Matilda 159 Domain — Restaurant in Melbourne

What happened??

I’ve been at Matilda 4 times over the last few years and the 5th time last week will be my last time dining there. The restaurant has become terrible in many aspects, but especially the service.

For a restaurant where you’ll be spending $200/per person, service must be top notch. If you’re understaffed, then just limit the capacity for that night and don’t take in guests you can’t handle! Firstly, we waited at least 10 minutes just to be seated when we showed up on time for our reservation. I heard one of the chefs yelling “service please” at least 3 times but no one came. Then the entire service, from getting our food menus, getting our orders taken, were all extremely slow. We showed up at 8.15pm and didn’t yet have our main course by 10pm. We finally finished at midnight 12am. It’s not that the staff was rude to us, but they definitely do not qualify for a fine dining restaurant, they were not attentive nor happy to serve us.

Then I went to the bathroom which was dirty and one toilet had empty toilet paper rolls. There were wet toilet paper all over the basin area and on the floor. What was disgusting was they put a toilet paper roll next to the basin for you to dry your hands. If I’m in a $15/per person cheap restaurant, that’s fine. But this is a fine dining place! You’re supposed to put proper napkin towels and I remember this was the case the previous times I came to Matilda. Empty toilet paper rolls indicated that no one had checked that bathroom for hours, if not the whole night! Just days before dining at Matilda, I went to a steakhouse in South Yarra that’s at a similar price point, you should compare your bathrooms to theirs.

Food was hit and miss, with most being miss:

Excellent: Cocktail, the apple tarte tatin, duck

Terrible food: Lamb ribs (basically fat covered with sauce), Sirloin (not edible, it was so tough, my overcooked eye filet at home tastes better), pork chop (cheap cut of meat and dry).

Mediocre: Brussel sprouts and the Stracciatella with charred vegetables

As if the above wasn’t enough for a terrible night, we discovered that our knives were very blunt after having such a hard time to cut the duck and steak! When we touched the knives, it was true that they were all soft. We asked for sharpened knives that the staff accommodated for. But why did we have to go through this?

Overall it really gave the impression that the management of this place is falling apart.

We didn’t complain that night – because what’s the point? It’s not like we didn’t want to pay. And why complain about the sirloin just to get another of the same sirloin? I’m writing this review to let other diners know that there are LOTS of other restaurants that are much more worth your...

Me and my partner came here over a year ago and I have been umm-ing and ahh-ing whether to do this review.

My partner loved the food, we came here as he is a chef with a passion for fine dining and it did not disappoint… him.

When making the booking I checked that dietary requirements are catered to. I ticked the box saying I’m vegan. We arrive on the night, get seated, and handed menus, then get asked “any dietary requirements?” … I said “err, yes, I’m vegan” cue awkward silence. The waiter looked nervous, said “oh” and wandered off without saying anything. My spidey senses started tingling here telling me perhaps they don’t cater to vegans after all… (totally fine, but I was pretty hungry!)

The waiter came back and took our drink orders, I asked him how it would work for me, is there anything on the menu I can eat and he said “oh, um, I can go ask the chef if you like?” I said yes please! 30 minutes later my partner has his drink, I don’t have mine it never came, and the waiter is back and says specifically to my partner “are you ready to order?”, my partner orders then asks if he found out what I can have. The waiter looks at me and says “oh you want to order something? We don’t really do vegan food, I’ll just go see if there’s anything the chef can make you” by this point I’m pretty confused and embarrassed… anyway he comes back and points to 2 dishes on the menu the chef said he can make vegan. I was pleasantly surprised and felt things were looking up! My partner enjoys a serve of oysters, then our entrees come out, mine was a plate of a quite small salad, fresh dill, onion and a vinaigrette, and they brought also my 3 small Jerusalem artichoke with some kind of purée… but I’m STARVING!

Mains come out, my partner chows down on his reportedly delicious meal, and I watch him eat it (it’s at this point I reorder and finally receive my drink).he gets his dessert, I watch him eat it. Finally it’s time to leave, I see the bill… I’ve been charged in full for my entree and “main” despite having been fed just 1 element of an entree, and 1 element of a main….

Restaurants don’t have to cater to everyone, and I’m used to occasionally having to eat a proper dinner before going out knowing I’m not always easy to cater to, but why have “vegan” on your booking site and ask us to submit this dietary information on booking if you can’t accommodate and no one seemingly checks these anyway? I felt like an idiot, and left...

We really enjoyed the food, the ambiance, and the service. The food was bloody delicious! 💯 recommend. 5 out of 5.

We booked the night before and received the email confirmation straight away. COVID Sign in was done via the QR code which then gave us access to the menus.

We were seated along the bar table and throughout dinner we were able to see the magic happen. We watched one chef prep and put together the entrees and the desserts.

We opted for the 3 course choice menu $95 PP and ordered the extra entree and side.

We opted for 3 course. The three choice meant each person would choose a Entree, Main and Dessert. Dat and I shared each item.

Snack: MERIMBULA OYSTERS WITH BONE MARROW & TOASTED YEAST

Entree: DRESSED FRASER ISLAND SPANNER CRAB, PRAWN BUTTER, WARM FLATBREADS and SMOKED SALT BUSH LAMB RIBS, HARISSA, MACADAMIA, FINGER LIME

They burnt the paper bark that with plated with the lamb ribs which enhanced the Smokiness to the meal. So much flavour in the lamb ribs and it was soft and tender. D E L I C I O U S

Main: GNOCCHI, SUNFLOWER, WILD GARLIC, ASPARAGUS and RUMP CAP, CHEEK, ROMESCO, LEEK, MUSTARD SEED

The Gnocchi was recommended by our waiter. The Gnocchi was soft and pillowy. Pan friend and crusted in cheese. We haven’t tried many Gnocchi’s in Melbourne but this is the best so far.

The Rump Cap was recommended to be served medium. Each chew brought out the flavour of the meat and it became sweet. Did not taste bloody or feel grainy. The Cheek just pulled apart and melted away.

Side: HAY SMOKED POTATOES, SEAWEED BUTTER, WARRIGAL GREENS

When the potatoes were served. We were stuffed.

Dessert: APPLE TARTE TATIN, APPLE CARAMEL, MISO AND VANILLA ICECREAM and FORD FARM CHEDDAR (DORSET), RHUBARB CHUTNEY, WOODFIRED BREAD

We were seated along the bar. I was staring at the Top of the puff pastry all night wondering what was on the menu that had a pie crust. Turned out it was the Tatin.

Must have: Lamb Ribs and the Gnocchi

The ambiance of the dining area was earthy with Australian tree branches in the decor. Was nice and dark, music was playing. They had a spotlight aimed directly at the food and that’s why the photos turned out...