Miss Pearl Bar + Dining — Restaurant in Melbourne

MISS PEARL BAR AND DINING

Pearlicious

As we were heading to the Sumner Theatre to see The Almighty Sometimes we decided that it would make sense to dine on-site at Miss Pearl Bar and Dining. We have been wanting to try this spot for a while and finally booked and we were not disappointed.

The Asian menu provides plenty of options for everyone. Tonight we decided to keep things simple, taste a variety of dishes and opted for the vegetarian banquet. There are three other banquet options or you can select from the a la carte menu.

We began with a delicious betel leaf filled with Enoki mushrooms, coconut cream and kaffir lime. A great starter for the taste buds. The crispy eggplant is just that, crispy and very tasty. It is served with Lao Gan Ma chilli and chives.

The Shitake mushroom dumplings served with black vinegar, garlic and shallot were divine and I could have easily settled for a very big serving of them to keep me going all night. However, there was more to enjoy. The Stracciatella topped with tomato sambal and fried basil with banh mi bread was a nice way to freshen up your mouth before mains arrived.

The Miso roasted cauliflower with lemongrass sate, crispy soybeans and sesame was perfectly cooked and full of flavour. Accompanied simply with some Jasmine rice we debated if it needed a side of vegetables but after tasting we agreed nothing more was required given the wonderful flavours.

The banquet is just the right size for two and left room for dessert where we indulged in a ‘Pulut Hitam’ black sticky rice crème brulee with Pandan sugar and the pavlova with yuzu curd, mascarpone cream and berries.

On our next visit I suspect the lemongrass and coconut fish curry and the prawn toast may undergo taste tests.

So if you are attending the Southbank Theatre or the Melbourne Recital Centre Miss Pearl is a great place to visit before the show and enjoy some...

@misspearlbaranddining 📍Southbank

Miss Pearl is a brand new Asian Fusion restaurant located within Melbourne’s Art’s Precinct in Southbank, offering an ideal spot to dine and drink before heading to a show. Their Head Chef has experience working at some of the city’s most elite restaurants (@vuedemonde, @spice.temple, @cutlerandco, @cumulusinc).

The venue is a balance between fun, vibrant and sophisticated. The menu offers both a la carte and banquet menu options ($65 and $85) which are very generous! Their curated cocktail menu was fantastic, the Siam Siam was a twist on a Chilli Margarita adding Mango Juice to the recipe. 🌶

For entrees, although the Kingfish Sashimi was thicker than I prefer, it was dressed beautifully as was the Wagyu Tataki. The Chicken Dumplings were unique, filled to the brim and very tasty. 🥟

For main we shared the Confit Duck Leg, which had a perfectly crunchy skin and the meat just fell apart. I expected a little more from the sides.. the Egg Noodles needed a better sauce as they weren’t coated nicely lacking flavour and would’ve been better served hot than cold. We loved the Green Curry Butter dressing for the “Steamed Asian Greens” however they weren’t asian greens just regular vegetables. 🥬

Do not skip on dessert - you will regret it! Both the Condensed Milk Flan and their version of a Trifle were delicious. Pair them with either their Yuzu or Plum dessert wines, they were almost too easy to sip on. 😉

At 6pm on a Saturday Night it was packed but died down by 7pm with the semi outdoor area still buzzing. Being such a new venue the vibe was a little off but could be improved even with some better music rather than elevator style. Service was amazing, very friendly and helpful. Happy Hour is 4-6pm Monday to Saturday where you can get 50% off their entire cocktail menu (that’s...

First time we ate before a show, we chose the banquet. The food was good but the experience ruined by the waiter who kept trying to clear our table even though we still had food to eat (as others have mentioned, one is rushed to eat). It seems their priority is to rush as many people in and out prior to shows starting at Southbank Theatre. Tonight, we were told they were fully booked (fair enough) but we couldn't sit at the bar because waiters were using it as a space to dump empty dishes. We asked why then were stools placed at the bar and the rudest staff member stated they needed to somewhere to put used plates. My question is, why then have a bar area with stools. Even worse, after being told we couldn't sit outside either, we watched a waiter seat 2 people who didn't have a booking. Not impressed. Would advise others to go next door to Blondie Bar instead where the food is great and the staff are super friendly and provide great service. There's also a better interior there with a lovely little area where there's live music. The outdoor area there is also...