Best Seasonal Restaurants in ASD-TBD (NA)

The European is a unique charming restaurant held in high regard by Melbourne diners for decades. the interior has changed little over time - but there is absolutely no reason to change anything - it is quite perfect the way it is. It is always busy - sometimes quite noisy - tightly packed in a long narrow wood panelled room - all of which adds to the ever present ambience. The food is absolutely superb - the service excellent - and the cost is fair.

Today was Christmas lunch. There was a long queue on the footpath on arrival but waiting patrons were professionally catered to by attendants assigning table numbers to pre-bookings. Once in the restaurant, our group of six were escorted to our table upstairs by the restaurant's captain. After being served green tea and chrysanthemum tea, we were immediately offered selections of yum cha items. The food arrived piping hot, fresh and absolutely delicious. There was no sense that any of the food was heavily infused with MSG or salt. Despite the busy atmosphere, the service was attentive, polite and professional. When we asked for fork and spoon for a few in our company, they arrived immediately. Our group has been doing yum cha for Christmas lunch every year in the same premises in Southbank for eight years. This year we decided to try this restaurant. Today, all of us walked out feeling like it was the best yum cha service we had experienced. Everyone in the group gave full rating out of 10 for the experience. This restaurant appeared to be well prepared for the Christmas lunch crowd. The staff were well trained to assign tables to waiting guests, usher them to their seats, serve food quickly, and clean up for the next session's patrons. It was well worth the trip to the city for this exprience today. We will definitely be back! Top star rating.

You simply cannot go wrong stepping through the door…whether it’s the trattoria or bistro, your experience is nothing short of wonderful food care of the staff who make the whole thing look so effortless. Love it love it love it.

If you want a review of the steaks at Meat Maiden, scroll on. I didn’t order steak…which is perhaps akin to going to Red Rooster and not ordering chicken. I went for the miso cauliflower, perhaps not the first choice of most diners. But I made our reservation because I knew my mega-carnivorous husband would love it. And he did. So yes, the food was excellent. Go for the food. But waaaaaaaay better than the food were the staff. Unlike the current trend for waitstaff to make it obvious they’d rather be anywhere than taking your food order, MM staff all genuinely looked like they wanted to be there. They were joyful, engaging and had each other’s backs. They worked together like a well oiled machine and it was fun and heart warming to watch. I’d go back for the chips. For the crème caramel, for the cauliflower and the donut. My husband would go back for the burnt ends and the pork belly and scallops. But most of all, we’d go back for Nathan and the rest of the staff.

Such a great experience loved all the innovative dishes. The rooftop post dinner was the perfect complement!