Had an extremely wonderful dinner at this place. We were a group of 6 plus 3 kids and although the sitting was quite tight it didn't stop us from having a good time at the restaurant. The wait staff was well attained and was quick to take our orders etc.
The food took a little while to come, would have liked it to come a bit sooner. The pad Thai options were very strong and different, sharing dishes were quite sizeable, and the ones we ordered were great. Only thing is they don't have a dessert menu. Will be back again for more!
This is some seriously tasty, fragrant, yummy food. The prawns and kingfish enters were great, the pork belly was good and the beef cheek green curry was melt-in-your-mouth delish. Service was friendly and the beer was cold.
I love this restaurant. As far as Thai goes in Fitzroy, this is definitely the most authentic, and yet it still fits in as a Melbourne restaurant. Very friendly staff and a great place to sit at the bar as well as eat out for dinner. Nothing is as good as eating Thai food in Thailand but this is the next best thing.
The ambience is modern and relaxed. Designed by Studio Equator, the beautiful space is anchored by the reptilian central bar covered in scale-shaped turquoise tiles, while the vaulted exposed beams down the length of the dining room draw diners’ eyes to the Chalawan Crocodile King mural on the back wall.
Incredible. If you're after a place for a relatively quiet bar-setting date with drinks and amazing tapas styled dishes, Chalawan is a fantastic choice. We had the Fried calamari with salted egg aioli, Miang Betel Leaf with fresh herbs & coconut caramel sauce, and the Beef Fondue with herbs. The Beef fondue was to die for, so good. The tom yum was also very concentrated and herbs we don't often find in all Thai restaurants. Love how they sliced the oyster mushrooms in a way that made you think abalone or shellfish. It also absorbed the flavour so well. The crab curry (Gaeng Poo) was well balanced between the sweetness of apricots and citrusy lemon grass and kaffir like leaves. Now awaiting dessert, can't even wait to write about it already.. ✌🏼
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Surprised by the poor reviews below considering this one of the best Thai meals I have ever eaten!
We did end up over ordering (a little annoyed with the waitress as I asked if we had ordered too much and her indication was 'no') but mainly due to the fact the portions are very generous. 5 people did not need 3 rice (twice as big as most restaurants) and ordered one too many mains (although we still ate it!).
Starters: Chicken wings simple with fiery chilli sauce: Chicken satay delightful with light, just cooked chicken: diced duck - lab ped - was the only disappointment as it was tasty herb/spice wise but could not recognise the duck.
Mains: Beef cheek divine as was the rib-eye: mushrooms beautiful, Chinese broccoli scrumptious, chicken noodles tasty although provided the right level of blandness considering all the other tastes going on!
And to cap it all, Friday is Happy Hour form 7-10pm!! Bottles of wine for $25/30! Cocktails half price.
The place itself is small and a little cramped - result is you either sit at the bar or on stools at tables. So can get a little uncomfortable if you're ploughing through so much fabulous food.
3rd visit in May 2018 - not quite up to the standard of the previous two visits: son-in-law eggs a touch on the bland side (although chicken satay still excellent). Stir fried chicken a tad too salty. But still large portions!
We are regulars here and every visit to Chalawan was always a great experience for us. The food was really good and the service was always friendly.
Some of our favourites at the moment: prawn pad thai, crispy calamari with salted egg yolk aioli, oyster with chilli sorbet, ocean trout thai curry, som tum, mussels and glass noodles, son in law eggs, beef cheek green curry, tom yum gunk, and virgin tie me down
I went there following my friend's suggestion and it wasn't disappointed me at all.
I have been trying many thai restaurants in Melbourne as I'm Thai, sometimes when i feel homesick I would like to taste sth authentic like my hometown and I would say this place is one of the nice restaurants i like.
Food was nice I tried many dish already n service was good as well. Staff was friendly n very patient. (My friend quite picky)
Highly recommend!!! 😊😊😊
I first came here because the recommendation from a friend and decided to come back as the food was really amazing. Also, the service was really good, the waitress was more than friendly and helpful.
