Serai

Someone from this business manages this listing.

40 reviews

#577 of 6,711 Restaurants in Melbourne$$ - $$$, Philippine, Asian, Fusion

+61 3 9600 0016+ Add website

Hours

Tue

5:30 pm - 9:00 pm

Wed

5:30 pm - 9:00 pm

Thu

5:30 pm - 9:00 pm

Fri

5:30 pm - 9:00 pm

Sat

5:30 pm - 9:00 pm

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Ratings and reviews

4.0

40 reviews

#577 of 6,711 Restaurants in Melbourne

RATINGS

Food

Service

Value

Atmosphere

Details

Someone from this business manages this listing.

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CUISINES

Philippine, Asian, Fusion

Meals

Lunch, Dinner

FEATURES

Reservations, Seating, Serves Alcohol, Accepts Credit Cards, Table Service

Location and contact

7 Racing Club Lane, Melbourne, Victoria 3000 Australia

+61 3 9600 0016

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Is this restaurant romantic?

Yes

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Details

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About

Filipino Over Fire, Vin Naturel Serai is a casual place to explore new tastes, meet friends, business lunches or to spend special evenings with cocktails or a glass of your favourite wine

CUISINES

Philippine, Asian, Fusion

Meals

Lunch, Dinner

FEATURES

Reservations, Seating, Serves Alcohol, Accepts Credit Cards, Table Service

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4.0

40 reviews

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ted m

Melbourne303 contributions

Nailed the food....

June 2022 • none

Saturday dinner at Serai. Rarely seen Filipino influenced menu in the now ubiquitous "to be shared" format...identical to that of Etta in Brunswick where we ate last week. As l noted in that quite negative review, this menu style makes it easier to slip in really high margin dishes; serve undersized, poor value for the price portions and makes it hard for guests to assess value for money. In this case everything, with the exception of the woody broccolini, was terrific. Genuinely interesting menu from a talented kitchen using high quality ingredients, giving us generously portioned dishes with great depth of flavour. Service was generally fine and engaging though the inexperience of the junior staff was obvious. Less forgivable however was the really tight table seating. Not expecting social distancing but elbow to elbow a bit of a concern.... maybe just us. Our seats at the bar were slightly better but the stools not the most comfortable; there's no rail to place one's feet and several of the women were forced to juggle their bags on their laps. Simple hooks under the counter would solve this. Also, if seated at the bar, you run the risk of cocktails being regularly picked up in front of you...need a dedicated pick up point. Would also help if when booking reservations, bar versus table seating option was provided. Wine list has gone the now trendy "natural " route so if your not an aficionado don't expect to see much you recognize. Deservedly busy.

Written 11 June 2022

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

rjimlad

Melbourne158 contributions

Very high standard food.

Jan 2023 • none

First, this is an expensive place to eat. Is it worth it? For some, yes. You wouldn't eat here every week or you'll go broke. For those who have fine dining as a hobby, this is definitely a place to drop some cash because the food is delicious and the service is friendly and prompt. You can't survive in Melbourne if you're even slightly off-piste. Your food and service have to be text-book perfect and your guest experience has to be strong. There's no room for even average in this city. Serai deliver on all fronts and we left with a good food experience. I can't give it a score of 5 because I think the cost is too high for sitting at the bare having Filipino tapas, even if each dish was perfect. There's too much competition at this level.

Written 30 January 2023

LonNW3

London152 contributions

Excellent meal, worthy of the high praise

Jan 2023 • couples

Fantastic meal, fantastic drinks, great team running and wonderful ambience. Couldn’t be more impressed with how this has been assembled. The white negroni was a great apertif, and seated at the bar we had friendly chat through the meal with the bar staff who were very helpful, especially Renee. The food was especially delightful, the oyster special was a wonderful starter, followed by the scallops with pork crackling, kingfish, mcscallops and prawns. The lamb ribs for me stole the show though and the cabbage was excellent too. Thought it excellent value for the food and drink and the whole restaurant is rightly being given plaudits for the way it’s been set up. Thoroughly deserved and well done to Ross and the team.

Written 7 January 2023

FoodWineMe

Australia14 contributions

Superb!

