Living close to The Gramercy Bistro, I’m always driving by and see the outdoor terrace area packed with after work crews enjoying beverages. On weekends the space is quite busy with diners and locals out for a few cocktails. On this particular Saturday, I don’t know if it was because it was a long weekend, but we had made a booking for 7:30pm (thinking it would be like all those times we dive by and it’s busy), but we were the only ones there.
ATMOSPHERE & SERVICE
Located inside the Cullen Hotel, the restaurant space is broken up into 3 different sections. The first is an oversized outdoor terrace area with ample seating, followed by a small bar and a dining room. The space is usually quite busy when we drive by, however on this particular night, we were the only ones here, which created no real atmosphere or vibe. A bit disappointing since we have been wanting to come here for a while.
We decided to sit outside, since it was a beautiful Melbourne night. The outdoor space is trendy with dark floors, wooden tables with rustic chairs, and a large red feature wall area. Greenery fills the space, creating a welcoming and fresh vibe.
The staff were a bit spaced out, taking a while to take our food and beverage orders. Being so quiet, I would have expected the service to be flawless. We had ordered a few entrees to start, which were brought out incorrectly, with the waitress blaming the computer for the mix up.
FOOD
The restaurant serves up breakfast, lunch, dinner and late night snacks with a New York style flare. We started with just a few entrees to hold us over until our mains arrived. Both the ‘Stuffed Fried Olives’ and ‘Italian Meatballs’ both seemed like the winning options. The olives were tasty, filled with feta I think. The dipping sauce I think was just tomato sauce and didn’t work with the olives at all (they were much better on their own). The meatballs were tasty and moist, served with Parmesan and grilled ciabatta bread.
MC ordered the ‘220gm Eye Fillet’ served with paris mash, caramelised shallots and a red wine sauce. He had asked for his steak done medium rare, however was presented well done, which ruined the steak completely.
I always go for a chicken option, however with no chicken dish available, I decided to go with the ‘Free Range Pork’ served with a fennel, apple and radicchio slaw. It was on the fatty side, however was actually quite surprised with how tasty the meat was.
I think we may need to come back again when the space is busier since we never really got the full experience. The food was okay as well as the service, however could definitely improve for our next visit.