cutler & co

service was very good. but the food was so so. thick tendons found in duck and steaks. flavours were blunt, no texture. the best food was the bread and salad, a bit disappointed.

the food here was really impressive. we went here following the restaurant being on master chef. the experience was great and so was the food.

this place is incredible! i was skeptical before coming here, conscious that it might be another stuck up restaurant that completely rips you off (scanning the menu and prices) but boy was i wrong! i can say with confidence that it is the best restaurant i have been to in melbourne thus far.

our group of five was instantly impressed as we walked through the front door by the sophisticated yet minimalist decor. we all ooo’ed and ahhh’ed at the black steel framed windows- synonymous with a new york loft feel.

we were seated by a lovely waitress who was prompt to get us settled and comfortable as well as take our drink orders. the dining options were explained to us (a la carte, chefs selection or degustation). we opted for the a la carte menu as we were not very hungry. we each tried three courses and even though our tummies were full we were so glad we got to experience the delightful flavor sensations that were available.

prior to entree, warm homemade crusty bread was served with two types of whipped butter.
for entree i had the dry aged pigeon which was perfectly cooked and paired with fennel, pistachio and wild blackberries. for main i chose the buffalo ricotta cappelletti which were light pillows straight out of pasta heaven! and for dessert i tried the strawberry vacherin, which was fresh, creamy and light. it was such a nice dessert to refresh the palette and end the night on.

to our surprise we were also served an appetizer which was grilled baby corn with a tasty dressing. as well as a berry and passion fruit sorbet after mains (which was served in half a frozen passionfruit- so cute!) after dessert we were also presented with petit fours - little jellies and truffles. both of which were yummy and unexpected.

all five of us praised every dish we tried and were very pleased with the attention to detail, the beautifully presented dishes, timing of meals and great wine and cocktails.

i enjoyed it so much i want to book again for my birthday! highly recommended for a special occasion.

well first off, let me tell you, lucky “greggy” boy did well on the old (new) crypto currency market, because for the average diner this place can be a liiiiiiitle bit pricey 💵. i think it’s a shame because everybody deserves to try such a wonderful dining experience!

this place is just straight out cool 😎; they’ve nailed just about everything there is to hammer.
staff are great and the venue is just the right amount of wanky-ness. yes, that’s a thing.

miss greg food wouldn’t shut up about the moreton bay bugs, and i don’t blame her. they were outrageous. oysters were great, although if i’m honest, i have had a lot better. i’m a coffin bay kinda man. mains were both just out of this world; the lamb... two words “ohhh man” or “ohhh womann” if you prefer, and the roasted suckling pig! my taste buds couldn’t even comprehend what was happening, it was bloody brilliant.

im trying not to go on forever, but the staff kindly treated us to these little passionfruit sorbet jiggas, and even they had something special about them. we finished with chocolate delice, accompanied by what was the best desert wine i have ever tasted (only 25 bottles of it distributes in australia and this place had 15 of them).

it was all just a match made in heaven.

kind of like myself and miss gregfood. she’s one lucky lady.

i had high expectations for cutler & co. due to the reviews and my experience did not let me down in the slightest! firstly, i have only the highest praise for the service here. their attentiveness, liveliness and friendliness deserved the 30% tip i gave. secondly, every plate was so well presented and more importantly the dishes were so interesting and delicious despite using mostly common ingredients. i wouldn't recommend the wine pairing as the selection didn't quite complement the taste, probably just pick your own drink. i'm going back for more!!!

