amaru

thank-you for your wonderful service and food today. my husband and i both agreed it was one of the tastiest and most memorable degustations we've had in a while. i appreciate the effort your kitchen staff took to cater for my dietary requirements; you didn't compromise on quality. i look forward to coming back.

i can’t say i go to a lot of “fine dinning” restaurants but went along with a friend to amaru about 12 months ago and have been back 5 times since. what an amazing experience this place is. the food is out of this world and blows me away every time you i go. it is however priced at a level that means its only a once every now and then place but i believe this place is one of the best fine dinning experiences melbourne has to offer!

dined here over a month ago for a birthday celebration. after reading the reviews was excited to try amaru out. firstly ambience of the restaurant is so melbourne and chic. staff were really attentive and friendly making the evening so much more pleasant. we decided to do matching wine pairing and while wine were nice felt the matches could have complemented the food more. all the starters were visually beautiful but also tasted beautiful. great way to get the saliva flowing. all the main dishes were beautiful and was interesting to try the truffle supplement from two different areas of australia. personally felt needed one more savory main to sate my savory tastebud but that my opinion. shiitake mushroom ice cream probably most memorable for me cause it’s as delicious and completely mind boggling. all in all wonderful evening n look forward to seeing these guys rise in popularity

the staff were really friendly and helpful. great atmosphere and couldn't fault any dish. was a great night out and would recommend you try them out

ambience: 5
staff: 5
food: 4.8
beverage: 5
beautiful dining experience on our wedding anniversary. very happy with our choice. 
for drinks, i ordered the lemon flower with cucumber, very refreshing drink in a warm night. husband had a japanese beer, he said that was a great beer too. 
we had the sensory menu, among the four starters, the duck ham was my favourite. my favourite main was the mud crab and rock oyster with iced apple. i can still feel the refreshing taste on the tip of my tongue just thinking about the dish. the dish had so many different layers of flavours and texture, it was definitely the highlight of the night for me. my second top pick would be the hapuka dish came with consume, if it was appropriate, i would pick up the plate and lick every single bit on it, no joke. for desert, when the lovely lady presented us the shitake mushroom ice cream, the first reaction in my head was: what? for real? but you know what? it worked really well and i loved it. this is the kind of dish that does a trick in your head, in a good way. the most photographed dish has to go to the meredith cheesecake. loved the texture, as well as the acidity the blood orange sorbet brings, well balanced flavours. the petite four, bergamot/rhubarb/barley, it was hard to bite off, but then you don't have too, it's bite-size itself. wait till it melt in your mouth, omg, layers of flavours exploded. what a good note to end the evening.  i didn't rate the food 5 out of 5 because of the kangaroo dish. the meat was cooked beautifully. however, the liquorice didn't quite work for me. maybe this would be an acquired taste in the future. 
my opinion on this place? shut up and take my money! i will return any day of the week, any week of the month.

visited amaru with my boyfriend for our anniversary. staff was really nice and patient. we didn’t choose wine pairing, but order glasses as we go. the waitress was very kindly sharing her favourite wine at the restaurant and provide suggestions across different varieties. the only 2 things i didn’t quite enjoy were, 1) too many dessert and we feel we didn’t have enough savoury food 2) many dishes used iced xxxx as an ingredient, as i’m not a fun of using ice in my dish, so didn’t like much. however, overall, would still say it was an awesome experience and would love to come back again.

came here yesterday for my dad's birthday and had the most wonderful experience. the staff were attentive, service was faultless and the food has the wow-factor with every bite. the flavours of some of the dishes challenge your palate yet come together so delicately. the shitake sundae dessert was my favourite! we went on a saturday which only had the sensory menu - it was what we wanted anyway. would highly recommend the sommelier pairing too. probably one of the best wine pairings i've had in melbourne.

just the right amount of food for a tasting menu. beautiful room, comfortable chairs and delightful staff. and probably the best wine pairings of any degustation i’ve experienced

dined here about a month ago and our expectations after reading these reviews were fulfilled. service was impeccable, setting, layout of restaurant, ease of parking were excellent. food was great, a thoroughly enjoyable meal.

absolutely amazing dining experience from start to end. 

the moment you enter the restaurant you just know you are in for a treat. the layout of the restaurant is fairly intimate with an open kitchen visible for every diner, as well as the option of seating at the chef's bar with a closer view of the kitchen.  

the theme of the menu was to engage and indulge your senses and taste buds, which they definitely do.  no menu is provided as they keep you guessing what the next dish will be while also promising for some surprises. without giving too much away, our favourite dish for the night was definitely the pork but the entire menu was exceptionally wonderful. 

the service and wait staff were all extremely friendly, attentive and sociable without being intrusive. being able to relate with them made for a more natural but also private dining experience.

definitely a must try restaurant and i would happily return for another wonderful experience run by head chef clinton mciver.

i can’t fault this place, literally blown away by all the dishes, the service was wonderful and the vibes were fun, fancy and intimate. if you haven’t been here you are missing out!!!

absolutely remarkable: from when we first stepped in and the warm welcome, the delicious balanced and flavoursome dishes, to the birthday wishes and care taken in every aspect of the night. cannot recommend more highly for the chef’s table degustation.

amazing just doesn’t even cut it. a hidden gem that you must try!

exceptional service - exceptional quality on food. can’t go wrong with amaru. been to heston and vue de monde whom are a lot more pretentious - staff there are real and awesome - definitely coming back

this restaurant is definitely up there with one of the best 'fine dining' restaurants we have been to in melbourne. there's 8 courses for the full degustation menu, which was definitely worth doing. each course was presented impeccably and tasted amazing. desserts were absolutely delicious. very nice ambience in the restaurant, not too stuffy for a fine dining restaurant. would recommend to anyone looking for a special treat!

one of the best restaurants that i have been this year. it is rated fairly highly and it delivered it all aspects. the food was delicious, the service was fantastic and the best part for me was the chefs would explain each dish to you. there was a lot of interaction between the staff. i prefer to dine at amaru than heston restaurant.