One more + point is that the oysters were super fresh and yummy with very reasonable price. Will bring more people to come back here again
The food here was fantastic!! I'm Thai and it s not easy for me to find authentic Thai food in Melbourne. I wohad say most of Thai restaurant not really serve authentic but this place is different!! I was really enjoyed with my meal and I'm so confident to recommend this place for my friend who would like to try authentic Thai food😀😀😀 plus services was amazing!!
As in any good Thai establishment, aromas of coconut and the sweetness of basil greet await as you enter Chalawan. The versatility of the humble mushroom is highlighted across Chalawan’s vegetarian selection. The Pad Kra Pao is a sweet mushroom & tofu stir-fry is laced with garlic and Thai basil in a dark rich sauce. In contrast, delicately battered oyster mushrooms soak up flavours of coconut from the light red curry upon which it sits in Chalawan’s Panang curry. The cocktail list is fitting, providing a playful Thai twist to many classics. The polite and capable staff round off a thoroughly enjoyable dining experience.
- Veg
We came here fire dinner on a Friday evening and ordered the duck larb, beef cheek curry and stir fried mushroom dish. They were all super yummy. The place comes across as more a bar than a restaurant - we were dining, for instance, on the bar counter. I suppose this is all in tune with the current dining scene/culture. Happy to return.
We walked past and decided to give this place a try. It's quite small, so we decided to sit at the bar. The cocktails we tried were quite strong, so we couldn't finish them. The chicken satay was very nice with the shredded coconut on top. The betal leaf was also a great starter. The papaya salad had too much dressing. The curry was the best, with the mushroom slightly fried, so was crispy. It almost felt like fish, very tasty.
Came here on a Tuesday night. There was only one table occupied but a few more people walked in when we were there. Their meat is not free range which meant vegetarian options for me. I had the betal leaf which was nice but a little too spicy. Then I had the pad se ewe, rice noodle with mushroom and chinese broccoli with black sauce. Had a glass of delicious Hahndorf riesling, one of my faves. My food was good, my friend's was a bit too spicy. Service wasn't great. I asked for a wine recommendation, which she couldn't give me.
Had a great night out with the girls there a few weekends ago! Tried every cocktail on the menu and you would too as they are Delicious! Food was authentic, tasty & colourful & the waitress was sweet and prompt. Just looking for a excuse to head back there again!☺️
Great Thai food and Cocktails, real authentic and fresh. If you know Thai food well you know this place is doing everything right and detailed. We ordered Geang Poo and Pad see ew both tasted amazing!! Will come back for sure
Love this place! Really delicious Thai food in a nicely fit out restaurant.
Nice place for a dinner date or with a group of friends. Great cocktails too!
Excellent place to hangout and relax at night. I went there 2 times.
All of staffs were friendly and service minded. They recommended me some drinks and followed up. It wasn't a traditional Thai restaurant. The foods were fusion but quit interesting and delicious. The atmosphere was great, with dim green light and the music was not too loud.
More interesting than your standard suburban Thai restaurant with a giant drinks menu. Only two vegetarian options but it's not a huge menu anyway.
Ocean trout curry.. awesome
Lobster pad thai.. awesome
Barstaff..... awesome
Small and easy to miss but definitely check it out!
Had a great experience here and opted for ordering ala carte. The food was fantastic and would highly recommend the cocktails. Definitely a place to try.
The combination of quality ingredients and an east-meets-west vibe was a constant throughout the dishes we had tried. I'm quite picky when it comes to Thai (and Thai-fusion) food as it takes quite a bit of skill to execute that delicate balance between spicy, sweet and sour, but the culinary team at Chalawan do very well to tick this box.
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Had a few glasses of wine at Marion... Met a friend after work. A couple of cocktails @ Black Pearl.... We planned to research a dinner spot, but it turned into a drunken stumble down Johnstone st, waiting to fall through the doorway of a likely place. Passed by Donovan's new venture at the Town Hall hotel... Passed theNoble Experiment (though the cocktail menu caused some heated discussion ... 5 stars from me) drooled at Meatsmith for a bit on the way down Smith... And ended up at Chalawan.
