Gimlet — Restaurant in Melbourne

This is a splurge. As such, a certain standard in the trinity of service, environment and food is expected. And Gimlet delivers.

When I open the front door into the restaurant, the noise level in the restaurant just smashed into me. And this is at 3.30 pm!

We were seated on the elevated corridor, beside tall windows overlooking the restaurant scene below. Nice.

Service is with a smile, attentive and efficient - dishes are explained, water is topped up regularly, serving plates are warmed, and finished meals are cleared quickly. Nevertheless there is an air of casualness to it all, which suits me just fine. I am not one that demands exacting, overly formal and overzealous service.

The Gnocco Fritto is the go to dish for me. Google said it is a popular appetizer in Emilio Romagna region of Italy. As you bite into the square pillow topped with bresaola, the thin crispy skin cracks, and the cheese just oozes out and combines well with the distinct, full flavour of the cured meat. I can envision future visit to the bar, sipping cocktails and popping a few of these delectable parcels. By the way, the house cocktail is very good, not diluted.

The mix seafood entre is cooked really well - the clams and mussels delicate, not tough. Ditto for the John Dory ($52), clean tasting and seasoned well. The aged Muscovy duck breast ($58), not so much a fan of. The flesh is somewhat sinewy, which makes for chewy mouthfuls. And it does not have the liverish taste that I like in a duck.

The cheese platter ($22) is served with 3 types of cheese, a comb of honey and two types of bread slices. There is a blue cheese from Gippsland, a creamy soft cheese with Ash rind, also from Gippsland and a hard cheese from Switzerland. I normally don't like blue, but this is really, really mild (fine for a cheese novice like me, but not for my husband). My favourite is the hard cheese. As the cheese slowly melts in the mouth, the flavour profile expands and deepens. It's wonderful. I still think about it as I write this. I have to say eating the cheeses with the charred, fruity bread slices and a dollop of honey, is a great combination, much better than boring crackers and quinces.

I had a lovely time. There are no cutting edge flavours here. There is no, what I sometimes deem as unnecessary manipulation of food to garner Instagram likes. Neither is there excessive plating.

If I have to sum it up, Gimlet is more like a bistro to me, albeit one with really fine attention to food, drinks...

Two of the best dishes I have tried with the Gnocco Fritto and the King Fish, however, the other meals fell somewhat flat.

The staff were all very friendly but the service was not great:

I ordered a Coke no Sugar and they brought a Diet Coke instead. I told the waiter that I don’t like Diet Coke at which point they told me that they don’t have Coke No Sugar so I’m not sure why I wasn’t told that when I ordered my drink in the first place. I then asked for a replacement drink which took over half an hour to be replaced and required me to ask the waiter where my drink was.

We received only one of our two entrees prior to the mains and thought that they must have forgotten the Calamarta pasta. To our surprise, the Calamarata pasta was brought out with our mains of the Corn-fed Chicken and 500g steak. Given the Calamarata pasta was an entree, I am not sure why it wasn’t brought out before the mains. My wife ate her entree on her own as my entree didn’t appear until the mains.

The steak was very underwhelming. I was expecting a whole lot more flavour than what we received. In all honesty, I would rate it average at best. The corn-fed chicken wasnt much better either - Smothered in sauce and sitting on top of soggy lettuce isn’t the best I have seen.

To top off a subpar lunch, our waiter asked us if we wished to box up the half eaten steak and chicken to take home to which I responded with ‘no thanks’. Her response was ‘oh really? What a waste of food’. That’s probably the rudest thing I have had a waiter say to me.

So after spending over $300 on lunch for the two of us, I would definitely recommend others that you can get a far better meal in other restaurants for half the price. Overall, very underwhelming. 3 stars for the friendly staff and two delicious dishes, however, lost points for the things raised above.

UPDATE: The Service Manager called me and apologised for the experience we had. She appeared very committed to taking the constructive feedback in order to improve standards. This was much appreciated and shouldn’t go unrecognised as they clearly want to maintain high standards of...

Located in Cavendish House, Gimlet’s interior channels classic European-style old world charm 💫 The restaurant is split into three spaces - a cocktail bar, an elegant white table-clothed Dining Room, and a more casual Club Lounge 🍽️

The menu is inspired by European bistro classics, using local and seasonal ingredients 🙌 To start, we loved the Gnocco Fritto and the Scallops which was a special that day (one of the best scallops I’ve had!) 😍 The Gilda on the other hand wasn’t quite to our palette as we found it pretty underwhelming

The Calamarata was highly recommended by our waiter and it did not disappoint! 🦐 The pasta was cooked perfectly al dente and the sauce was divine 🤌 We also got the Garfish which was delicious although there were a few sharp bones 👀

The centrepiece of the night was of course Gimlet’s signature Lobster 🦞 de-shelled at the table and served with lemon, salt flakes, and rouille which adds another layer of flavour and creaminess 🤤 It’s pricey, but definitely worth the splurge for a special occasion! 💸

We also got the strip steak which was cooked very nicely, although some pieces did get quite chewy as they sat for longer 🥩 The side of Kipfler potatoes was very enjoyable, paired with the creamy confit garlic aioli 🥔

Make sure you save room for dessert! The Almond milk and Meyer lemon gelato was incredible, especially with that caramelised brioche which was so soft and crispy on the outside 🍋 Their Affogato is also a must order if you love coffee - strong and boozy! ☕️

What we had: 🧀 Gnocco fritto, bresaola and parmesan ($12/2pc) 🍢 Gimlet Gilda ($6ea) 🐚 Scallops special 🌟🦐Calamarata, prawn, celery, sauce américaine ($36) 🐟 Wood-roasted garfish, sauce caviar ($34) 🌟🦞 1/2 Southern rock lobster, wood-roasted in saffron rice, rouille ($188) 🥩 Gippsland strip steak, herb mustard, bordelaise sauce ($58) 🥔 Kipfler potato, confit garlic aioli and pecorino ($16) 🌟🍋 Almond milk and Meyer lemon gelato, caramelised brioche ($23) 🍫 Chocolate and whisky tart, preserved cherries ($25) 🌟☕️ Affogato ($19) 🌟🍸...