Estelle — Restaurant in Melbourne

We dined there on Saturday night the 19 th August . We had advised them it was for birthday and on arrival was asked who was the birthday person. Not sure why they bothered as that was the acknowledgement.

Ordering. I had to ask if there any specials and advised the rib eye but the waiter had to check if there was any left Still waiting for a response to that question.

Wine pouring. Waiter took bottle and when they came back first time only topped up 2 of the three glasses. Should be offered the choice to have bottle on table so we can manage our own consumption at our own pace. This “ habit” is fine at 5 star restaurant with specialist sommelier who is not doubling up as food waiter.

Ordered 3 Tastes and 2 entrees.

Ordered the scones with cods roe. Scone was dry and Taramasalata was about the same taste as Black Swan from the supermarket. Not value for $8 each

Overall small portions for the price.

Mains Pork and Wagyu beef and 2 sides were fine.

Not sure why the waitress who served our mains explained what was on each plate . We had read the menu and ordered what we wanted.

Dessert - Had run out of three cheeses so we had 2 the same and one different. At $32 grossly overpriced for the actual cheeses and sizes provided. Would have expected larger platter with raisins or sultanas etc.

Payment. Paid in cash with a tip. Normal practice is for the waiter to return with the tip and be advised that that is for the service. Waited for a while and decided waiter was not coming back with our change so left.

Overall Disappointing night . Don’t know why the “Occasion” was asked for on the booking and on arrival. Bit pointless.

Won’t be returning and would not recommend, as the price did not match professionalism of staff , the quantum apart from mains for the price, and for the the scone, the...

A wonderful dining experience at Estelle!

My wife and I recently dined at Estelle in Northcote and were thoroughly impressed. The atmosphere is warm and refined, the service was polished yet personable, and the food and wine were both outstanding.

The evening started on a high note thanks to a thoughtful touch from Westpac Concierge and Lifestyle Service – a complimentary snack of goat’s cheese churros with truffle honey and two glasses of 2023 Howard Vineyard Pinot Noir Chardonnay from the Adelaide Hills. A lovely start.

For entrees, I enjoyed the grilled quail with tikka sauce, mint yoghurt and cucumber. My wife had the cured rainbow trout with fennel jam, citrus and crème fraiche. Both dishes were beautifully balanced and full of flavour.

Our mains were equally impressive. My wife’s crumbed pork cutlet with kohlrabi, apple remoulade and spiced butter was perfectly cooked. I had the lamb rump with stuffed pumpkin, miso and mustard greens – one of the best restaurant meals I’ve had. The lamb was tender, the plating refined, and the flavours outstanding.

We paired our mains with two excellent Heathcote wines: a glass of the 2023 Paul Osicka ‘Selection’ Shiraz for me, and the 2021 Cosa Nostra Fiano for my wife.

We also appreciated our round table, which offered a direct view into the open kitchen. It was spotlessly clean and professionally run, with each dish leaving the pass looking immaculate.

Highly recommended. Estelle delivers on every front – food, wine, service...

Came for the Truffle Dinner Event Food was pretty underwhelming, nothing stood out / wowed me for a $150 price tag meal. Only good dish was the entree scallops dish and ravioli dish. The small bites were all lacklustre and the truffle was tasteless and barely had the aroma you get from quality truffle dishes.

The main courses for duck and ravioli had a nice strong sauce but was present in both of the dishes which is disappointing as I was expecting more variety in flavours as it was only 3 courses of savoury. The duck was also overcooked to a well done to barely medium well and was quite chewy.

I'm not sure if it was just our dishes but the scallop / duck showed literally no care to the presentation. in the photos it looks like a pile of mess. The eyes have to eat first and damn when they served these 2 dishes they wanted to cry instead.

Also note for the ambience that we were seated in the back / outdoor area and there was no ambience music and felt so awkward as you could hear the conversation of the tables on the other side of the room whereas the tables seated inside was more lively / better vibes

Was initially very keen and had high hopes as I saw good things from their social media / reviews but unfortunately did not live up to expectations and was definitely not worth the money spent. ($150pp)

Maybe their regular menu is much better but unfortunately I can only rate based on my experience...