GK Tapas Bar & Restaurant Moonee Ponds — Restaurant in Melbourne

First of all I must apologize that it has taken me this long to write this review. I meant to do it some time ago.

I have eaten at this restaurant twice. The first was a Christmas work party. The owner Laura and her team worked so hard to make it a wonderful night.

Laura worked closely with myself over the space of a couple of weeks to put together a Christmas style menu with specific dietry requirements which included gluten free, vegetarian and vegan! No easy task!

Not only did Laura accommodate this but she also kindly added a gluten free bread and butter pudding to the menu at my request. It was delicious!

Laura had allocated the back area which has its own sliding doors. This area is used for her cooking school which I must book a lesson for myself. This made it feel we had our own venue. Their was bluetooth speakers which allowed to play our own festive music.

We had booked a 3 hour bar which was to consist of soft drinks, beer, cider, wines, sparking wine and coctail jugs. On arrival our area was decorated beautifully and tables set up with our drinks which we could just help ourselves to. This was in addition to their team continuously topping up the bubbles and coctails.

The food was set up as roaming dishes which were amazing! One of my team on the night informed them that she was halal and they just whipped her up something different which said tasted amazing. This was truly impeccable service!

My second visit was with a friend who I had not seen for several months due to the 1st covid 19 lockdown. We shared the lamb shoulder with several sides which we could not get enough of! This was washed down with a bottle of red and a yummy mango parfait and signature ruby chocolate mousse.

This was yet another lovely visit. This restaurant is such great value for money and the quality of food and service is 1st class. This restaurant truly deserves to thrive when we all get to venture out again...

📍Gourmet Kitchen, Moonee Ponds

If you want a taste of some DELICIOUS Modern Australian food with a Spanish influence, Gourmet Kitchen has you covered! They also run cooking classes so you can get hands on in the kitchen too!

We Ordered: 🐟 Tuna Ceviche 🍤 Kataifi Wrapped Prawns 🧀 Jamon & Manchego Croquettes 🥔 Patatas Bravas 🦑 Crispy Calamari 🥘 Chicken & Chorizo Paella 🍓 Ruby Choc & Raspberry Dome 🍹 Fig Spritz 🍷 Winter Pimms Punch

Started the afternoon right with two of their classic cocktails containing liquor sourced from Australian distilleries and some items off their tapas menu. The tuna ceviche was so fresh and the home made bomba rice crisps gave it a nice crunch. The kataifi wrapped prawns also had a beautiful exterior crunch and were super plump and juicy. The jamon and manchego croquettes left us speechless - generous pieces of aged ham, embedded in the softest potato mash, so simple but so well done! The patatas bravas were fried to perfection with a crispy exterior and fluffy interior, paired with a spicy tomato sauce 🌶 The calamari was fresh, lightly dusted and fried and wasn’t overly oily, but still had a beautiful crunch. For mains we shared a chicken and chorizo paella, perfectly cooked and seasoned - every mouthful was a flavour explosion!! Already pretty stuffed, we soldiered on to end with something sweet - the ruby chocolate set. The ruby moose within the dome had a creamy texture to it and paired well with the pistachio dacquiose base. The raspberry coulis cut through the sweetness of the dish and the ruby macaroons were a nice addition. Please do yourselves a favour and visit Gourmet Kitchen for a meal, you won’t regret it! You can also check out their cooking classes, where they teach you to make a variety of cuisines in their commercial kitchen. Cannot recommended this gem of a place enough, definitely underrated and should be...

A gorgeous restaurant in the heart of Moonee Ponds which specializes in modern Australian cuisine with Spanish influence.

From the super friendly owner Laura, the decor and layout of the restaurant to the food.. this place was divine. Our table was also right in front of a book shelf with all cook books and it provided such a homely feel!

What we ordered: FOOD: 🥜 Wattleseed and Macadamia hummus 🧀 Grilled Halloumi w/harissa 🧀 🥓 Jamon and Manchego croquettes 🍗 Chicken Wings two-way 🍖 Spiced Lamb Ribs 🍄 Mushroom, pine-nuts and spinach buns (new)

DESSERTS: 🍰 Bombe Alaska 🍰 Ruby Chocolate and Raspberry set

DRINKS: 🍹Winter Pimms punch 🍸Cherry Ripe Espresso Martini

All meals were tapas style and we absolutely vibe that. Best thing about tapas is you get to try the best of everything. Of course, pairing tapas with cocktails is a MUST and in this case, you can’t look past the Cherry Ripe Espresso Martini - big wow factor! We are big fans of Pimms so of course appreciated that too.

The chargrilled lamb ribs were literally falling off the bone - as soon as you took a bite, it just fell. It doesn’t get much better than that. We also enjoyed the chicken two ways. Firstly, boneless (excellent) but they were a mix of crispy and grilled. They were succulent 👌.

The hummus and the halloumi’s were an absolute treat! Both full of flavour and presenting as stunning dishes.

The croquettes were like mini cheese and bacon bites! We felt like we were having a cheese and bacon roll which was fab! And lastly, the newest item on the menu, the buns were hard-shelled and contained a beautiful combination of veggies.

We look forward to coming back and trying more of the menu. Already on our radar with friends who we know we enjoy...