Society — Restaurant in Melbourne

Society dinner presented by Torbreck Wines Part 1 ROCK OYSTER, YUZU OCEAN TROUT CRUMPET Champagne Forest-Marié Brut NV Champagne delicious

Sea trout on soft bread like crouton Delicious one bite gone

Oyster with lime wow

ENTRÉE SCALLOPS Almonds, Lemon, Fennel Pollen Torbreck Juveniles Blanc 2023 Torbreck The Steading Blanc 2022

Scallops Oh my sweet Japanese friend you’ve arrived naked again. Your sweetness’s with out cooking is amazing the little pickle radish adds great mouth feel. The lemon rind is slightly pickled giving both mouth feel and lemon perfume flavour. The cream presumably made with walnuts & fennel pollen lacks oomph. But the dish makes up for in it refinement and delicacy. Both wines are expertly balanced go so well with the food. The Juveniles Blanc is rich Bolding lasting. Flavour of flowers peaches citrus. The Steading’s nose rose petals maybe. Sweet yet delicate apples lemon herbal at back of palate. Both so delicious I better buy them. The Steading is still swimming around my taste buds. Oh what a joy.

FIRST DUCK BREAST Boudin Noir, Bay Leaf Torbreck The Steading 2021 Torbreck Hillside Vineyard Grenache 2021

DUCK BREAST Oh my lov a duck your still delicious in any form. When accompanied by sensational duck jus & strong yet not overwhelming duck blood sausage ‘Boudin Noir’ you combine to such joy it makes me smile. The white creamy teaspoon of something with bay leaf I think was amazing just a small drops not to over power the dish. I just love eating you. I enjoyed this so much you won’t believe me I forgot to drink the wine. I was reminded by my good friend the sommelier. We both had a huge laugh. Both wine are sensational. I’d buy the Steading 1st due to its mix of grapes & complexity.

Society Dinner presented by Torbreck Wines Part 2 SECOND MARGRA LAMB Carrok, Caraway, Lentil Torbreck The Struie Shiraz 2022 Torbreck The Gask Shiraz 2022

LAMB Lovely lovely sweet succulent lamb run into my mouth so I can masticate you to my heart’s content. Peppery gravy is a perfect match for you and your friends. I didn’t find the caraway it must have run away. A butter accompaniment is a waste just not needed Both wines are perfect for this dish. Deep if flavours strong enough to take in the glorious peppery gravy. Awesome experience. The Struie Shiraz is amazing BUY.

FIWISH (Desert) L'ARTISAN MOUNTAIN MAN CHEESE FONDANT Candied Apple, Brown Butter Crumble Torbreck Descendant Shiraz Viognier 2016 Buy now my belly is screaming stop. So I tried the desert delish. Then my belly said no, leave room for the wine. Oh you awesome belly what a good idea. So now we start getting into deep deep detail of wines. Great reds

Torbreck Descendant The colour is amazing pitch black dark red hue. The nose is heavily perfumed, aromas of dark plum and followed by ripe black cherries. Silky, rich and powerful on the palate dark plum, liquorice and blackberry flavours swim around my mouth lasting and lasting

Torbreck The Laird Shiraz Aroma. I have never even had total SHIRAZ on the nose like this. It’s a stunning aroma then you drink it. My xxx it’s happened I am in heaven this wine is devine Soft subtle tannins with delicious cassias driven fruit. Just amazing drink. Lip smacking deliciousness. If I could afford one it I would drink nothing else. It’s that sensational.

I have come home with just grinning on my face. What great experience. The different wines form amazing bubbles to stunning whites the to cap it of running (get it) with such sublime reds. Just outstanding. Cap it off with a wee dram or maybe 2 of Tullamore Dew Irish Pure Malt fantastic.

PS: Clearly I enjoyed myself even to the point of forgetting to take a few photos...

