Carnation Canteen

The charcoal grilled snapper was a favourite, followed by the scallop. The dishes with the red cabbage and white cabbage were a bit too bitter for my taste. If you like bitter and tangy dishes, those two would be perfect for you. The menu was kind of hard to read but the staffs were very helpful and gave us recommendations. Service overall was good. However, the waiting time between each dishes were a bit long. Was told the menu changes every week on Wednesday. Would visit here again!!

This is not good cooking. We had one nice appetiser (asparagus with sauce gribiche), but the rest of the menu was either just ingredients compiled, i.e no cooking, e.g toast with a slice of ricotta, raw fish with olive oil. Or, poorly cooked; burnt fish, tough pasta with a very acidic tomato sauce ($38). It was also overpriced. The interiors are nice, service was OK, but it really strikes me as odd that someone who can’t cook that well would open a restaurant.

We came here for a birthday and unfortunately it was really disappointing. We were looking forward to trying this place out as we’d heard good things, but the food was extremely overpriced for what we got and portions were really small. We let the staff know it was a special occasion, however we were greeted by a staff member who was rude and the staff in general weren’t very helpful considering it was our first time dining there. We waited about 40 minutes between dishes and we left hungry despite ordering the recommended amount. Left feeling really disappointed

You don’t need die to go to heaven… Open the gates to carnation canteen. Ooooo baby this place is like eating food for the first time The Bruce Lee of the Melbourne food. This place can not be beaten. The art of the complexity of Simplicity. The Coke de-cola never tasted better Via Le carnation canteen! ❤️

One of the most divine meals I’ve had in Melbourne in months (if not years!). The food at Carnation had us genuinely ordering more and more after each course came. The flavours in each dish were so well thought out and balanced and a seat at the bar allowed us to really appreciate the thought that went into each meal. Already planning when we can next make it back!! Will say on the pricier side - $24 for an aperol spritz was a bit too much in our opinion - but very well worth it. Music playing was fab too!! Lots of Blood Orange - love!

Food was pretty good but value is not worth it. $20 for 6 pieces of cured anchovy fillets is not okay. The portions were very small, as is the space and the tables. We kept getting bumped as waiters squeezed between the tables. Service also felt disorganised, we were served food but not given cutlery and then it took quite a while just to get someone’s attention again..

On a perfect Melbourne 30degree day we had a perfect lunch. Food was superb ( I’m vegetarian) as well as drinks and service. Interior design was very Melbourne to me which I loved. We”ll be back.

Absolutely beautiful new restaurant. It was bustling when I visited on a Friday night which was a tight squeeze but a nice ambiance. We ordered from across the menu - the garlic toast was excellent, as was the pasta all’Amatriciana. And the choc hazelnut was a true standout that was rich and textural and not too sweet. I did think that the serves were quite small for the price at $150 for 2 sans alcohol and I’d love to see a few caffeine-free non-alcoholic drinks. But overall I had a very nice experience.