had dinner here the other day and it was rather a disappointing experience, first of all, i need to mention that the service was good but she (the waitress) was obviously overwhelmed as she was responsible for taking care quite a few table by herself (inc mine), and the manager seemed just to walk around only checking if everything are alright, and if really needed then only he will come n help, which is not good enough. food wise was not as i thought it would taste, everything from app to dessert nothing was really special, bread was burnt on the bottom, it was very bitter, the t-bone was perfectly cooked, but for $160 with no special sauce but different type of mustard & horseradish really? and most disappointing was the dessert, as we felt as if we were having it in a cafe, as the shape of the dessert was more like cafe’s cakes and no garnish whatsoever found on the plate (see the photos), taste wise was just okay. i think the food are not worth the price and they make the ambiance to cover the lacking of the food and service, obviously this restaurant is overrated, and not to forget their cooking time which was incredibly long. not impressed at all, as this restaurant was mentioned on time out, is a big question mark for me.

ok, so the food, service, ambience and overall experience is good. and therein lies the problem, for a place that is widely touted as being in the discussion as to melbourne’s best dining experience cutler & co still has some way to go if it wants to be measured alongside vue de monde, attica, brae and even flower drum.

as a party of four we all went the chef’s menu which consisted of kingfish and moreton bay bug as the two entrees along with maple glazed duck and suckling pig as the mains. this was finished off with a number of shared deserts. three of the group had the wine pairing to go with this. all of the dishes were well prepared but there was a sameness about the entrees and a sameness about the mains. the duck and the pig were prepared with crispy skin and served in a rather similar fashion. put bluntly, there was simply not enough to differentiate between the two. as to the entrees, the kingfish was excellent but the moreton bay bug, whilst delicious was a rather meagre serving.

as an overall offering, at a price point of around $300 per head including drinks one should rightly expect a world class evening. cutler & co delivered a decent evening but nothing better than that.

loved how this place does upper class dining at very homey style food.

can't go wrong with whatever you order here, i'm sure you'll enjoy almost anything you get here.

my boyfriend brought me here for my birthday on a saturday night.
as it was my birthday, he had put in a request to have a nice seat in a quieter area. we were placed in the beginning of the third section in a window area that looked onto the middle section of the restaurant. this was a fantastic seat!

between my partner and i we decided to share the morton bay bug as an entree, the 1.1kg rib eye, the sweet and sour broccoli and the apple confit, burnt butter ice-cream for dessert.
although we only shared one entree and one dessert, we left extremely full.
everything was absolutely delicious. the morton bay bug was cooked perfectly and was a very nice light and refreshing dish to begin with.
the bread that they served with a salted butter and a miso butter was perfect to tie us of over to the main. the miso butter was absolutely divine (i am ashamed to say that i virtually ate all the miso butter myself and almost accepted when our waiter offered to replenish the bread and butter).
the rib-eye steak was cooked to perfection (rare to medium-rare) and the side fennel salad provided a nice break from all the meat.
the sweet and sour broccoli was very tasty as well however i did find it to be a little bit oily leaving a thick residue on my lips every time i ate some.
the apple confit dessert was very delicious not being overly sweet and being well balanced with the burnt butter ice-cream. the flavour of the ice-cream was a little bit softer than other burnt butter ice-creams that i have had but it was still very nice. the tart was also brought out with a candle for my birthday which was a nice little touch.

several small bites/intermezzos were served which included a cracker with foie gras, a passionfruit sorbet and vanilla bean ice-cream and lastly some petit fours (passionfruit marshmallow and a beautifully rich dark chocolate).

the atmosphere was amazing and the service was really good. i would definitely consider returning but for a special occasion dinner.

for the two of us it cost us approximately $320 for one entree, steak share plate, one side, one dessert, one cocktail and a half bottle of wine. i think that the prices were slightly higher than i would expect but on the other hand it was all of very high quality.

vegan friendly? heck yes 10/10

wow. this place was incredible.

i took my boyfriend out as a congratulations for graduating while we were in melbourne and we chose to get the vegan degustation menu.

the service: amazing. 10/10
i had requested champagne and a mocktail (for me) upon arrival and both tasted exceptional. the champagne was more savoury and best paired with the meaty/seafood dishes but we were having vegan that night.

ambience: super dim lighting, very cozy, candle light by each table.

