Lucy Liu Kitchen and Bar — Restaurant in Melbourne

The customer service is sickening & utterly rude. My mate booked a table for 6 and the restaurant required all 6 of us to go for the set menu. However, my friend mentioned whether there are any other options for that as we’re not as keen for the set menu and asked whether we could do à la carte instead. So the employee asked the manager and agreed on that. Keeping in mind that we were having a birthday celebration, and decided to bring a cake along. The cake was small and when I say small it was a 10x10cm square cake, so we decided to ask one of the waitress for permission on whether she could help serve the cake. She said sure but there will be extra cost and it was $5 per person. Obviously we feel like it’s not worth it because it’s just a tiny bit of cake and it be more worth to buy their desserts instead right? She also suggested that we could just do it by ourselves, which could interpret the message to us that it’s alright to have the cake without service charges.

Funny how after we sang and celebrated even the waitress witnessed and laughed when we had the cake . Then only once we finished everything, this Caucasian man staff came over (so ridiculous impolite and rude) was like y’all gonna pay for this, $5 each.

BUT the thing is, we got the permission TO HAVE THE CAKE WITHOUT CHARGE as long as we serve it ourselves. Honestly we don’t mind paying for the service charges if the staff was clear about it earlier but the thing is WE GOT THE PERMISSION. The guy kept blaming us and used the excuse like “oh you guys didn’t have to pay for the set menu but you gotta pay for this” and kept on insisting.

It didnt feel right as one of the staff did suggest we serve it ourselves.

Well obviously, we payed for it because you know we have dignity and you know “class”. We literally can’t deal with his nonsense and him being misogynistic.

In summary, customer service is bad. It’s their fault for not delivering proper communication with the customer and trying to blame their responsibility on us. IT WAS OUR FIRST TIME BTW. Restaurants like these should be straight, honest and clear with their customers and if it was a mistake OWN UP TO IT. Anyway great cocktails but the wrap pork dish...

First of all, there are two doors. one used only as an exit and one as an entrance. I got quite confused about where the entrance was and wandered around for a while. To get to the point, it was just okay. There were mistakes with my order, and the staff seemed busy, so it took a long time to order. However, the service got much better as the meal went on, so the initial mistakes didn't bother me too much. Also, you can find the menu by flipping over the illustration on the table. I spent some time figuring this out because the staff didn't mention it at first. They seem to want to give the restaurant a unique character, but they should explain things better to the customers.

It was the weekend, and I was dining alone, so I sat at the bar table. Here, it seems the head chef informs the staff when the food is ready in the kitchen. The chef's voice must get tired... Anyway, the kingfish was not bad. The cream on top was unique, and it balanced well with the distinctive sauce. You probably don't need to order the oysters. I was looking forward to the pork knuckle dish... but I should have ordered something else. They served fried pork knuckle (similar to the German dish Schweinshaxe), and it was tough to cut. It would have been better if it had been pre-sliced in the kitchen. The dish is meant to be eaten like Peking duck, with thin pancakes and vegetables, but it was too different from what I expected, and I didn't enjoy it.

The apple kimchi pancake consisted of kimchi made from shredded apple and a thin pancake. The texture and sweetness of the apple weren't bad, but it lacked the distinctive tanginess of kimchi, which was disappointing. The hoisin sauce was too ordinary. It would have been better with both hoisin and chili sauce. Throughout the meal, I kept thinking the food just lacked flavor. Not that it was bad, but it didn't taste like much. It would be better to order dumplings, buns, and a small main dish instead. The dessert was delicious, though. As for whether I'll go back... I'm not sure; I'll have to...

The staff here were great. But the food... The food was absolutely amazing. The pork belly just melts on your mouth, getting flavour from the meat, with the perfect amount of crackling to top it off. The duck buns were delicious, yet spicey. I usually can not do spicey food at all, but when you bite down on the buns and chew, the hot spice is dampened by the sweet bun, and becomes pure flavour. The salt and pepper chicken (with the creamy sauce) kind of reminds me of kara ange chicken, and tastes delightful... I could go on and on about the food, but it's safe to say, you will find something you like. The food is mostly share plates, which I love. Getting to the design of this place. It is well designed, with high ceilings and extra attention to detail was given by placing crisp cross wood patterns everywhere. As a sound engineer, I love it when places like this use sound dampening techniques in their design, to lower the overall chit chat noise that bounces around most restaurants. This alone is worth praises as we were in a fairly crowded environment, yet we were able to converse without the need to shout over the top of surrounding tables. The table spacing is also excellent, and you do not feel like you are crammed in. Many options for seating, but I suggest sitting at the bar if there is only a few of you, because watching the chef's cook, while you and your friends have a few drinks is really cool. This review is getting long. If your a Melbournian food lover, then this should be on your list of places to enjoy. If you are travelling then this place is one of the better, high quality places to eat, and you won't be...