Palermo — Restaurant in Melbourne

What a fabulous restaurant!

We came in for our wedding anniversary, and enjoyed the Asado set menu along with a cocktail and glass of wine each.

Atmosphere: The restaurant is dark, moody and sets a fabulous vibe. The music fits the restaurant well and it was warm enough to enjoy in the middle of winter. A testament to this restaurant was the fact that it was fully booked out on a Sunday evening.

Service: We were greeted by the maitre d' who was pleasant, friendly and took us quickly into the restaurant. Our primary waitress was Nat, who was brilliant! She was funny, kind and professional. She wished us a happy anniversary, explained the set menu dishes to us well and talked us through the drinks menu. She doted on us just enough, balancing letting us enjoy the food well. We were also served by Wendy, who was also very friendly.

Drinks: We ordered a cocktail each, the Gomita Limon, which was well balanced and refreshing, without being overly sweet; and the Palermo Sour, which was sweet, decadent and fruity. Both excellent. We also ordered wine - the La Celia Reserve Pinot Grigio and the Masseria Borgo Dei Trulli Primitivo. The Pinot Grigio was fantastic, light, fruity and clean. Unfortunately, they were out of the Primitivo, but Nat was able to suggest similar wines, and we opted for the Braida ‘Montebruna’ Barbera D’Asti, which was, quite simply, one of the nicest wines we've ever had. Deep notes of plum, cherry and strawberry, with an excellent full-bodied nature that went beautifully with our meal.

Food: We opted for the Asado set menu, as it allowed us to try a large range of dishes. This is the middle tier set menu at Palermo, and the only one that does not contain seafood. The portions were excellent, and we left very full.

The first course was focaccia and empanadas and it set the mood for the rest of the evening's food - a primarily Argentinian palate with a flair of Italian. While the bread was lovely, it would have benefited from being served warm - and needed salt. The empanadas, made with smoked cheese and bolognese, were excellent and went surprisingly well with the complimentary chimichurri.

The next course of beef tartare, was excellent. Beautifully seasoned, well balanced beef with horseradish cream and lavosh crackers. Every element was done brilliantly.

The next course was homemade chorizo, which was smoky, cooked to perfection and moreish. Excellent. It was served alongside the provoleta, which is grilled melted cheese, topped with an antipasto mix. The cheese was very rich, but the antipasto cut through it brilliantly. Once again, the chimichurri and salsa paired well.

Our mains were quite simply, phenomenal. The steak is served medium-rare, or as per your request. We asked for it rare, and were not disappointed. The steak was charred well on the outside, a benefit of what must be a very hot Parilla, and beautifully pink in the middle. Seasoned simply with salt and pepper, this was by far one of the best steaks I've had in a long time. The slow roasted pork that accompanied it was excellent - succulent, soft and well seasoned. The salad and charred cauliflower sides were also excellent. The "Coliflor Fioretto" was delicious, served with crunchy pops of quinoa and a creamy puree.

To end the evening, we enjoyed their signature creme caramel flan and dulce de leches shortbread biscuits. Absolutely delicious, the salted peanut praline that attended the flan was a wonderful, almost savoury counterpart to the creamy, moreish flan, and lended an almost campfire flavour to the dessert.

Summary: An excellent high end restaurant in the heart of Melbourne, perfect for a special night out with your loved ones. We will certainly be back and will continue to sing the praises of this establishment for some time to come. Well worth...

Overall rating 2.5

Upon arrival we were seated at a nice table and the ambience was lovely. Menu looked delicious and given the prices we were ready for a good quality feed. The lady who took our orders was extremely lovely and gave great tips on the food.

We ordered a few starters, small main and a larger main as well as 2 sides. We made sure the lady knew the first smaller main (beef short rib) was for me and the vacio was for my partner but that we would be eating them together and the sides would come out with the mains. It was actually her recommendation to begin with and i obliged because it sounded good. I was going to get 2 x vacio and really shattered I didnt.

Starters were nice although the ceviche was literally the the smallest id seen especially for $19. After a long wait later, my beef rib finally came out and i started eating without my partner because it isnt as good cold. Almost completely finished with my meal, i asked a couple of times where the sides were and my partners meal and finally his main and the sides all arrived separately.. the lady apologised and said she had explained they were both mains and not a sharing starter and whilst i appreciate mistakes happen, this should have been rectified in the bill at the very least by removing the sides (small plate of potatoes and small plate of broccolini equated to $18!

My beef short rib was good, i probably wouldn't order it again, but my partners vacio was excellent. If we ever go back we wouldnt be spending $150 again we would just order the vacio to share and some potatoes.

The lady offered us a complimentary flan but she knew it was my partners birthday so i mentioned we had a cake waiting at home but she offered takeaway which was a kind gesture, but really, given the major screw up it should have been rectified differently. This birthday dinner turned out to be a disaster because I ended up eating my food alone, and without any sides which was quite annoying.

The lemon lime bitters was probably one of the worst ive ever had. It tasted like it came out of a bottle and was extremely flat and tasteless. And it took aggggges for the steak to come out my 90minute parking expired and i got a fine as I went over by 10 minutes .. so there went $80 down the drain. Overall not an excellent experience as you'd expect when visiting a fine dining...

This restaurant was included in the New Year Streets Feasts organised by the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival team. Located in Little Bourke Street and surrounded by many other high-quality restaurants, this place is indeed a hidden gem that I'm glad I found! It deserves to be in such great company as the whole dining experience at Palermo is exceptional. Prices are in the medium range.

Seating was available inside or out. We sat inside at the same level as the kitchen. There is a raised section, and the impressive bar was behind us. It is a romantic setting and was made even more so with the tango display throughout the evening. The staff followed COVID rules/spacing and were very attentive to the needs of all the customers. This venue is a place for couples, families, groups - a place for everyone.

The items on offer were popular selections from their current menu. This is what the meal consisted of:

DRINKS: Palermo Sour - Richetta Storica Mirto, Pisco Quebranta, lemon, bitters and sugar - the perfect way to get your tastebuds and digestive juices working.

Sangria Tinto - came in a jug - is a traditional Palermo red punch - with sugar, spice and everything nice - accompanied the meal well.

STARTERS/ENTREES: *On the side - chimichurri and salsa. Empanada - a mixture of beef, roast garlic and prune, encased in a crispy shell. Fugazzeta - charred spring onion, mozerela, potato focaccia. Ceviche - White fish ceviche, jalapeno, black olive, fennel, dill and buckwheat. Chorizo - pork and paprika sausage.

MAINS: Cochinillo a La Cruz - Western plains pork, slow-cooked over wood and charcoal. Bife - O'Connor's premium pasture fed, scotch fillet from Victoria. Papas - fried potatoes, dry salsa verde and balsamic onion aioli. Lechuga - mixed leaves, peas and tahini dressing.

DESSERT: Flan - Dulce de leche creme caramel with salted peanut praline.

Everything that I ate, was so mouthwateringly tasty and well prepared - I cannot fault any of it. [The view of my dining partner too].

If I was to highlight any of the items, which is very difficult, I'd choose the ceviche, pork and steak - all melt in your mouth goodness.

Kudos to the chef and staff who deliver such a diverse and exceptional menu - reminiscent of my time in...