Longrain Melbourne

Posted by: hijacfoods | 1 January 2012, 4.14pm

Catching up with old friends is grand at the best of times but to do so including Longgrain famous cocktails accompanied with delicious morsels chosen from the bar menu, just before dinner was A+. Walking into Longgrain with its dimmed lights and jazz music already created such a buzz about this warehouse style Restaurant. We were greeted with smiles and shown to our sidebar table. I ordered the stick drink' cocktail, and my friends ordered the 'Bloody Longrain' and 'Camp Bitch'.Followed with morsels of Miang. This was a truly amazing food orgasm for my friends and I. Highly recommend the Bloody Longgrain. I personally am not a Bloody Mary fan however this cocktail oozed Thailand in a glass with its hot & Spicy tones. Miang was also amazing! Miang is a traditional snack from Thailand and Laos,it is often sold in the street, the ingredients separately wrapped in leaves, Longgrain Miang used smoked trout, caviar and Thai spices....(YUM) Great atmosphere, great service... HIGHLY RECOMMEND!

Food:			Visit: Fri 9 December 2011 Mealtime: supper
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Posted by: zoroisalive | 18 November 2009, 9.42am

food is always inconsistent. Service is always bad. Great atmosphere.

Food:			Visit: Wed 18 November 2009 Mealtime: lunch
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Posted by: JasonGreene | 10 August 2009, 5.08pm

I am a big fan of Thai food (both in Thailand and various local interpretations), so I have been waiting for a chance to try Longrain since I heard about it. But the price makes it no good for an impulse, and being unable to book rules it out for an occasion. The opportunity finally presented itself on Sunday night and I was delighted to get a table. What I was not delighted about was the food. We ordered the Silken Tofu (veg) and the Beef Massamun. Thanks to an ordering mix-up we also got a complimentary Snapper! The tofu was inoffensive but dead boring--absolutely not expected with Thai food. The snapper was OK but actually a little overcooked and dry, not that you can complain about a free fish. But the beef was an outrage: for $40 I think they might have used a decent cut of beef. It was an amazing acheivement, both very fatty and very tough. Essentially it was inedible. The sauce was tasty on the rice, but not $40 worth, especially when you can get good Thai for $15. And when I mentioned it to the waiter he replied "that's surprising" and that was the end of the matter--no feedback or offer of any restitution. If the occasion was different I would have really caused a scene, but I simply won't return. My advice is to go ANYWHERE else--it will be cheaper and better!

Food:			Visit: Sun 12 July 2009 Mealtime: dinner
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Posted by: Cadchocs | 16 June 2009, 7.44pm

This was the second time I had been to Longrain and was glad I was not disappointed as I had raved about it to my friends. A couple of fussy eaters amongst them were even impressed and can't wait to go back again. The only "complaint" I have is how noisy it can get once the restaurant is full but the amazing food and friendly service makes up for it. If you love food, this restaurant is an absolute must.

Food:			Visit: Sun 31 May 2009 Mealtime: dinner
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Posted by: j.jane. | 23 April 2009, 5.58pm

We ate here on a Friday night, which I considered a little risky as it does not accept bookings. We arrived at about 6.45 and it was packed. The host informed us that it would be about an hour wait and that we were able to have drinks while we waited.
We were quite prepared to wait. The waitresses were very attentive in ensuring we were served drinks. The wait ended up only being about 35 mins. Once seated this great guy looked after us. The food came out quickly and it was amazing. The flavours and the freshness of all the herbs and spices was incomparable to your regular Thai restaurants - I would highly recommend the barramundi and also the prawn special which was in this amazing chilli jam (if it's available). These dishes are expensive, however, if you are sharing with a number of people, the variety and quality of the flavours make it definitely worth every penny.

Food:			Visit: Fri 17 April 2009 Mealtime: dinner
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Posted by: Jamoeesh | 18 May 2008, 12.30pm

I am a regular in here and it presses most of my buttons but can understand it may be seen as an upmarket Wagamama to some people. The non booking service works well as the cocktails at the impressive bar are well worth having pre-meal. The food was excellent in particular if you like chilli and I rate as the best Thai food in Melbourne. The atmosphere is cosmopolitan and seating next to your partner/friend rather than opposite is different but it didn't put me off but can see why some might not like it. If your company is good it doesn't matter and we actually got chatting to the pair opposite which was alright actually. The wine list is good and highly recommend for a late lunch where you don't go back to the office as well as dinner. If it were designed differently the staff would be able to deliver a more tailored service instead of the volume approach in place at the moment but I will always go here when it's my selfish time to spoil myself.

