Hunky Dory Fish & Chips Balaclava — Restaurant in Melbourne

There are several outlets of Hunky Dory around town, and yet last night was the first time I've tried it ever. I love places like this when just wanting something casual, yet filling and comforting. Hunky Dory is all of that.

This is one of their newest locations, if not the newest, and it was busy. It's quite cool inside. You walk up a few steps to the restaurant which makes it elevated off the street, and you can sit by the windows watching the world go by. You order your meal by choosing from the menus on the table, and placing your order up at the counter. They give you a number to take back to your table and then deliver it to you when it's cooked. Everything came out fresh and tasty. There's an area aside for pick ups from orders taken online, and that did make the space a little crowded, but still the flow seemed to work well.

I got a piece of Blue Grenadier and two potato cakes and all was good, fresh and tasty and filling. Based on the cleanliness of the restaurant and the friendly service, and good food, I'd be very happy coming here again. It's priced well and a nicely decked out space. Highly recommend for casual dinners or lunch. The only slight negative, is that all fish pack meals, come with flake, which is a non-kosher fish, and if you can't eat flake, you may not get as good a deal as if you could if you ordered it. So many other places will let you order a fish pack with your choice of fish, and I'd say this is where they lose one...

I'd highly recommend HD if craving some quality, more healthy style fish and chips! The decor is nice and modern, staff are super friendly and we always get our orders within minutes.

I usually order the Atlantic Salmon pack served with chips and salad. The packs are quite pricey, however I find the meal very satisfying and not too oily/fried tasting. The salmon is quite small - if the price point on the fish was cheaper I'd be giving HD a 5 for sure.

On my last visit, I decided to add on the Southern Fried Cauliflower and this was super tasty! Big chunks of cauliflower inside thick, crunchy batter and dipped into the aioli is delicious. This will definitely be a staple in my order here from now on.

I'd also be curious to try the plant based fish as I haven't seen many other fish & chip eateries...

Hunky Dory decided to play chef and changed the menu like they were flipping pancakes at a surprise party - but forgot to invite anyone to the shindig.

Hunky Dory previously served Blue Grenadier as Fish of the Day, a nutritious locally sourced fish, a good source of protein and omega-3 fatty acids, making it a nutritious choice for a balanced diet. Recently, they went ahead and pulled the wool over everyone's eyes while rearranging the furniture. Fish of the Day is now Basa, a mass produced, cheap, imported cat fish from South East Asia, with its muddy habitat and diet resulting in an unpleasant flavour profile.

I recommend that going forward Hunky Dory plays it straight, with no 'fishy' business in the kitchen and is transparent with material changes made...