The cocktail bartender was GREAT... Attentive. Smooth. Skilful with his flavours. We ordered classics, mai tai, Singapore sling, that kind of thing, and he nailed it every time.
The food, though, was not quite there.... Sooooooo close though.
The smoked pork belly.. If it wasn't smoked, the flavours were perfect. The sauce was divine, but the smoke clashed a little. The scallops... Flavours were AMAZING... But texture a little rubbery. The hanger steak... Again, flavour balance was spot on... But the pan was a little too hot during cooking.
I think these guys are doing really great work, I'll definitely leave a tip, but a bit of polish is desirable.
A Chronicle Of Gastronomy
+4
Northern Light has made way for the king. Chalawan, the crocodile king, to be exact. Chalawan isn’t the place for traditional Thai. It’s contemporary, and the menu has been adjusted to the Australian palate and our local produce. It’s dark and cosy inside, the bar dominating the elongated space. Rib-like wooden framing brings the ceiling in, and makes it feel like we’re dining in the belly of a crocodile. Take a seat at the marble bar counter, or the tables on either end.
There’s a new crocodile king on Smith Street and his name is Chalawan. Opening its doors a few months ago, Chalawan is a cosy, contemporary ‘croctail’ bar and eatery that’s adding some pizazz to the ever-expanding Collingwood dining scene. Cocktails with a Thai flavour twist are the main attraction here.
Ashanie Mekhala Perera
+3.5
There’s a new crocodile king on Smith Street and his name is Chalawan. Opening its doors a few months ago, Chalawan is a cosy, contemporary ‘croctail’ bar and eatery that’s adding some pizazz to the ever expanding Collingwood dining scene. Cocktails with a Thai flavour twist are the main attraction here.
Really surprised about the low ratings here. Food was absolutely delicious. Staff were very friendly. We had beef cheeks, pork belly and ocean trout between three of us, not one disliked a meal and everyone had a different rating of the dishes. Truly top quality food. The one downside was the size of the dishes which were on the small side.
Linnie Eats All The Food
+4
Chalawan is the latest baby on the block which has been opened for a few weeks and serves modern Thai cuisine in a rocking venue. When you step inside, the decor was fantabulous with great artwork a plentiful. At the entrance of the venue were seating for dinners and there was a bar towards the back. Whilst waiting for the food to come out, we were graced with a crocktail ‘Dear Jasmine’ which had gin, pavan, cinnamon and jasmine. This was so refreshing AND tastilicious! I LOVE LOVE LOVED it!
I don't understand why this restaurant has a low rating,is that because it is pretty new ? Well, I came here with a friend and we find the food delicious and the staffs are friendly. With the recommendation by the staff,we ordered the calamari which looks like fried tofu in first glance, the ox tongue in chilli paste, fried oyster,pork with black rice linguine. Certainly love the tenderness in the protein and the sauce. They are not the typical traditional thai restaurant.i find their food modern fusion which is quite interesting. Will be back for sure.
Super lovely staff and tasty food. Really Interesting and original cocktail menu that aligns well with the food menu. Cool space. Will be back for sure.
Really interesting and flavoursome Thai food- a lot more complex than your typical Thai restaurant. Is in between easy tiger and jinda thai. Cocktails were really nice but slightly overpriced and they could do with a better by the glass wine selection. We got the oysters and calamari to start which were delicious. Beef cheek curry and pork belly for mains which were really interesting. Will be back.
Sensational food, great cocktails, friendly staff.
Had Scallops for starter,then The Beef Cheek curry and the banana ice cream!! You will be in Heaven
We love it so much and surely will return!!
Best Thai food in Melbourne , really love it especially the banana ice cream . Would love to come back one day. Good place for tasting some contemporary Thai food.
Lovely attention to detail, great staff, good beer and fab food, esp the desert- banana ice cream - will return for sure one day xxxxxxxxxxx
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