climax! It would have been 5 stars for sure had dessert impressed us as well. Sadly, it did not. While the menu description made each of them sound really exciting, they didn't excite any of our tsstebuds. And there wasn't much service recovery either. Service was also pretty good right until we finished our main courses and started the wait. What a bummer. By the end of all the waiting, we were all so exhausted, and couldn't wait to get out, we didn't even bother to stay for the petit fours, and as we stood up to leave, no staff attempted to remind us either... Another set of diners left abruptly as they didn't want to have their desserts anymore. Overall, I enjoyed the dining experience, but would definitely do without dessert. Would I return for dinner, maybe no desserts next time, especially if I have to wait that long again. But call me for breakfast...

Visiting Doot Doot Doot was a bit like seeing the Mona Lisa for us. You try hard to get in, but when you are there you ask, “Is that it? Is that all there is to it?”

I should have known. Expectations kill happiness. And our expectations for Doot Doot Doot had been riding high for some time, bolstered by our lack of fate to align our stars with their booking calendar, and friends’ recommendations.

When our stars did finally align, I was intrigued by the promise of “yesterday’s bread”, “golden mussels and Foie gras” and “hot and cold tea”. What we did get was a bit of fluffy theatrics feebly cradling a largely one-dimensional palate.

Consider the golden mussels. An entrance calculated to wow, the dish arrived as a golden package submerged in a sea of Foie gras foam. But dissect the dish and the awe factor fades away. A dumpling skin the size of a saucer, tinted gold, loosely covering three mussels like a roof over their heads. Together with the foamy Foie gras, the palate was heavy on the salt. This tendency towards the salty was observed on many dishes.

“Hot and cold” jasmine tea from the garden. On the rim of the cup, a lone sunflower petal to drink the tea from. We did not get those tactile sensations. But there was a subtle note of sweetness at the first sip through the petal, quickly missed if you were not paying attention and are not a tea or wine geek (which is frankly, most of us, me included).

The saving grace of the evening — wagyu steak. This was cooked to a perfect tender texture. A little salty, but my tongue welcomed the pairing with the earthy nuttiness of the broad beans. For want of word space here, head to our “Story Highlights” on our Instagram food blog (IG handle: chufoodieadventures) if you want more about each dish.

So was Doot Doot Doot worth the visit? Most of the food did not agree with our tastebuds. Perhaps if we had a saltier palate and lower expectations we would have enjoyed the meal better. The wine list, while extensive, had a level of markup not matched by the level of service from the wine staff. For all that hype it may be hard to book a spot at this place, but we do not think you are...