Some friends and I booked a table for 3 for dinner on a Thursday night here, honestly we received some of the most incompetent service in a long time. When the first two of our party arrived we mentioned to the host that the other person in our party would be arriving later (reservation for 9pm, person 3 arriving at 9:30), however we will order some drinks and some seafood before her arrival. We were seated and given water, no menus. we asked for menus and once received we were ready to order our starting drinks and our seafood. We asked the waiter what was on the Chefs Seafood platter, they didn't know and collected a new waiter to tell us. We then asked what oysters were on the platter- again didn't know and had to go and ask. We order caviar service and our seafood order. they then take all the menus. We mentioned that will still be ordering mains and would like to keep the menus, and mention that will be adding a fourth person to the table if they could set the place. They left us with one menu so there was no menu for the rest of the party when they arrive and do not set the place. When the caviar service arrives we ask again for the fourth seat to be set. Again.

Once the rest of the party arrived they set the place for our fourth person right in front of her, didn't clear off the empty glasses and finally provided us with enough menus for the table. The service continues like this the entire night, forgetting placements, only providing one oyster fork despite the entire table having ordered oysters (separately), food coming out without cutlery being set, glasses and empty plates not being taken- piling up on the table. I asked what meat the table next to us was having and the waiter could identify the dish. I asked for advice for my second drink wanting a glass of wine and the waiter suggested a wine off of the basic drinks menu. Only for later when I was ready for a glass of read to be offered an extensive wine list book (including whites) with a larger array of higher quality wines. I was quite disappointed this was not offered to begin with when seated, and especially when I mentioned I wanted a glass of wine earlier in the seating.

My friend asked where the smoking space was, and the waiter showed it to her, whilst also standing outside with her for the entirety of her cigarette talking to her, instead of leaving her in peace.

All over the food was okay outside of my friend having to spit out two oysters because they actually tasted so rotten she couldn't swallow. The wine list (when I obtained it) was extensive and quite impressive. however the service throughout the entire seating was very disappointing, it felt messy, careless and as if the staff had never worked there or in a restaurant a day in their life. I would not recommend this place at all, unless potentially you would like to just sit at the bar for caviar and wine. The venue is beautiful, but for the price tag I would be expecting high quality food...

We were excited to try the chef’s menu and had high expectations, but unfortunately, this turned out to be the worst fine dining experience we've ever had in Melbourne.

The Food The only redeeming dish was the starter, which was decent. However, everything that followed was either overly salty or completely bland. The salad tasted unpleasantly bitter, and the scallop was so fishy it was hard to eat. We've dined at many fine restaurants in Melbourne, but this was the first time we genuinely couldn’t finish the food — it was that bad.

The Service Service was just as disappointing. The person who appeared to be the manager seemed uninterested and dismissive from the start. When we gave polite feedback about the salad, he responded with a condescending tone and facial expressions that made us feel unwelcome. He even said, “That’s how it’s meant to be,” referring to the bitterness of the salad — which is simply not true, especially for cabbage-based dishes we’ve had elsewhere. Regarding the scallop, we were told it tasted fishy “because it’s fresh” — again, not a convincing or respectful response.

Everyone has different tastes, of course, but when all guests at the table share the same negative feedback, a good restaurant would at least listen respectfully. We weren’t looking for a discount or compensation — we simply wanted to share our experience, but the response was dismissive and borderline rude. It made us feel disrespected and unwelcome.

The Atmosphere As a fine dining restaurant, we expected a classy, elegant ambiance with soft music and a calm environment. Instead, the music was loud — more like a bar — and we had to raise our voices to talk to each other, even while sitting side by side. Nearby tables were taking flash photos, directly shining lights into our area, making an already unpleasant experience even worse. Staff did nothing to address this or manage the environment.

Special Occasion Ignored We had mentioned that this dinner was for a birthday celebration, yet we received no special acknowledgment or dessert, even though we saw other tables being served birthday treats. It really felt like our table was overlooked or simply not welcome.

Overall This was by far the worst fine dining experience we’ve ever had in Melbourne. For the nearly $900 we spent, we expected a memorable evening — but for all the wrong reasons. We wouldn’t recommend this place to anyone and will certainly not...