With the sun shining fewer days than it should be, it was a must to spend our sunny Sunday afternoon enjoying what little sunshine we’ve had so far this year. We decided to make our way down to St Kilda and pop in somewhere near the beach. We’ve been to Captain Baxter a few times before for drinks, but never for food, so thought we would give it a go.
ATMOSPHERE & SERVICE
Located in the St Kilda Sea Bath’s Complex, the venue offers stunning views overlooking St Kilda beach. Making our way up the stairs to the rooftop venue, the space offers both a beautiful modern interior dining space, plus an open concept rooftop area overlooking the beach. The outdoor space is filled with large couches, high top bar tables and umbrellas, creating a stylish outdoor space.
The style of service here is bar service instead of table service. All food and drinks are ordered at the bar, using your table number. From the interactions we had with the staff, they all seemed to be friendly and enjoying the sunshine.
FOOD
Inspired by Asian street food, the menu is designed around pub style foods that are simple and easy to eat. Unfortunately we weren’t at all impressed by the food, actually leaving most of it to go to waste. We decided to go with a hand full of shared dishes to pick at throughout the afternoon. The first to arrive were the ‘Chips with Aioli’, which was probably the most decent thing to arrive to the table.
Next out were the ‘BBQ Chicken Skewers’ with cabbage kimchi & wasabi pickles. The skewers were tender and juicy, but the cabbage was just mush.
The ‘Fried Chicken Karaage’ with soy dipping sauce was over cooked, dry and the sauce was too sweet for the dish. Definitely have had better karaage elsewhere.
The ‘Ramen Crumbed Calamari’ with furikake mayonnaise was the biggest let down of the day. The calamari was so overcooked and tasted like the fryer hadn’t been changed in ages. By far one of the worst calamari dishes we’ve had in a long time.
Although the location and view is amazing, the food was a let down today. I would definitely recommend eating before heading here and just enjoy the drinks and view to avoid disappointment.
*Hero photo sourced from Captain Baxter Website