Dutchess - Melbourne

Beautiful venue and music But staff really had no idea about how to work in a restaurant, no idea of the meals and no idea of wait staff etiquette.

Kicked off dinner at the Dutchess with a bottle of Dom, a sign of good things to come.

The food was wonderful, but we had to wait a considerable amount of time for the drinks we ordered upon our arrival. The music was too loud, making it difficult to have a conversation with someone sitting across from us at the table.

We opted for the chef's choice set menu during our visit to the restaurant. Unfortunately, our drinks took a long time to arrive. The oysters were a highlight, but our overall experience declined from there. The steak was tough and undercooked, and the desserts were lackluster. The ambient noise level in the restaurant was extremely high, making it difficult to converse with our tablemates. This restaurant is on the pricier side.

My adult daughters and I stopped in at this restaurant before heading to the theater and we were pleasantly surprised. We found out that they offer cocktails at happy hour prices, so we decided to try a few different options. The "I'll have what she's having" cocktail was especially delicious. After our lovely Irish waiter explained the specials, we all ended up choosing steak dishes. My husband opted for the Bovine tasting plate, while the girls and I went for fillets and a special of the night. We also ordered sides of pumpkin with goat's cheese and almonds, chat potatoes, and broccoli, all of which were amazing. The steaks were cooked to perfection, which can be tricky with rare or medium rare preferences, but they turned out exactly as we asked. Despite feeling quite full, we managed to save some room for dessert. I shared a Ferrero Rocher ice cream with chocolate sauce, which was also fantastic. After a few more drinks, our night came to an end. We were very impressed and will definitely be returning to Dutchess. My only recommendation for improvement would be to provide hand towels or dryers in the bathrooms, as we had to use toilet paper to dry our hands in all of the bathrooms.