Alter Dining

It well and truly does not get better than this. Affordable, comfortable fine dining with an experience that tops most fine dining establishments in Melbourne. Alter dining takes everything you love about fine dining and goes above it. With ambience that is truly beautiful, emitting a jazzy, bar-like vibe, you are left to take a trip to a New York bar or the like. All night well quainted music provided a perfect compliment to our meals and our waiter Troy was nothing short of beyond exceptional. Friendly, professional, courteous, and genuinely engaging, but we will get back to that.

Today we were served the Chef's tasting menu with matching wines. And boy were there a lot of wines! The first dish that came was a nice warm broth with chicken soup and others, paired with a white wine. To be fair, Emily and I aren't a fan of wines so we couldn't comment on the flavour, albeit we did demolish it anyway. Next came the whipped cod row with house made roti and chicken skin. Delicious. The roti and sauces paired so well and literally melted in your mouth. After this we were served the quail with plum sauce and it was literally so tender that it fell off the skewer and tasted delicious. Perfectly cooked, exquisite in taste and the sauce not too overbearing. Definitely the best quail we have ever had.

Next came the mains; cabbage with sauces and mussels with xo sauce. The cabbage was surprisingly delightful, breaking up the flavoursome sauces however the mussels stole the show. Full of chickpeas and delicious sauce, the mussels were cooked well and tasted of the ocean albeit infused with flavour. One of our favourites of the night for sure. These were paired with a red wine that was strong, but nice enough. Next was the King, the star of the show, a pork belly and pork fat fries. WOW. The pork was so tender and oozing with flavour with each bite. This was the best dish of the night and easily the best pork belly we have had- perfectly crunchy skin and just a perfect ratio of meat as well. The fries were seasoned well and went deliciously with the pork. This was paired with a delicious wine (pictured) which Troy happily brought over for us to remember. His story telling of each wine and the choices of each meal really added to our overall experience at Alter Dining.

Finally we were served dessert: ginger ice cream, burnt honey mousse, spiced crumb and toasted marshmallow. By this point the wines were kicking into full gear but we enjoyed this thoroughly. Very flavoursome combinations. All we can say is that everything at Alter dining is meticulously chosen to ensure you have the best experience. The chefs tasting and wine pairing well and truly gave us an experience of flavours we had never had before and we loved it. The music, lightning and Troy's excellent service make this for one of the most memorable dining experiences we have had to date. A huge thank you to Alter Dining, we will definitely be back. Highly recommend to all foodies of Melbourne!


Food: 5/5
Ambience: 5/5
Service: 5/5
Value: 5/5

Overall: 5/5

OMGosh. Sometimes you go to a place and everything blows you away.

Well my visit to Alter Dining was it! My partner and I enjoyed a 5 course dinner partnered w the most amazing matched wines.

The food was Japanese inspired, and we started w a Japanese Tokyo turnip w salmon roe. This was so delicious.

Then it was a cauliflower soup w Smoked paprika, pumpkin seeds and apples. OMGosh this was another level.

Then it was chargrilled Quail w plum sauce and mandarin. Wow... cooked to perfection!

Then we had mussels w chick peas, dashi and a miso sauce. They were fresh, flavoursome and just incredibly fresh. This was matched w chargrilled cabbage, compressed and fresh apple, chestnuts and a miso butter.

John Dory w lime wedges, coriander and green tomatoes. The fish was light, textured, flaky, w green tomato. Yummo! They served the fish with pork fat wedges... they were sooo delicious.

For dessert we had ginger ice cream, burnt honey mousse, toasted marshmallow and a spiced crumb.

Each course was matched w a wine, primarily from the Adelaide Hills. For me this is fine dining, but unpretentious attentive service and a cocktail bar that blew me away!

I just want to thank Alter Dining for the invitation. This place is a must visit.

Alter Dining is the latest venue from the Commune Group as they enter a new era showcasing a more considered restaurant experience that encapsulates modern-day Melbourne, where cultures and cuisines align.

The menu is designed by head chef Sean Judd (Nahm, Longrain, Chin Chin) and offers modern Australian food, accented by fragrant, clean and contrasting flavours, divided into smaller and larger plates and designed to be shared.

Great new restaurant with interesting menu we chose two small dishes grilled king prawn and the mussels/pippies in fragrant broth both were exquisite. Mains - cauliflower steak and wagyu rump - 😋😋. Wines - a small selection of by the glass were good and service was excellent and friendly. Restaurant has pleasant ambiance. Parking not easy.

We went on a super quiet night, which meant we received awesome personal service and amazing food!