Seamstress Restaurant and Bar — Restaurant in Melbourne

Severely disappointed unfortunately with my food experience. Maybe this restaurant is really not my vibe. The prices, taste and price did not match at all in my opinion. There was a slight miscommunication when I ordered my drink I was just asking for a list of available options with my preference of taste but instead of listing them out to me (nonalcoholic drink aren’t on the menu) it was taken as that’s what I want and was put through without me actually picking what drink I want. Thankfully though I did enjoy my mocktail even though I did not want to or prepare myself to pay $12 for it (was never told the prices). My second mistake was asking for a recommendation from the waitress because the menu was a little overwhelming and underwhelming at the same time. I wanted something creamy and curry like with meat and rice. I was recommended the barramundi dish, as it came with a “yellow curry and seafood”. I had to add $9 rice to the dish as it doesn’t come with. That barramundi plate was minuscule, thank goodness I got the rice. The barramundi dish alone cost $43 💀. Flavour profile it had none. I honestly didn’t taste anything but blandness, it might be a really expensive fish but so not worth it. I added chilli oil and soy sauce from my friend who ordered the dumplings. It really didn’t help much so I had to ask the waiter if I could please have some salt and rice. After I added them the dish was more palatable. I may be in the wrong as maybe my taste buds are not made for more “refined and expensive dining”. But safe to say I’d never eat here again or recommend it to anyone. The staff had no fault, I found them very friendly and nice. I just wish I had better...

On 31 August for our Wednesday Date Night we went to Seamstress ✨

We got: 🦆 Duck Betel Leaf We expected a burst of flavor which we got from another restaurant in the past as the dish is quite similar, however this didn’t blow us away. There’s meant to be sambal (chili) in this dish but there wasn’t any spice at all and we couldn’t really taste the duck :( We still enjoyed the meat being wrapped in betel leaf tho! 🍃

🦪 Scallop Sashimi This was a let down unfortunately 🥲 We bet the scallops were fresh but they were overshadowed by the zesty orange flavor. Also, there wasn’t any contrasting texture too just mushy and soft.

🐟 Baked Trout with Sticky Coconut Rice This was ✨ INCREDIBLE ✨. The trout was so soft and flavorful, perfect to pair with the sticky rice. We didn’t even need to chew! The portion was great, definitely our favorite out of the dishes we try.

🥩 Braised Beef Short Rib This was another winning dish! 🙌🏻 The beef was so tender, perfectly cooked and seasoned. Good mix between the fat and lean cuts. The plum sauce gave a nice balance of sweet & sour, along with the pickled cabbage which cut through the fat. This dish was perfect to pair with the 🥗 Asian Garden Salad with Nuoc Cham dressing, which was simple but packed with a nice zesty punch.

Overall, we think some dishes could be better in terms of both flavor, texture and quantity, especially for the entrees. Hopefully, they can take our feedback on board. The mains however were delicious and definitely worth a try! 🥰 The place itself was a bit narrow, but they decorated it pretty well. The hanging clothes on the bar area (highest level) was actually what drew us in as it was...

Terrible food and service. Food lacked flavour and was bland. Tiny portions. Generally I would be fine with small portions if the food had flavour but this wasn’t the case (we loved other restaurant will small portions in the area like Supernormal) Poor menu descriptions. Ordered duck curry for the table only to be given a plate of 5 duck slices sitting in sauce. The waiter later apologised saying it’s a “new menu item”. For a small menu restaurant there were at least 4 items on the menu unavailable that night. Service was insufficient. We were told by the waiter we had ordered more than enough for 6 people. By the end of the night all six of us were still hungry. We booked over the phone for a time allowing us to have a banquet before the theatre. Upon arrival we were told we cannot have the banquet as we didn’t have enough time and 2-3 (cannot remember which but they were the beetle leaf items) items on the banquet menu were unavailable that night. Dirty restaurant. Pictures on the internet show material lining the ceiling as decoration. In person, large piles of dirt can be seen laying on top of this. Furniture was damaged. Attempted to overcharge. After reading through reviews I have found it is not uncommon for Seamstress to add items to your bill. Thankfully we checked the bill before paying to notice we were charged for a large crab dish we never received.

Will never be returning to Seamstress and suggest that you find an alternate restaurant in the theatre district as there are many nice...