food:
each dish portion was generous for a degustation menu and we found the flavours delicious. starters were definitely different and our taste buds went on their on adventure.

now the main....so delicious, the textures were paired wonderfully with the flavours, the sides of other vegetables. we were so surprised by how well the dishes were cooked and the different ways that they were and could be prepared.

we thought the main was the highlight until the passionfruit sorbet came out and that truly made our night. it was fresh and nothing like we’d ever tasted before in a dessert. nothing heavy, or syrup-y and very authentic. definitely a must try.

we’ll 100% be coming back here when we come back to melbourne.

had the chef selection menu and wine pairing nov ‘17. service was great. overall experience and ambiance were very melbourne. will go back to try the a la cart options. good for a romantic evening and business dinners.

innovative without being try-hard. stylish without being wanky. minimalist but not lacking in substance. cutler & co deserves all the praise it has gathered over the years. splendid

this is my first time back to cutler & co in about 5 years. the refurbished dining space is dark and moody, perfect for an intimate dinner. we both had the same dishes - surely the best of the menu! starter was the moreton bay bug - i was surprised (but not unhappy) about the amount of grilled cos with the bug, but it was delicious. the main - suckling pig. oh my. easily the best pork dish i've ever had. perfectly cooked meat with a thin crispy skin, just amazing.
no photos unfortunately - too dark.

had a lovely meal on saturday night. the new fit out is still stylish and sleek but unfortunately it's also more reverberant. service was excellent. we enjoyed the bugs, hupuka, suckling pig and apple dessert. will be back to try more of the menu and some of the snacks in the front bar.

i don't usually write super long reviews but when i do, it is when i give the respect that the restaurant deserves. i believe they have invested plenty of effort to deliver what they deliver and the least i could do is to properly write down my experience to do it justice. 

what drawn me to dine here was firstly the understated facade of c&c from the outside. never have i thought it was that exquisite on the inside. secondly, i have loved heston's and agfg gave c&c a higher hat rating than heston's which prompt me to wonder if it was better. that said, i made my booking and off i go.

first impression was simply amazed at how beautiful the dining room was that is hidden from the outside. the food was also just as understated. before i go into details, i had to point out that at this level of dining experience, the visuals & plating of the dish is just as crucial as the taste itself. 

the dishes we started off with was the bonito crudo and the roasted bugs. first off the dishes look clean and simple but the flavours were something else. the crudo was refreshing and light. the cream at the bottom just lifts the dish and gave it the little richness that it needed. the roasted bugs were the better of the 2. again, it looked rather simple but flavours were amazing. the bugs were cooked to perfection and i do mean perfection. not half a degree over- or under. the little salad that the bugs sit on was just bloody delicious. together they were perfectly matched. this is definitely a recommended dish to try. 

come the mains we had the lamb and suckling pig. the lamb loin, supposedly a tough cut as it is rather lean was tender, was pink through out with a delicious sear on the outside. while i have to credit the perfect doneness to potentially a water bath but flavour combination with the hispi cabbage & salsa brings the dish to another level. the pork, never have i thought i would have roasted suckling pig in a western style restaurant. i must admit the pork was perfectly done. tender to the core which i have no idea how it is done. skin is crispy of course. words can't do this dish justice so please order this no matter what. highlight of the night. 

with desserts we had the apple confit and dutch baby. taste okay and definitely not blown away by their desserts especially when the entree and mains tasted so damn delicious. i will say that plenty of effort has gone into the desserts but it was just not good enough with the first two courses taste so good. 

final words, i believe c&c provides a true dining experience and is passionate about the food they serve. this is especially true when they provide a house appetiser,  palate cleanser in between courses and house sweet endings. overall, the bugs and suckling pig tasted amazing, desserts were a little disappointed. 

was it better than heston's? on par with flavours but lacked theatrical elements that heston has. 

would i come back? yes.