RASHAYS - Sunshine — Restaurant in Melbourne

Let’s begin with the so-called chicken wrap. Now, I am a man of science, precision, and basic human expectations, and one of those expectations is that when I bite into a wrap, I should experience flavor. You know, that thing restaurants are supposed to infuse into food? But no, what I received was a textbook definition of “bland.” It was as if the chef prepared this dish under the strict supervision of the Geneva Convention, ensuring that not a single grain of seasoning could be used lest it be deemed an act of war. Was the chicken marinated? No. Was it grilled to perfection? No. It was merely present, existing in a state of tragic indifference, much like my enthusiasm while eating it. If I wanted an experience devoid of excitement, I would have simply read an insurance policy in its entirety.

And now, we arrive at the chips, oh, the abominable chips. Let me ask a simple question: why was there a complete lack of uniformity in my potato consumption? Why were some chips thick and soft while others were crispy and thin? Is Rashays running some sort of culinary social experiment, testing whether customers will notice that they have been served two completely different species of fries in the same meal? This is not a mixed bag of candy; this is a side dish, and consistency is key. Either make them all thick and fluffy or make them all thin and crispy, do not create a Frankenstein’s monster of inconsistency on my plate. The absolute nerve of this establishment to assume that I, of all people, would not notice such a blatant crime against food symmetry is insulting at best and downright offensive at worst.

And just when I thought my dining experience had hit rock bottom, along came the ranch sauce, a watery disaster masquerading as a condiment. I do not know who at Rashays authorized this culinary atrocity, but I demand to have words with them. Ranch sauce is supposed to be thick, creamy, and flavorful, not a thin, insipid liquid that looks and tastes like someone simply whispered the word "ranch" over a cup of water. If I had wanted to dip my food into a diluted disappointment, I would have simply taken a fry and submerged it into a puddle outside. At one point, I began to wonder if my sauce had suffered from a tragic industrial accident, wherein some poor soul had mistakenly replaced the creamy mixture with tap water and a vague memory of actual ranch dressing.

And now we must discuss the egregious price tag. $18. Eighteen dollars. Let’s take a moment to reflect on what I received for this sum:

A flavorless chicken wrap.

A plate of chips suffering from an identity crisis.

A sauce that functioned more as a beverage than a dip.

For $18, I expected at least a competent execution of a simple meal. Instead, I received an overpriced exercise in disappointment. At this price point, I should have been handed a culinary masterpiece, not something that makes me reconsider my life choices. If I had taken that money and simply thrown it into a fire, I would have at least experienced the brief joy of warmth and spectacle. But instead, I exchanged it for a profoundly mediocre meal that left me questioning the structural integrity of the entire food industry.

And so, two stars. One because, despite its complete and utter lack of inspiration, the food was technically edible. The second because, against all odds, I did not perish from rage before finishing the meal. But let it be known: Rashays has single-handedly redefined my understanding of culinary disappointment, and until they learn the basic fundamentals of flavor, consistency, and sauce viscosity, I shall not...

Been meaning to try this place since it opened. I've dined at many Rashays restaurants over the years and always loved them. This was my first experience with one in Victoria, so I was very much looking forward to it.

We called in for dinner last night (Thursday 9/11/23) and the first thing that struck us as odd was the place was almost empty of customers. I'm talking about 6pm on a Thursday night in a bustling, major shopping centre. You would think it would have been busy? Every Rashays I've ever been to has been super busy, so it struck me as odd.

After being seated and given our menus, we made our selections. For entree's I went for the "Spicy prawn hotpot" and for mains I chose a "T-Bone" with a side of mash. I tried ordering a Jack Daniels and coke off the menu; however, the young waiter told us that they didn't sell alcohol there. When I asked why, he said he didn't know? I also found that odd. What Rashays doesn't sell alcohol? Am I missing something?

Not long after, our entree's arrived. Then, literally five minutes later, our mains arrived. That put us off straight away as no one wants their mains sitting there going cold when you've just started your entree's. Another warning bell went off. No customers, no alcohol and food being pushed out too quickly. Not a great first impression I thought.

The steak was at least a third gristle. I mean I couldn't cut parts of this thing with the sharp steak knife they provided. The rest of it was nice, so was the mash. In the end, I cut around the inedible bits and ate what I could. The two corns on the cob that it came with were stone cold. As for the entrée, I couldn't fault it, very tasty.

Was it worth the $125 bill, NOPE! I don’t mind paying top dollar, if I get what I’m paying for. This was not the case on this occasion.

Putting the dining aside, the whole place felt dead. There's absolutely no atmosphere whatsoever and it was not an enjoyable Rashays experience I had come to know and expect. The owners of the franchise "Ykmour's family" really need to take a look it this place for themselves, it's doing their brand no favours.

Unless some drastic changes are made, I can't see this particular franchise remaining open for very long. I now understand why they were pretty much empty when we arrived and only had six dine-in customers during the entire hour we were there. If what we experienced is the norm, it’s in its death throws now.

We won’t be back and have made a point of telling our friends and family to give it a...

I would say that this is a great place to bring a date or in my case annoying mother. That took a good fifteen minutes to explain how she would like her coffee. Its clean the staff are fantastic. Special shout out to the chilean waitress for her wonderful service.

The food. I ordered the stake and mash with a drink and a nutella waffle.

Size: Its not "man" sized. With the mash was the size of a small tub of play-do. And the steak was about 150grams max.

Taste: evaluating this. Is difficult. The steak was marinated. And we did not get to chose how rare the steak was.

The marinade was good but nothing to write home about. The sauce is came with was over peppered and violently conflicted with the rest meal. Personally, I feel like it was put there to fill the plate. In my opinion should not have not been anywhere near the plate. In short the marinate is covering the over cooked steak and quality of the meat itself.

The salad. Was wilted and very small.

The mash. Well, apart from being tiny. It was perfect. Exactly what you would want a mash to be.

The appearance: It was like new zealand. Small islands surrounded by oceans of plate.

The soft drink: was ironically "man" sized. Ironic because men generally do not want to be soft.

Waffles: a small scoop of icecream over a waffle. Also, the waffle was bigger than the steak. Now, if you have a sweet tooth you might like it. But, if you do not have sweet "teeths". Well, you will hate it. The waffle itself had two types of sugar on it. The Nutella was perfect.

In short you are not getting value out of this place. But, proximity to the cinemas and shopping is the main draw card. As, you can spend 40 per person and still need to grab a snack from the maccas across the way.

In short. I assume they are finding their feet. Trying to ballance expense of stock and...