Flames Mediterranean Bar & Grill - Melbourne — Restaurant in Melbourne

Sadly, this is a mixed review. I have gone to Flames many times because the food (at the restaurant-not take out) is so good. The prices are extremely inflated and the service is hit or miss. It is always so cold inside, that I make certain that I bring a jacket. Too many times when I go for lunch, the food takes 40+ minutes to arrive. Our most recent trip, a party of 4 for lunch, we arrived at 12:10 on a Wednesday. We were promptly greeted and sat, our drink orders were served right away and our orders were taken. At 12:50, we had to go find someone because not only have we not received our lunch or our appetizer, we hadn't had any sign of our server! We were informed that our meals "would be right up", they had their computer system crash so our orders were only placed 14 minutes previously. Why they are unable to place an order without the use of a computer is foreign to me. I get it, stuff happens. This would have been an excellent opportunity to practice their customer service. Someone should have come to tell us that there was a significant delay, giving us options for our lunch break. Perhaps checked on our drinks or even brought us our appetizer. Which leads me to the bill; there was no offer of a discount on our bill AND our appetizer which we never received was still listed on the bill. We did receive a free dessert of Baklava. Very kind. Unfortunately, this final act was not enough to make me want to return. If this was just a one time thing, I would let it go. But it seems every time we go there for lunch, there is always a delay on something. Twice before, one person in our party received their entree when everyone else was finished with their lunch. Both times were were advised that their meal was dropped and that a fresh one was being made. Getting food for take-out, it just does not travel well. TLDR: Food is tasty. Prices are high. Service is poor. Food is not great...

This review is far overdue, but people really need to explore this gem. My wife and I were in Florida the week after Christmas to bring in the New Year. On our last full day, which was New Years Eve, we decided. Saw this place while driving around and decided to give it a try. Like I said, it was New Years Eve, and we were their first customers of the day. The restaurant was beautiful, clean, and the service was awesome. Very attentive without feeling rushed. The major part was they make you feel at home. Now we are from Jersey where Mediterranean food is basically everywhere so we were expecting the usual but boy was I wrong. Let's start with the drinks, last day, NYE, so let start with mimosas. Now let me tell you these mimosas were made to perfection, we ordered three throughout our dining experience. As for the food, the starter house salad was beyond fresh, and I am usually someone who could ignore a salad, but I cleaned off my plate and my wife's. For entre, my wife had the the gyro platter over rice and I had the lamb burger. Let's start with the platter, this is not a simply gyro Mashup over rice. Again thr freshest of herbs and ingredients, meat cooked to perfection and when my wife was finished, she did not feel over stuffed and satisfied and in bliss of the experience. The lamb burger I will make this simple. The best burger I ever had in my life, PERIOD! Not the best lamb burger, but the best burger ever. The texture of the meat was amazing and cooked to perfection, not overly season but but dressed to hit you with an experience of flavor. The chef at Flames is a master at his craft and definitely cooks with love. Our overall experience at Flames was one for the books. We beg them to expand to NJ lol. We have already planned our next trip to Florida and Flame will be a major destination for that trip....

First time trying this restaurant and I have to say I am a big fan! I love Mediterranean food, but never got around to checking this place out. I have to say all the food was delicious! We ordered the cold sampler to try some of the apps, they were amazing! The taboulis, is not what I expected, missing the bulgar wheat I am used to but still very flavorful! The hummus was delicious, and the babganoush was also delicious! Stuffed grape leaves were savory and delicious as well! My wife and I ordered the 2 skewer combo plate where you can order two or three of the different skewers they have to order. We ordered the beef tenderloin skewers and the dark meat thigh chicken skewers! Both were amazing! The tenderloin was absolutely melt in your mouth and the chicken was full of flavor and so very tender! For dessert, we order the chocolate cake. Amazing as well! We enjoyed it with an espresso and the chocolate absolutely complimented the flavors in the cake perfectly! Only downfall was the price. We ordered 4 glasses of house chardonnay, two each, and it came to a cost of $56 for the 4 glasses! I know they have to make money, but that is way above the average in melbourne! Total bill was almost 200 with tip for two people for 4 glasses of wine, 1 appetizer, 1 shared entre, 1 dessert, and 2 small espressos. I don't mind paying good money for a great meal, but house wine for $56 seemed a bit off the price point. Overall I would definitely recommend as they definitely give you your money's worth on the food. Big servings and delicious food! My only gripe was they cost of the beverages. $5.00 per each small tasa of espresso and $14 per 6 ounce pour of house wine was a bit much. I would have rated 5 stars, but I believe the cost of the drinks was a bit excessive. I will be back, but not for the wine. Overall a...