Amaru

I was extremely disappointed by Amaru. Knowing it has three chef hats, I was so excited to try it. But every dish was either too salty or just a weird taste. Only one dish I was very impressed by - smoked eel macadamia beetroot tart, one of the best things I’ve had in my life. However every other dish fell short. I’ve been to IDES (2 chef hats) and their entrees were a lot better than the entrees here. The mains were ok, but nothing special - I liked the slight rawness of the lobster though. The dessert was too sour, and again nothing special. I’m really curious as to how this place got 3 chef hats. If you’re like me and enjoy going to chef hat restaurants, after having been to 1,2 and now 3 chef hats, I’d recommend Lagotto (1 hat) and IDES (but only the entrees, the mains were terrible). Service was good though, although sometimes I had trouble hearing the chefs’ explanations of the dishes. Overall, just not worth the price and made me very disappointed in the chef hat system.

We had a lovely anniversary lunch here dining on the Insights menu which was $260pp, a shorter version of the complete sensory menu. This included 5 snacks to start, then 3 courses + bread + 2 desserts + petite fours. One of us also had the wine pairing which was quite good, but I was expecting better. Food and setting was lovely service was also super friendly. We were able to use our good food cards that we got for Christmas here which was handy. Parking was a bit tricky as surrounding streets are maximum two hours so you may need to move your car which we saw a few people ducking out to do.

Had my birthday lunch at Amaru and was just blown away by the food and service. Did the Insights menu with wine pairings from the ‘Road less travelled’. Food was delicious and more than enough for a substantial lunch. New front runner for my favourite Melbourne restaurant.

I'd give Amaru a 5-star rating, I'd say arguably they might even deserve a single Michelin Star (if it were active in Australia). The food was extremely creative while not molecular gastronomy in some unusual way reminded me of Heston Blumenthal work. Chef had used local somewhat unorthodox ingredients to create a dish around (one was around lettuce! and was phenomenal) in addition to some more traditional choices. The service was also great very friendly staff. Ok maybe they went on a little too long on some explanation of local food etc. :) but jokes aside nothing to complain about. At some point they asked us to choose our knifes for the next dish which was a fun quirk. I liked it :) Do yourself a favor and try Amaru, you won't be disappointed.

Last Saturday was our second visit to Amaru and as the first time that we visited we were highly impressed with all the food served. Amaru serves a set menu using Australian ingredients as signature and some flavours are very delicate and unique. The first dishes were around 7-8 finger food bites. All food felt very fresh and pleasant to palate where I highly enjoyed the carrot, asparagus and Australian bluefin tuna with desert lime and shiso. After these amuse-bouches we had a wonderful mud crab, white asparagus and caviar, served on top with the last end of season white truffles. This dish was upgrade for 80 dollars aprox with the white truffles. We did not hesitate to upgrade it as everything would go better if you add truffles to your dish. After this amazing dish served we were pleased again by the Western Australia marron, clam and sea lettuce mussel. On this dish you will feel all the earthy savoury flavour of marron with the saltiness of clams. I loved it. At our last main dish we had Blackmore Wagyu with macadamia miso, ox tongue and mustard. The wagyu was cooked to perfection, a buttery flavour meat which it melted on your tongue. After savoury dishes we had some desserts, I am not a big fan of sweets but I would like to highlight the rhubarb/rosella and chocolate, mandarin and Geraldton wax bonbon. All dishes were pairing with a non alcoholic drinks, most of them (if I am not wrong, maybe all of them) fermented on the venue, were very well balanced to all dishes flavours. It was also a very special celebration as on the 26th was my husband birthday. They complimented him and he also received a special dessert with a candle. I always appreciate this kind of gestures :) Overall we had an incredible night at Amaru last Saturday! We highly enjoyed all food and drinks served and we would like to compliment Marcus service as he was very attentive and professional. Thank you.

Pricey but worth every penny. Absolutely beautiful service with a quiet and relaxed atmosphere, and the knowledge of the food (even for the knife for our main dish) was amazingly detailed. Staff were also friendly enough to take us on a tour of the kitchen .

Crowned the best in Melbourne for a reason. From the moment you walk in you know you are in for a night of amazing food. Every single course is well thought through, and the choice for wine pairing is exquisite. This is the epitome of culinary art.

I went there alone, after my business trip ended. The chefs, waiters/waitresses and sommeliers are friendly, helpful and passionate about what they do. The chefs and waiters also explained each dish and beverage pairing very clearly, highlighting Australian produce, and did it with passion and joy. Go for the chef’s counter, you won’t regret it!