L'Hotel Gitan — Restaurant in Melbourne

Finally after countless drives passed L'Hotel Gitan over the years, I decided to try it. I've been to Bistro Gitan and so it made sense to come here eventually too. I do think I like it MORE than Bistro Gitan. From the outside, you could be forgiven for thinking this was a pub, rather than an elevated casual french restaurant. Inside it's really nice and right off the bat the waiters and staff were friendly and greeted everyone warmly. We sat at a table right near the open kitchen, and it was fun to watch the chefs preparing the food. Practically everything we ordered was delicious. I had the Tuna Crudo which was soooo good, and the Duck for main (which was the only negative of the night) with the Gratin Dauphinois and for dessert (yes, three courses since the food was so good), the Bomb Alaska, which was a special of the day. The negative for the duck was that the two of us that ordered it, found it to be very gristly, fatty and hard to chew. I just couldn't face another bite. But the entree, the rest of the main and the dessert were incredible, and the service was fantastic. Food came out all together in one hit (something I love about a good restaurant), and they didn't clear the plates until everyone at the table had finished (also top service) and they knew who ordered which dish when it came out. Prices are a teeny on the high side, but I guess most places are these days. I would DEFINITELY come back here again. Parking is easy, nice ambience, great food and I highly...

I am not sure what happened, but yesterday's experience was very different to others I have had at this normally fine restaurant. As background, I would say this is one of the places I favour, with regular meals both pre and post recent lockdowns in Melbourne. The menu was presented, and I chose the thin raw slivers of trout as an entree, which was presented beautifully with beetroot cut equally as finely. The trout was bathed in an ample accompanying sauce, which was bland, it actually didn't have a taste, so I added salt, but nothing made it better. The main meal was just OK, this time a fillet of trout, which was also bland. We ordered a serve of frites, which were only just warm upon arrival and a leafy salad. The waiter we had yesterday, didn't have much of a customer focus, didn't attempt much to build rapport and was very transactional, cool in his approach. Such a shame, because the bill was substantial at $278 for 3. We were not noisy, nor rude and I would say really thrilled to be returning after 6 weeks or so. The host of our party, even asked his name and introduced himself. We enjoyed sparkling water, started with 3 martini's and continued with different varieties of wine ordered (by the glass) and 2 of the party of 3 finished with a dessert wine at $22 per glass. The dessert was nice - the mille feuille. I will be keen to see if others have faced the same over the most...

For the Food and Wine Festival they attempted a Yum Cha Á la Française. If you’re looking for value for money, you came to the right place: a large amount of food for $89! It was an amazingly strong start out of the gate with the Beef Tartare XO sauce: honestly the best tartare I’ve ever tasted; the XO flavour combined with the beef and egg yolk was exquisite. The deceptively insignificant looking Prawn Toast was also a standout and an excellent interpretation of the whole concept of a French Yum Cha, well done! (I never choose this at our normal Yum Cha place as I’m not a fan). The French Onion dumplings were nice enough, a bit bland as was the Beef bourguignon bun. The filling was dry and the bun part undercooked. The rotisseried chicken that followed was moist and tender. The salted fish rice with frozen veg had virtually no flavour. Dessert was definitely not for me. We arrived during a busy period and were looking forward to a leisurely meal (I believe we were entitled to a two hour session). However, they just kept pumping the courses out and when I asked if they could Please slow down, the answer was a straight out NO. I even suggested that they give the food to another table; after all, we’re all eating the same thing. The entire 5 course meal was done and dusted within 40 minutes of walking...