Silks — Restaurant in Melbourne

I recently dined at Silks Melbourne, booking a table for five adults and two children. The bill for starters and main courses came to $499.50 (including $49.50 for three bottles of still water), which felt steep given the overall experience.

Having frequented Silks Perth, I expected a similar standard, but unfortunately, the experience at Silks Melbourne fell short.

Food Quality and Portions While the food tasted good, the portions were disappointingly small and lacked the finesse of Silks Perth:

Peking Duck with Pancake: $14 per serve, a thin slice of duck in a thick pancake without condiments. By comparison, Silks Perth serves a generous portion for $13, with a side of duck soup and a large, crispy piece of duck in a paper-thin pancake. Spring Rolls: $26 for five small, pencil-thin rolls with minimal filling, compared to Perth's $13 for three large, hearty rolls packed with vegetables. BBQ Pork Noodles: A modest portion at $40 versus Perth’s generous serving for $34. Yangzhou Fried Rice: A small bowl at $42 (enough for two side servings), compared to Perth’s larger, more satisfying portion for $35. Buddha’s Delight (Sautéed Assorted Vegetables and Mushrooms): $32 at Melbourne for a portion comprising half a bok choy, three snow peas, and three pieces of broccoli. In contrast, Perth offers a much larger serving for $29, packed with assorted deluxe mushrooms and a variety of vegetables. Service and Ambiance Silks Perth sets a high standard with attentive, professional staff who enhance special occasions like birthdays with thoughtful gestures. At Silks Melbourne, this attention to detail was notably absent. Despite notifying the staff of a birthday in our group, no acknowledgment was made.

Additionally, while the venue itself is pleasant, it lacked the ambiance I associate with Silks Perth. There was no background music to elevate the atmosphere, and the service felt less polished—e.g., my jasmine tea order was forgotten, among other minor oversights. The atmosphere felt more akin to a café or canteen than the sophisticated dining experience I expect at this price point.

Value for Money At approximately $100 per adult and $50 per child for a light starter and insufficient main course, the experience lacked value. By comparison, other premium venues like Rockpool offer better portion sizes, ambiance, and service for a similar or lower price.

Final Thoughts While the food at Silks Melbourne was flavourful, the portion sizes, ambiance, and service failed to justify the premium price. I would hesitate to recommend Silks Melbourne, especially when Silks Perth offers a superior experience at a better value. Perhaps an overhaul to bring Silks Melbourne in line with its Perth counterpart is in order.

Given the disparity, it’s not surprising that on a Friday night, only 10 of 50+ tables were occupied. Silks Melbourne has potential but needs significant improvements to compete with Perth's consistently...

I remember I walked in and asked for a table at around 6:30pm for a few times but always get told fully booked and have to wait until 8pm to get a seat. We thought it’s too late for us to have dinner so maybe try again next time. Today, I finally booked a table at 8:15pm so when we get directed for our seat, I realised there were still plenty of available seats so I wonder was this situation similar during 6-8pm? When I was sitting on one of the chair, I felt really uncomfortable since there’s no cushion to support your back…all I felt just hard stubborn wood. After we ordered our dishes, those hospitality staffs didn’t provide any further services so if I need some rice or request some crockeries, I have to raise up my hand to catch their attention. Sometimes, they even walked past me and didn’t see my raised hand already up for awhile (not sure they were really busy or pretending didn’t see it…). Regarding the foods, some were good but some were soso. For example, the Gongbao prawns we ordered supposed to be fresh prawns since it was not cheap and SILK claimed they are high class Chinese restaurant but the prawns were perhaps frozen…a little bit disappointing. When we finished our dishes and ready to pay, one of the staffs brought the EFPOS machine and straight away presented the tips screen to us meaning we should give them tips when they didn’t provide decent amount of services that they deserve these tips…anyways, we paid our bills plus tips (I felt quite forceful on this) and thought never ever we will dine in again.

In short, the chairs were not comfortable to sit in, dishes were not as good as we thought, services below average and the costs were above average…NOT RECOMMENDED!

Shark Fin Inn provide better dishes & services there and...

ORDERED: Set menu $168 per person ♥ Entrees: Chicken ‘Sung Choi Bao’, Silks signature baked crab shell & Southern Rock lobster ginger & egg noodles ➖ Mains: Mayaura station wagyu beef, Honey Chair Siu black cod, mixed green vegetables with garlic & black truffle fried rice ➖ Dessert: Sesame crème brulee

REVIEW: ❣ The entrees were our favourite. 🌰 The water chestnut, bamboo shoots and mushrooms left and incredibly fresh snappy texture that was the prefect opener to the set menu. 🦀 It was my second time having Silks’ iconic Baked Crab Shell with parmesan cheese and it was still a savoury delight. Not as good as the first time I had it though. There’s something so delicious about baked cheese and so much fun from eating out of a shell. It can’t be compared to anything else! My friend was shocked, the baked crab close to the best thing he’s ever tasted. Something he’ll be dreaming of tonight!

❌ Least favourite for us were the southern rock lobster and the black and the seasonal mixed greens with garlic. They were thick pieces of lobster, the whole plate weighed down by the gravy sauce. I was missing a bit of smokiness from the noodles, or anything else to add a savouriness or interest to the dish. It felt a little bit basic, even though the ingredients would’ve been undoubtedly top tier. Similar reasoning, the mixed greens also seemed a bit boring with simplicity its greatest weakness.

Overall, silks is a nice venue but its patrons range from a loud diner complaining to our right, and a screaming baby 2 tables down to our left. It certainly shattered the illusion of an elite establishment. If there were nicer diners then it would’ve been great. Service was friendly and were diligent in keeping our fancy lemon iced tap...