Punch Lane Wine Bar & Restaurant — Restaurant in Melbourne

No Punch at Punch Lane......

As someone who appreciates fine dining and exquisite culinary experiences, having travelled all over the world I was sorely let down. Some of our friends had just returned from Bologna and were excited about the food that was going to be delivered by the team of Punch Lane. From start to finish, the entire evening felt like a series of culinary missteps and disappointments.

Firstly, let's talk about ambiance. Walking into Punch Lane, I was immediately struck by the lackluster atmosphere. It was sooo dark and dingy all of us had to take out our phones with the torch to see the menu. The decor outdated, and the overall vibe felt more like a forgotten corner café than a sophisticated dining establishment. It's as if they haven't updated their interior since the 90s, and it shows. Many wine bottles do not make an unforgettable dining experience ambience.

Moving on to the service, it was utterly abysmal. Our waiters all three of them were lacklustre and disorganized and lacked personality. We were repeatedly asked how many were we as they cannot count 6 people. They came back three times to confirm the order… If you cannot memorize orders invest in a pen and a note pad. Wine orders and coffee orders were forgotten, a request for black pepper was completely ignored.

Now, let's get to the food – or lack thereof. The menu boasted of inventive dishes and bold flavours, but what we received fell far short of expectations. The appetizers were bland and uninspired, lacking any semblance of creativity. Two people ordered the same entrée and it was served on one plate only. They were sitting at opposite ends of the table. Punch Lane cannot wash 2 entree dishes or they do not own enough dishes to serve the food to two people.

The cod croquettes sold out at 7.00pm and service commenced at 6.30pm. There were no specials!!!!!! As for the main courses, they were overcooked, under-seasoned, and simply unappetizing. It's as if the chef had given up halfway through the meal. The gnocchi were dry and lacked flavour. The ignorance of the waiters was monumental. He informed the table that the Cacio e Pepe entrée was Portugese, I thought it was Italian but I said let’s check…. In researching the origins of the dish, I came across a narrative that has been widely circulated online: Shepherds from the pastoral communities of Lazio, Abruzzo, Tuscany and Umbria created cacio e pepe in the 18th or 19th century.

This is unforgivable for a waiter in the food capital of Australia not to be cognisant of the origins of the food on the menu. Most of the dishes were pre prepared or frozen and then thrown together

To add insult to injury, the prices at Punch Lane are exorbitant, especially considering the subpar quality of the food and service. I paid $100.00 for some bread, one glass of wine and a cold appetizer of leeks.

All six of us decided not to order dessert after this atrocious meal. It's clear they're trying to coast on their reputation rather than putting any effort into actually delivering a memorable dining experience.

In conclusion, save your time and money and steer clear of Punch Lane. With its lackluster ambiance, dismal service, and mediocre food, there are plenty of other restaurants in the area that offer a far superior...

The food and service were 3 stars, which I’ve explained below (the feedback was provided via email on the 15th February) . The reason for giving 1 star is due to receiving no response from the restaurant, following two emails sent over the past two weeks.

I communicated with the restaurant via the same email address prior to our visit, so I’m confident it’s been read (and subsequently ignored).

Email:

Hello,

My wife and I dined at your restaurant last night and wish to pass on our feedback.

Upon being seated our waiter confirmed the dietary requirement that I advised prior to booking (fish allergy but fine with shellfish).

We confirmed that all dishes would be fine, as long as the scallops were not topped with caviar, which our waiter noted.

We then received our first course, which was an arancini ball. After being confused why this had changed from the planned course (zucchini flower), we were advised that the restaurant ran out of the zucchini flower. The dish itself was disappointing, however more disappointing was the fact that we were not advised of this when being seated and provided the menu, and had to ask why it had changed. The course itself was very average.

For the next course (scallops), a different waitress brought out scallops for my wife and a “vegan option” for me. I advised the waitress that it was likely for another table as I’m not vegan and we should both be receiving scallops.

Approximately 10 minutes later our original waiter returned with the same two dishes and advised that there was confusion in the kitchen and the chef had concerns about my fish allergy with the scallop dish (even though I had made it clear scallops were completely fine). My wife had the scallops which were cold by this stage, and my dish was effectively burrata with a couple of pieces of fruit.

We had the next 3 dishes which were quite nice, however by this stage we were quite disappointed with the overall experience.

I understand it was a busy night however given the price of $110/head, and the issues described above, we left disappointed and feeling like we didn’t receive value for money.

Appreciate your consideration for the feedback and would like to...

December 2020 - I had dinner here with my partner.

The service was very good, warm and welcoming from the waiter.

We ordered a 3 course meal with a seperate chef snack. Everything was delicious, from the cod croquettes, to my steak, to the desserts.

The 'Pooley' 2018 pinot noir wine was superb but it wasn't cheap lol.

We had some broad beans w burrata cheese which was fantastic. And some king ora salmon which was equally as good.

My steak was perfectly cooked, and my partners cestini with cheese, smoked tomatoes and zucchini flowers was al dente.

The desserts were on point, and whilst mine was the winner hahaha, they were both very excellent.

Overall this was a fantastic night, and I'm definitely going back.

Previous review - January 2018 My partner took me here last night for dinner. From the moment we walked in I felt at ease. What lovely attentive service, amazing food and wine... just perfect yay! Hahaha

We had the 5 course degustation menu which is always a great way to sample the best a restaurant has to offer.

We started w Gin cured and smoked cobia, violet citronette, lemon sherbet, violet gel. Yess lol

Wallaby tartare, mountain pepper, davidson plum, macadamia puree, roasted wattle seed. Wow!!

Miso marinated rockling, white onion purée, charred baby onion, sesame snow. Amazing!

Gippsland Natural grass-fed beef, marinated eggplant, mint and parsley salad. Melt in your mouth experience.

Lemon and Ricotta cheesecake, textures of rhubarb, toffee crisp. OMGosh yes hahaha

Polenta Cake with a crumb and goats cheese infused ice cream. Divine!

To finish we had goat and cow milk spanish Blue cheese and yarra valley savourine cheese. This was another highlight, that we ordered separately to the 5 course degustation.

Oh and I can’t forget the bread... it was a sourdough, w a crispy crust and one of the best bread that I’ve had in a restaurant. I could have easily eaten that all night lol

This place is a must visit if...