May 2022 • friends

Visited Serai with friends for dinner and was immediately impressed with the warm greeting by friendly, bubbly wait staff. Place was buzzing and atmosphere was electric. The cocktails were sensational, food amazing and well thought out and service spot on from enthusiastic staff who seemed to enjoy what they were doing. The natural wine selection seemed to compliment the food and we were suggested pairings from the manager which were delicious! Amazing night and we still talk about the experience. Will definitely be my first stop when back in Melbourne.

Written 1 June 2022

Lily S

Melbourne74 contributions

New Taste Experiences

July 2022 • friends

I was excited to join the special Degustation lunch at Serai. Not my usual type of cuisine but I do like to try something different. And this was certainly different for me. I’m not usually open to even trying anything spicy but this was set and I love raw tuna, so did take a second and third mouthful and really enjoyed it. I was also surprised that the heat dissipated less than a minute after I finished the dish. So I’m no longer anti spicy. Mildly spicy anyway. It really was delicious This opened me to the next dish which was the smoothest creamiest hummus. It was topped with a super delicious calamari mix which was a bit spicy but being used to it by now, it really was great. The main course was actually 3 dishes! They were served Filipino style on a huge banana leaf - so you got a huge portion of smoked rice in saffron butter. Then the most succulent soft delicious lamb ribs. Chicken skewers with a pineapple salsa style sauce As well as a fish head AND the most delicious slice of baked pumpkin I have ever eaten. Everything was very different. Prepared to perfection and amazing. Not sure how but also managed to eat the dessert. A perfect compliment to the meal - Sheep milk yoghurt ice cream ! The only way it could have been better was if I had eaten it first and not been as full ! A wonderful way to spend a Sunday afternoon. Great food. Great company and a seat looking over the amazing kitchen with front row view of the chefs. They also had a great wine list and also Mocktails that are innovative and delicious.

Written 17 July 2022

williamlI6356HT

Sydney13 contributions

Good food & atmosphere ..with an ouch factor

Mar 2024 • couples

With only a bar spot available for dinner this is a 'busy' ,happening venue. The staff are friendly and the atmosphere is noisy and lively with the kitchen, bar and other diners all in close proximity. Bottom line is the food is innovative & tasty but 3 x shared plate starters and 1 x shared main with 2 x sides was over $300 (alcohol was <10%) - so you can't help but feel the 'ouch' factor despite the good food & atmosphere. My bank manager says I can't go back...which is a pity.

Written 30 March 2024

Sue C

Melbourne144 contributions

Filipino food reimagined…yes!

Dec 2022 • friends

Celebrated a friend’s birthday here as we were intrigued by what reimagined Filipino food could be like. No doubt a busy restaurant with diners flowing in and out and the service staff being attentive to the needs of all. Thought the music was too ear shattering and having a conversation without shouting proved quite challenging! The food as presented was quite interesting. The “kare kare” hash brown imbued with herbs and salted duck egg was deliciously crunchy as was the Murray cod pieces served with escabeche, tamarind and pepper leaf. The Lechon pork belly served with smokey pineapple was good but could have been presented better in thinner pieces instead of leaving it chunky. The garlic clay pot rice with its crunchy bits at the sides was a good accompaniment to the pork belly. The flan served with drizzled passion fruit was reminiscent of crème caramel and was a nice way to complete the dining experience.

Written 21 December 2022

Chris P

1 contribution

Absolutely Amazing

Aug 2023 • couples

I wish I could give higher than 5 out of 5! My partner and I just had the most delicious meal at Serai. Every dish was unique and SO full of flavour. A beautiful interpretation of Filipino food. We both agreed that it’s the best meal we’ve had so far this year. This was made even better by the high standard of service. Our waitress Katie was delightful - so friendly and lovely. She also went out of her way to describe in detail the coeliac-friendly items on the menu (almost the whole menu is coeliac-friendly or can be adapted to be). All the staff were really friendly and efficient, and all seemed to really enjoy their job. We can’t wait to return to Serai to try more of the menu! Highly recommend.

