Absolutely amazing. Great service, exceptional food and drinks. Was visiting Melbourne from Sydney and was very impressed. Great to see a restaurant dedicated to showcasing indigenous cuisine. Highly recommend...the smoked Victorian eel and lemon Myrtle margarita are to die for! That’s for a great lunch yesterday:)
This restaurant is to die for. The food is fantastic, doing amazing things with local indigenous ingredients. You'll never have a fine dining experience with flavours like this anywhere else. The staff are also amazing, warm and friendly. Fine dining food with real, down to earth service. We will be back! Thank you!
Charcoal Lane isn't just a meal, it's a celebration of the food, people and culture of Australia. I went here for a team celebration and had an interesting experience learning about the amazing program that the restaurant operates.
In a city full of diverse food options, this is one place that feels truly Australian. Not only is the food outstanding, the restaurant operates for a good cause. This is a must visit on any trip to Melbourne.
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Charcoal Lane is a great restaurant that focuses on quality, native Australian produce and is also a wonderful social enterprise that offers young Aboriginals an opportunity in the hospitality industry.
For food, we decided that we’d opt for a mixture of “safe” and adventurous dishes, but I’ll let you guess which was which! For starters, we tried the scallops- which were cooked perfectly; the emu spring rolls and fried crocodile (which tasted like chicken!) with native herbs and finger limes.
For mains we shared the wallaby and sweet potato mash; which looks quite rare from the photo (the kitchen cooks it med-rare) but actually texturally was more like med-rare despite appearances- and the Cajun fish special, with a side of greens. By this point we were pretty stuffed, but thought it would be rude to not at least try a dessert- so we opted for the poached pear with mango and sago.
Absolutely delicious food, lovely, well-informed service and was a great place to catch up with others and have a great conversation. Menu items do change depending on availability and seasonality so would be great to return and try something new!
Came here to celebrate, we had a citibank dining so received a free bottle of wine of we paid with it. Also I really enjoyed the concept of giving an opportunity for indigenous youth to learn skills (in hospitality).
The young lady who served us that day was training so she a was stumbling a bit, but that did not worry us. We chose the native tasting platter, the wallaby parm, emu main and a serving of fries. This was plenty of food and did not need the fries.
The platter was delicious, it was such a wide variety of unique tastes, fish, sausages, sea greens.
The wallaby and the emu on the other hand were a tad to raw for our liking, however we were told they were served raw. It was quite gamey but I suppose that's was these types of meat tastes like. They were easy to cut and the sides served with them were really good.
Overall it was enjoyable and value for money was there, but I would avoid game meats for me next time but that is a personal preference.
Went to Charcoal Lane for my birthday. Had been thinking about getting to this restaurant ever since I'd heard about it. With a focus on indigenous foods and ethical approach to staffing this restaurant really sets a high bar. The food was different and interesting, it was also delicious. The staff were attentive and knowledgeable. I'd be keen to come back here again.
Came for a private function and they really came through in all respects. Very accommodating with our requirements and a good staff to customer ratio. Because we had less than 40 guests could select what they wished rather than alternate drop. Everyone was very happy with the food, drinks and service.
I came here for a Year 11 Food Studies excursion and I thoroughly enjoyed it. We had a tasting plate with many different leaves and berries from the bush which are traditional aboriginal foods. We also were given a large complete main meal each, they were very lovely to me since I am vegan and I had the most amazing bush tomato and wattleseed gnocchi! It was the best gnocchi dish I have ever had, I will definitely be coming back. The whole message that charcoal lane projects is a massive plus as well, providing work to many Aboriginal Australians and being a social enterprise is an A+ from me! ❤️
We got charcoal lane to cater for our morning tea and I had a salmon blini and hibiscus and lemonade scones with jam and cream.
The salmon blini was really yummy and the hibiscus lemonade scones were fluffy even though it was cold already by the time I have it.
It's great to see a place like characoal lane that combines a social initiative with delicious native Australian produce and great service. A lovely space with a warm ambiance and attentive staff. We started with the prawns with lemon and pepperberry and the paperbark smoked duck. The duck was a huge standout with an incredible flavourful reduction drizzled around it. For mains we had the very popular parma wrapped wallaby and the roasted emu fillet with native salad. The emu was a favourite, it was cooked to perfection and the chocolate 'dirt' on the side was amazing. Dessert was a chocolate and whiskey tart (a little heavy on the whiskey maybe as that was the dominant flavour) with wattleseed cream. I really recommend this place!
I had the twice cooked lamb with red curry sauce. The lamb was so tender it fell apart. Loved the Native Dukka and the white chocolate parfait. Staff were lovely and friendly. It is a fantastic concept highlighting our native foods and our wonderful indigenous people. Would definitely go back.
Great food made to highlight native Australian ingredients. They gave us complimentary bubbly because it was a special occasion. Their home-cooked bread to start was served steaming hot and delicious. We tried the calamari, emu, wallaby shank, and the souffle with a trio of chocolate sauces. My favourite ingredient was the surprise pickled chilli in the calamari.
The restaurant has nice decor highlighting Aboriginal art and pleasant staff.
I'd put this in the top 5 of my dining experiences in Melbourne. Why?
The menu is creative and different from anything I've seen. The native ingredients produce exotic flavours that feel new but are not "shocking" to distract. It's been a while since I had such a welcoming and unique dining experience.
To top it off, the service was great and the ambience is stylish but not stuck up or over the top. Plus I like the idea of the social enterprise.
I recommend the halloumi and the wallaby shank.
A stunning showcase of Australian flavours. The kangaroo was the standout. Wallaby was great, too. The wines were excellent. I really enjoyed their in-house bread and Australian dukkah. They have good gluten free and vegan options. The service is fabulous and I'll definitely be back.
Having been there a couple of times in the past years already, there's always a new taste buds explosion to have. Had the Mushroom Tian and that was one of the best dishes ever, with excellent combination of new and unusual flavours. The soufflée as dessert was very delicious too. Staff is very professional and friendly. A unique restaurant and highly recommended for all Gourmets.
Deliciously interesting food. Great unique flavours you don't get anywhere else. Service was really nice and friendly. Bit on the pricier side but the quality of food shows for it. Venue was really nice with aboriginal art all around
The chargrilled kangaroo was sublime and all other dishes we tried were also really good, with plentiful lunch portions. The restaurant is quiet and feels very welcome. It also made me more curious about Australian native art, mostly due to the paintings on its walls.
I've been here twice now, once with a small group of 4 and the second for an event with 17 people and a set menu... Both times were great! The food was delicious, staff are super friendly and knowledgeable, and the overall atmosphere is perfect!
I must especially thank them for the large group night, everything went along like a well oiled machine and the rest of the restaurant was full!
The particular reason I like it though, is its confident connection to Indigenous Australia... As a social enterprise restaurant, with training for youth to get hospitality experience... and the food itself, everything has local Indigenous ingredients, flavours and textures you just can't get anywhere else.
Thanks for a great night team... We will be back!
Fantastic food with purpose. Loved the atmosphere and service and that everything was local. It was quite reasonable for the price too. The food highlight of my Melbourne trip. We had the chef's selection for appetizer which was generous and offered a wide range of tastes. I had the kangaroo filets and my boyfriend had the fish of the day. The kangaroo was very tasty and not tough at all like some people warned me. We also guiltily shared a side of shoestring fries which were crisp and crunchy. I tried different wines throughout the course and it amazed me how diverse and delicious locals wines can be from sparkling thru muscat, rose and pinot grigio. We finished off with a chocolate and macadamia torte which was perfect size and sweetness to cap off the evening. I would come back again!
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