Stalactites Restaurant — Restaurant in Melbourne

I kindly ask that the restaurant staff or the manager are aware of the following three matters:

Welcoming guests and seating guidance: Once a customer is welcomed into the restaurant, staff should guide them in a way that makes them feel they are being seated with consideration.

We are asian couple who got to the restaurant at around 5:20pm. (Don’t worry — my wife is an Australian citizen and speaks fluent English.)

When we went in, several window-side seats with a nice view were still available. However, we were guided to a spot enclosed on three sides by walls — one of three tightly packed seats, with two asian customers already seated on the leftmost seat. We were seated on the far right. (There were only three tables in this area) My wife politely asked to move to one of the available window seats, but the staff member helped a group of white customers who came in after us, then returned to us and said, “I tried, but...”. So we couldn’t move in the end.

We had already checked beforehand that reservations were not available during peak hours and went early to secure a good seat — clearly, those window-side tables weren’t reserved. Shortly after we were seated, the table next to us was occupied by a mixed couple (asian woman and white man), and we overheard the man say, “We’re sitting here because of you, aren’t we?” — implying we were placed there because we’re asian.

In this kind of situation, couples like us don’t argue with staff about moving seats — that would only make other guests uncomfortable and make us look like problematic customers. Instead, we simply feel discriminated against. It's 2025 — how is racial discrimination still happening in Melbourne?

Perhaps the very existence of those tightly packed corner tables is the problem. If you must seat people there, please ensure that your staff are trained to provide service that makes guests feel welcome, regardless of their ethnicity.

Giving customers enough time to choose from the menu: Less than a minute after we were seated, a staff member came back to ask if we had decided what to order. We understand it’s a very busy restaurant, and of course it helps everyone if earlier guests finish quickly so that later ones can be seated. However, this should not be something the staff should rush. Consideration for other customers should be left to the guests themselves — not enforced by the restaurant.

Clearing tables with courtesy: As soon as we asked for the bill, a staff member began clearing our table — even though we hadn’t yet moved toward the counter. The passageway was narrow, and we couldn’t get up until he finished. When clearing the plates, he held a dish with his right hand and scraped leftovers into it with his left, bringing a dirty plate so close it nearly touched my chin. I don’t believe he meant to suggest I should finish the leftovers, but it was an unpleasant moment.

To make matters worse, while clearing the table, he casually said to my wife, “Can you grab that napkin?” Perhaps guests might help if asked politely, but he didn’t speak to her with the kind of respectful tone that would warrant such a request.

We know this is a very popular and busy restaurant. The food was not bad. However, if the level of customer service we experienced today continues, I don’t feel inclined to support the...

I had always been a huge fan of Greek food and when I was looking around at recommended places to eat on Google and Tiktok and saw that this is one of the best restaurants in Melbourne for Greek cuisine, I knew I absolutely had to try it.

When we arrived at Stalactites, at around evening time, there was already a long queue in which we waited for about 30 mins before we were seated. As their name suggests, there were Stalactites on the ceilings for decor and it was a bit cramped in the restaurant, with service staff having to dodge customers moving in and out of the restaurant. This place is known for their Giro Souvlakis but since I came with a small group and we weren’t that hungry, we decided to get a few items to share.

We ordered 2 dips - the Tzatziki (Yoghurty dip) and Hommus (Chickpea Dip), the Homemade Spanakopita (Baked Spinach, Feta Cheese in Pastry) for our appetizer, 3 pieces of Pita Bread and a Small Mixed Giro Platter that had chicken and lamb.

The food arrived relatively quickly and all at once which I appreciate a lot and we dug in. The Spanakopita was absolutely delicious, it was extremely savoury with a nutty-cheesy taste and an after taste of spinach.

Then, we ate the Giro Platter with Pita Bread and dipped it in the 2 dips we ordered and I must say, the meat was cooked and seasoned to perfection, with each shave of meat being hot, tender and bursting with flavour.

The dips were also delicious in their own ways - The Tzatziki dip offered a refreshing, cream cheese-like taste and the Hommus offered a nutty-foresty taste with a faint citrusy taste that went super well, especially with the lamb.

Furthermore, the portion size for the platter was more than enough for 3 people and 2 dips were also ample for 3 breads. Lastly, I want to say that usually heavily flavoured foods usually lead to me getting sick of the flavours after a few bites but this place was different, I could not stop eating.

All in all, this place is a must return for me if I am ever craving Greek food in Melbourne again with both service being great and price points being reasonable too. The taste of the food here perfectly fits my savoury-biased palate and I would definitely...

Worth it for the food, but the service felt different for Asians.

I finally tried Stalactites with my fiancé after walking past it so many times. The food really lived up to expectations: the homemade fish soup (psaradouoa) was hearty and comforting, and the baked zucchini with rice and potato was full of flavour without being heavy. My fiancé had the mixed giros souvlaki wrap, which was well-seasoned, tasty, and balanced.

Unfortunately, the service didn’t match the food. We were seated upstairs near the bar, right at the top of the stairs where the tables and chairs were squeezed tightly. When we politely asked if we could shift the table slightly for space, the waitress looked annoyed and I ended up helping her pull it myself. Later, when we finished eating around 8.25pm, we were rushed with the bill (there were empty seats at both floors and no line outside at this time), and her body language felt quite unwelcoming. My fiancé had to pay downstairs because she pointed at it from afar and quoting her, ‘can you bring the cash downstairs?’.

What really stood out was the contrast in service. As an Asian couple, we couldn’t help but notice that our waitress was very warm and chatty with the Caucasian diners at the next tables, asking them how their meal was and smiley, while our interactions felt rushed and unwelcoming. It left us wondering if our experience was partly shaped by how we looked, which was disappointing.

That said, not all staff were like this, a male staff took the time to explain the menu and was patient, which we appreciated.

Overall, the food is worth coming for, but our experience was dampened by the service upstairs. Looking through Google reviews afterwards, we noticed other Asian diners had raised similar...