Written 18 August 2023

MelbourneTravelr

55 contributions

Nice food but overcrowded and overpriced

July 2023 • none

The food was very nice but it is a small venue where the maximum number of tables are crammed in. The tables next to us were about 20cm away so we may as well have been at a common bench. There is no privacy in conversations, so it's not recommended if you're going out on a date. The prices are far too high for what the restaurant is. For example, $12 for one scallop, $14 for one prawn, $58 for one very small Morton Bay Bug. We were going to order the Bugs, but changed our mind when we were told there was only one and saw the next table receive a very small one. The restaurant is relatively new in Melbourne, so it draws a large curious crowd. I would be surprised however if many customers return.

Written 1 July 2023

Phil H

Lancashire434 contributions

Disappointing first visit due to food and service

Dec 2022 • couples

A bit disappointed based on some media hype on this place. The ambience and chaotic serving style was quite nice but the consistency across the evening was poor. The basic g&t wasn't great, how can you even get that wrong? Ordered something from each section. I think the best item was the cabbage from the fire. The most disappointing being the wagyu beef, just tough and a difficult eat. Time between things coming out was huge, I think we were forgotten based on some comments the server made. I can't really recommend this place over others in the city.

Written 20 December 2022

Julie L

Leichhardt934 contributions

Can I give this 6 stars?

Sept 2023 • friends

Given the recent ranking in Gourmet Traveller’s top restaurants list it will come as no surprise to hear my friends and I had an amazing meal here. I’m not a food critic so I don’t have all the right phrases for how amazing this food was. Suffice to say that every mouthful had the perfect combination of flavours and I may have moaned out loud once or twice. We had a mix of dishes between the three of us and there was nothing I didn’t enjoy, but you absolutely have to try the rice and the tacos. The dessert was especially fun, it’s not often fish is served with chocolate (check it out, you won’t be disappointed). Aside from the food, the ambiance is relaxed, a little funky, and really inviting. And the staff were all absolutely lovely. A special shout out to Lex who made us feel so welcome when we arrived and patiently talked us through everything. I believe it’ll take a while to get in here (my friend had been trying for months) so book ahead!

Written 9 September 2023

Paul M

3 contributions

Food to share

Mar 2024 • couples

In summary, good service but like some previous reviews mention it is very overpriced. I could not fathom the exhorbitant price of a half burnt duck and some bland cooked rice covered in crispy chicken skin and fat. Also some of the food combos were odd, like scallop served as a mini hamburger. The highlight were the tacos, these were very good and we were left wanting more. But overall we still left disappointed; for the price we paid it should have been so much better.

Written 26 April 2024

Peter

Footscray612 contributions

Great! Great! Great!

Oct 2022 • friends

Dined here for lunch yesterday. Everything about the experience was perfect! The customer service was both friendly, helpful, attentive and professional. We ate the lamb ribs which were delicious, the mushroom dish which I thought was delicious and I don’t generally eat them, a rice dish with egg and pork belly that I could eat every day plus a main of pork belly……that’s going on my list of things to give me for my last meal on earth! Delicious! A great restaurant, great food, great customer service, well priced and value for money……will definitely be back!

Written 1 October 2022

Ben W

Hi yesplease72, Thank you for your outstanding review! Let me know when you are due to eat your last meal on earth and we will be there to feed you! Ben W

Written 11 October 2022

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Auseurofoodie

Melbourne63 contributions

Good food but appalling service

June 2023 • couples

Appalling service. Had to wait nearly an hour for our duck dish. I think they had forgotten and when after waiting 45 minutes there was no apology and took another 10 minutes to get the food. Also the wine was corked and when I questioned them they denied it. Then when we asked for r clean plates between courses it was like we were asking for r the world. Apart from that the food was quite good (the calamari and the duck) but no vegetables to speak of. With their fire they could easily have roasted potatoes or carrots.

Written 2 June 2023

dak3

Sydney158 contributions

Food good just don’t sit at the bar

Mar 2023 • couples

The food was great had the $90 chef feed me. This was a good variety but no desert that was extra. The down side is they cramp people in especially if your a couple in that we had to squeeze at the bar and have bar man using this also to put glass on to pour his cocktails as has no room. They even have cans of coke and bottled oj sitting on the floor next to you big a good look

Written 10 March 2023

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SERAI, Melbourne - Updated 2024 Restaurant Reviews, Menu, Prices, & Reservations - Tripadvisor