Restaurant Review: Seamstress

Location: 113 Lonsdale St, Melbourne
Phone: 03 9663 6363
Link: seamstress.com.au
Cuisine: Fusion, Modern Australian, Asian
Overall Impression: 7.5/10

The typical dining experience is filled with highs and lows. There are hits and misses and if you’re lucky, you leave with the gift of reminiscence thanks to the stand out dish of the night. Our dining experience at Seamstress was certainly unique. J and I were surprised to find a restaurant that served each dish at an impeccably consistent standard. Every single course was good but at the exact same level and standard to the next. We had a total of 7 courses that night and each and every one of them were executed very well and consistently so. There was no, however, stand-out dish of the night and on the flip side there was nothing that was sub-par either.

Pan seared wild harvest scallops stuffed with our house XO paste, chili & fresh lime.

 Crispy soft shell crab on sugar snaps with a sweet & sour style chili sauce.

Smoked duck breast & enoki mushroom salad with snow pea tendrils & water chestnuts tossed in soy & sesame dressing.

Twelve hour braised Berkshire pork belly with drunken potatoes, steamed baby bok choy & red wine jus. 

Caramelised eggplant with red miso & silken tofu sauce, crispy spice crusted firm tofu & toasted sesame seeds.

Rhubarb & marscapone pancakes, crumbed rhubarb candy, Persian fairy floss with pistachio ice cream.

Coconut, lime & pandan leaf tart with mango sorbet.

The appeal of the Seamstress menu is obvious. The highly skilled chefs present dishes that have classical, tried and true flavour combinations. There is nothing strange or odd about what you receive on your plate. The flavours are well-balanced and the proteins are cooked to perfection – our duck was perfectly pink, our pork had a spectacular layer of crackling and our soft shell crab was crisp on the outside and tender and moist on the inside. There is ample seasoning all round and the desserts are pleasant.

The Seamstress menu offerings appear to err on the side of caution but they certainly do a splendid job of it. Perhaps a little more risk would take this restaurant to a whole different level but as is, J and I were satisfied customers that will certainly be back for more consistently delicious delights.