Food:			Visit: Tue 18 March 2008 Mealtime: dinner
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Posted by: gb00 | 1 October 2007, 10.34am

Without fail, the group of friends I went to eat with here all thought the food was disappointing. Of the curries we ordered, they were all too similar in flavour and garnishing, and so hot that by the end it was difficult to distinguish one dish from another. Like Choc Buddha, there is communal dining but it's too uncomfortable - the table is too wide so that we all had to shout to hear each other. The ambience was lacking, possibly due to the discomfort of the seating arrangements and the large warehouse-style venue, which seems too cavernous for the furnishings and fittings. A somewhat cold and sterile feel to the place.

Food:			Visit: Mon 1 October 2007 Mealtime: dinner
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Posted by: matthem | 14 June 2006, 7.59pm

Having heard about Longrain in Sydney, I had wanted to try the Melbourne version when it arrived here. When enquiring on booking we found that the restaurant does not take bookings for dinner, so lunch it was. The food was great - beautiful fresh Thai flavours in our scallop entree, chilli pepper squid and seared prawns. The downer was the shared tables; being two we were seated next to each other rather than across from each other, so when other patrons arrived we were staring at strangers!!

Food:			Visit: Wed 14 June 2006 Mealtime: lunch
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Posted by: monotone | 16 April 2006, 11.59pm

Food:			Visit: Sun 16 April 2006 Mealtime: dinner
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Posted by: Unregistered user | 10 February 2006, 10.40am

Dusk on a balmy Melbourne evening. The city is buzzing with shoppers and every outdoor table is filled with post-work revellers. The huge windows of Longrain open out to the hustle and bustle across the way at my sentimental old favourite, Punch Lane. We placed our names in the queue and took a seat. As I hunkered on a small stool in Longrain's screened corridor of a bar, my expectation of a similar vibe to the original venue in Sydney was dismissed. The stool is uncomfortable, this space does not encourage lingering, unlike Sydney's bar. Could this be a Northerner's impression of what Melburnians might like?

It's a cavernous room, the dining areas dominated by the familiar communal tables, with views onto the kitchen where I spot Martin Boetz checking the rice cookers. The Thai menu will be familiar to those who have Martin's book, attended one of his cooking classes or eaten at the acclaimed Sydney eatery. Some dishes have been modified - for Melbourne palates perhaps? The flavours hit the mark, the standard is consistent and the service unusually exemplary for a new venue. The list of cocktails is charming and appropriately matched to the flavours of the kitchen. I threw down a Rose Porteous - a palate-cleansing alcoholic melange of watermelon and mint on ice. I shouted across the wide table, discussing menu choices with my companions. The background noise increasingly dominating the experience as the night wore on.

Martin's dishes are designed to be shared in the Asian tradition. Between four of us we ate tangy, refreshing, soft-shell crab salad; a dry duck curry with snake beans and studded with pea-eggplant; the famous fried pork hock - repackaged for Melbourne as chunks of flesh, instead of the whole, with sauces to the side - and a fairy-like silken tofu with stir fried vegetables. To follow, we were defeated by the shared dessert platter that ran the gamut of the entire dessert menu.

As the sun fell outside, we were intrigued by the fact that the lighting indoors fell in pools onto the dishes between us, but somehow managed not to illuminate our personal plates. It was a tad disconcerting not to be able to locate the food in one's own plate, but I imagine this will be rectified in due course. Well-sated after dark, we negotiated the obstacle course of tables to the huge front door, and wheeled our heavy bellies homewards.

Food:			Visit: Wed 14 December 2005 Mealtime: breakfast
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Posted by: Registered user - name withheld | 19 December 2005, 5.13pm

Lunch today was not impressive. For main courses at $30+ you expect and deserve a top-end experience. The restaurant was about 60% full but it took over 35 minutes for any food to arrive after ordering. And this was for two slow-cooked dishes and one fried dish.

We had the Wagyu Brisket in a Curry, Beef Shin, and the Pork Hock. The last two were well cooked and innovative but the Curry was a disappointment. The Brisket was very dry - not like what Brisket should be and the meat was devoid of any flavour. It certainly didn't seem like the meat was cooked in the curry but added later. Curries need to be amazing to command a $30 price and this dish certainly didn't warrant the price tag.

The service was professional and the setting and decor first rate. If only the kitchen can improve, it will be a regular haunt.

Food:			Visit: Mon 19 December 2005 Mealtime: breakfast
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