Yarra Botanica — Restaurant in Melbourne

We went in on the opening weekend with high expectations from all the media hypes and truth be told, it was a rather disappointing experience.

Atmosphere & layout

Agree with some other reviewers' comment on the loudness of the music, songs were constantly blasting through their way-too-many boomboxes. It was hard not to scream to get the conversation going.

We were assigned to a lower table at first where they have these weird low tables that's not taller than 30 cm, imagine sitting on a bar stool while eating at a standard height table, that’s how it felt. It was very awkward to have food, so we’d requested to move.

Where we seated was at the right-hand corner of the lower deck, you would think that everywhere you sit in the pontoon would allow you to see the prime feature of the restaurant: siting above the Yarra and the sensational view of the city skyline. Yet for some reason the views are obstructed by tall wooden planks, so it was not different than sitting at a river side restaurant.

No heating seems to be available where we were, it became quite cold later in the evening, and we were forced to leave early because it was getting a bit chilly, I can’t imagine what it will be like when the temperature gets lower.

The whole interior design language lacks uniqueness, I get that the venue has to do a last minute logo change but I was hoping to see some cooler implementation of botanical theme as suggested by the name, but the overall design is nothing to rave about. just looks like the typical South Bank eateries.

Food & Drink

We had 4 entrees and all of them were way too greasy. The batter/crust were literally falling apart as soon as we picked up the deep-fried calamari. Also almost every dishes were provided with generous amount of sauce, but the decent bowl of chips we got were served with an abysmal dollop of sauce…

The two pizzas were the highlight of the night; they were full of flavour and the pizza bread was cooked perfectly.

We had a few different selections of cocktails using Victorian spirits, they were very good. But the decorative toppings need a little more finesse than just throwing whatever native plants straight into the drink and call it a day

Service

We waited at the entrance for good 10 minutes, despite multiple staffs passed-by and no one seemed to have noticed us and the several other customers behind…

The table we sat at had all sort of water and smudges from previous customers’ food, but when the waiter came over to clear the table for us, they left the surface untouched.

No cutleries and serviette were provided when our food arrived, we had to request some at the front bar.

Staff came by cluelessly looking for our table with our orders, it's the opening week so I supposed it's still a bit early for them to memorise all the table numbers, but we were asked by different staff 6 times to confirm our table number.

I think there is also an missed opportunity with the way menu is presented. The food ordering app certainly cuts down serving time, but if your niche is "All Victorian Produces" then the app is probably the worst way to promote it. Without staff emphasis the menu items and the regions they are from at the time of ordering and serving, very few will pay attention to the item's place of origin. There should bit more on the description of each item or offer a proper menu with map showing where each ingredients were originated.

Overall, Yarra Botanica is an exciting new joint, but the current state of the restaurant certainly leaves a lot to be desired. I do wish there will be improvements on the next...

Pretty yummy food in a beautiful location. Excellent degustation menu, perfect for truffle season and a nice day out.

We tried the Truffle menu, priced at $85 PP, which included bespoke non-alcoholic drinks.

The drinks were creative and certainly a complement to the meals. I’m very pleased that they offer an alcohol-free tasting menu at all, since most places only offer wine pairings with degustation menus. This means that they can cater to lots of people and still provide a good experience without the alcohol.

Most of the meals on this menu were delicious, and having truffle on the top of them was just a bonus. The brie pull-apart was a standout, and we ended up making this at home because we couldn’t stop thinking about it!

The dishes come out at a good staggered pace, although sometimes the portions seemed a tad small. There were some slight issues with flavour balances in some dishes but this may very well be my own personal preference, and I believe this menu will still appeal to most people!

The live singer was amazing! Definitely recommend visiting when they have a performer scheduled.

This place can attract rowdy crowds, so if you’re looking for a relaxing and quiet-ish time, do book during lunch-time. It’s also best to come here when you know the weather will be good, as some seats can get rained on.

Overall, a very positive experience, and I would happily...

Went here last night for a friends birthday, it is far to loud to even have a conversation with someone beside you. Floors were sticky, tables were tacky and unclean, and bar tenders seemed to charge some the menu price and others more than what was listed, or less?!

Not to mention I was held up at the entry by the bouncer. I walked down with my partner after a dinner at a friends place traveled in on ptv to make this birthday party for another friend and immediately the bouncer asked me how much I’ve had to drink, I was completely sober! (I wasn’t asked for id, I said multiple times I hadn’t had anything to drink) My partner stood in to tell them I hadn’t drank anything. I have no idea what gave them that impression but nevertheless they made me walk to a wall and back while asking my partner if I was lying?! And then gave me a look while reluctantly letting me in.

Absolutely horrible way to treat customers, they’re far more drunk people being let back in after being way to heavily intoxicated.

This place is either choosing their customer base with bias, or waiting for someone to walk in that can be easily taken advantage of.

I was genuinely concerned for my friends safety (who had had far to much to drink before I arrived) and yet the bar staff continued to serve them and take their money.

Disgusting...