Livingstone — Restaurant in Melbourne

I've been to Livingstone three times now, and I will say that each visit has improved considerably since the last. The Bali themed restaurant seems to be trying to find it's footing and identity, and certainly has some stiff competition due to its location.

First - the food is very good. I've tried a variety of sweet and savoury here but today's rating comes from an excellent Breakfast Burrito - it has a ton of flavour, variety of texture, with crispy bacon nestled between generous egg, sausage and saucy avocado. If I was hungover this would be a dream. It also comes with a surprisingly fresh and tasty simple salad with dressing, and a slightly superfluous side of avocado. Other guests I've bought had middle to good reactions of other dishes, the least impressive being the pancakes but everyone has unanimously raved about the corn fritters (this is a must try).

The atmosphere and decor is another great strength - it looks like you've stepped into a resort, with beautiful natural light, high windows and pretty tropical hues and tones in the furniture.

In the times I've visited I've stood at the entrance near the "Please Wait to be Seated" sign only to have staff members look perplexing at me - not sure if this is because they're used to the rude South Yarra crowd just barging in, otherwise wayfinding and vibe could be improved (it is an awkward way to get in). My burrito took 26 minutes to get to the table after ordering which is longer than I would have liked.

The venue transforms into a bar/dinner venue which I have not experienced, but a lot of ads talk about the happy hour of 2-for-1 drinks in sure would be well appreciated. Curiously the venue doesn't do coffee after 3 (unless this has changed since opening) which is a shame since this would be it's one distinct feature.

Definitely give this...

This is a lovely cafe for studying and people working from home but unfortunately the vibe is not great for a late night or social gathering. It is pretty quiet. The food is decent however it is insanely priced and like other reviewers, there is a lot of missing complexity. I would question why there is packet pork crackle included in the suckling pork dish — you had 1 square of cooked pork crackle and then some crackers. The pork was delicious but really needed some variety instead of multiple kinds of pork, such as fresh Asian herbs, salad etc.

The service being laid back is not necessarily a bad thing but it is unusual for a restaurant at this price point and for South Yarra. For example, several equivalent competitors would be having waitstaff offer the water and refill it.

The service seemed a bit haphazard and the ice cream cart is poorly done. As a business owner it does not give the impression it’s fresh when there is a cart sitting in a rainy/dark area unstaffed. You would be better off storing the ice cream in the kitchen and serving it in bowls by default.

No one wants to pay $30 for a meal and then go outside in winter to order an ice cream, and you would hardly be getting many customers buying it externally when it looks as though the cart is part of the restaurant. It is very easy to walk past and assume you can’t purchase the ice cream without flagging staff...

This Balinese eatery serves up the best of both worlds when it comes to western classics & authentic Indonesian flavours.

What we ordered: 🍗 Satay Lilit $16 🌽 Corn Fritters $12 🐽 Balinese Suckling Pig $29 🍚 Oxtail Fried Rice $27 🍋 Lemon Butter Salmon $33 🥤 Detox Juice $8 🍹 Lychee Lemonade Mocktail $8 🥝 Kiwi Breeze Mocktail $10

Everything was genuinely sooo delicious and I seriously cannot fault any of the dishes we had on the table. A little secret of mine is that I always judge the authenticity of an Indonesian restaurant by their sambal and these guys definitely passed the test with flying colours. If I could take home a jar of their green chilli sambal that came with the corn fritters I would do it in a heartbeat!

Would also recommend getting the suckling pig which is part of their current winter special menu. Every single bite is a flavour bomb in itself and the green papaya added such a nice freshness...