Seamstress Restaurant Bar – CBD Melbourne

Date: Monday 4^th October 2010

Restaurant: Seamstress Restaurant Bar

Address: 113 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne

Phone: 03-9663 6363

Commentary: Sarah Andrew

For those of you who visit our restaurant review site, you may recall a review on Seamstress mid last year. The reason for re-visiting this venue is simple, there was an ownership change earlier in the year and with that a few changes in general. Tally Konstas is now the owner and brings a wealth of hospitality experience to the venue (think Tony Starr’s Kitten Club and The Apartment). The other reason for selecting to dine at Seamstress last Monday night was simply because so many venues are closed in the CBD on a Monday.

I was out with the owners of Georges Michel Wine Estate from Marlborough and we had one night off from hosting wine dinners ourselves and wanted a dining experience with a difference. I do believe Georges & Huguette Michel were very surprised to not only discover the venue hidden behind the large wooden doors, but the philosophy of the restaurant. Principals of ‘Yin and Yang’ permeate through the food, décor and entire approach. There is a balance of colour and harmony of texture and flavour.

The cuisine is Cantonese with a respect for genuine Asian flavours. The menu is split into a selection of small, medium and large dishes (to share) with a balance that displays care and consideration for a broad spectrum of diners.

We started the evening with a cocktail in the top bar, not a usual choice for me however Sweatshop (the bar downstairs) is current Cocktail Bar of the Year at the Bartender Magazine Australian Bar Awards. They had on offer the bar tenders tipple of Pisco, Aperol, Fresh lemon & pineapple juice with raspberry syrup, which was delightful.

Amanda greeted us on the dining level (middle floor) and kindly offered to steer us through the menu for the evening. This was the right thing to do as each selection Amanda made for us was superb, enabling us to relax and thoroughly enjoy the best of what was offered. The menu ran something like this:

Duck broth appetizer
Pan seared wild harvest scallops stuffed with tailor made XO on poached iceberg lettuce
Pods of snake bean and golden sweet kaukau poached in won ton pastry, green pea and coriander puree & tobiko roe
Crispy fried five spice quail julienne of cucumber & pickled ginger salad
‘Chinatown style’ bbq duck with sweet pickled lemons on perfumed rice and blanched choy sum
Twelve hour braised Berkshire pork belly, drunken potatoes, steamed baby bok choy and star anise caramel
Back strap of lamb with azuki bean glaze, roasted celeriac and Chinese black vinegar eschalots with turmeric rice puree
Snow peas & water chestnuts with ‘master couturier’s sauce’

We could have stopped there but the suggestion of a dessert and cheese board to share was too tempting. The dessert selected was a toasted black sesame panna cotta, ginger caramel & sweet potato candy. Sounds crazy but it was truly amazing, just ask Georges as he was very reluctant to share!

Mention should be made of the wine list, as the approach is novel with categories such as ‘vibrant & aromatic’ and ‘funky & Textural’ for the whites and the reds defined by featherweight terms (junior, senior, middle, cruiser, heavyweight and domestic heavyweight champions)!

The venue is open Monday to Saturday from 6pm for dinner and Wednesday to Friday 12 - 3pm for lunch and is one to definitely visit. Thanks for looking after us so well Amanda, we had a great night!