marion

you know you can 100% trust a place when it’s andrew mcconnell, the guy is a star. marion is a superb little wine bar which does incredible food and theserviceyou get is an absolute stand out, very efficient and friendly too. highlights were pretty much everything... the bread at the start was unbelievable as was the ricotta agnolotti. roast chicken was flavoursome and juicy... excellent selections of wines and beers, definitely a place to visit.

a chic, small, yet vibrant modern restaurant located in the heart of fitzroy! once again, we brought our team member to dine here with us as a thank you gesture, and we were honestly proud of our choice.

the food is undeniably good and theirserviceis top notch! the friendly staff have impressive skills with carrying the dishes.

we ordered quite a lot of food and they did not disappoint!

marion is a great little bar to visit during the day that you can nibble through as you enjoy your wine sipping session. their wine collection is absolutely crazy - come visit and find out yourself!

great date night restaurant. fabulousserviceand wine list. food is excellent and interesting with well blended flavors and a regularly refreshed menu. can’t fault it.

love it
great selection of wines by the glass
jam packed butservicewas excellent and considered
food was a further highlight with the whole snapper in particular a highlight

already buzzing by the time we arrived, this wine bar lured us in with its construct of modern australian dishes to share and of course, wine. our waitress for the night helped settle us in and gave us some good recommendations on food.

we start off with their complimentary flat bread, lightly pan-fried and gave off some garlic bread vibes. the texture was wonderfully chewy, almost like a springy donut. this was served with some creme fraiche, not sure if it needed it as it was good on its own. we also enjoyed some finely sliced jamon serrano, salty with some deep flavours.

our first small dish consisted of buffalo mozzarella, radicchio and blood orange. the mozzarella was nice and milky, the radicchio was lightly bitter and provided some crunchy textures whereas the blood orange gave the dish some sweetness.

we ordered one of their special items of the night, their fish wing topped with miso and then cooked over fire. navigating the through bones was easy and had a wonderful umami and charred flavour to it. some lime on the side because sour and fish are best buddies.

next we got a duo of vegetable dishes to share, one being baby globe artichokes with sorrel and horseradish. you can taste each of the layers and the nuttiness of the artichoke, this was an okay dish. i did enjoy the asparagus with pistachio and brown butter, again nice charredness and enjoyed the creaminess of the sauce.

the mussels were unexpectedly a cold dish and was mixed with nduja, fried bread, lovage and aioli. there's the spicy element from the nduja and you get the cooling effect from the cucumbers. i wouldn't be surprised if the mussels were canned but sometimes, good things come in cans.

if the table next to us hadn't gotten the rump steak i doubt i would have ordered it as i've hadn't had much luck with that cut but it looked and smelt absolutely irresistible. my senses did not betray me that day, perfectly cooked with a rich wine merchant sauce and peppercorns. the steak coming from the rump was firm but very tasty and the cime di rapa really soaked up that sauce, delicious.

the dessert list looked rather simple, upon recommendation we got their strawberries and cream. i'd say it was an upgraded version with sticks of meringue and a strawberry sorbet. as the waitress put it, the meringue reminds her of fads, she's not wrong there. unfortunately i had to share this, i could polish off 2 plates of this!

another solid melbourne wine bar and we were lucky to snag a small table with a last minute booking. it was busy all night and people were waiting at the bar for seats.servicewas spot on and the food flow was well paced.

a beautiful wine bar in busy fitzroy, marion is all class. on a recent date night, we popped in after dinner to have some wine and dessert here. the perfect spot for an intimate date night, but also fun enough for groups, marion caters to everyone.

with a gorgeous ambience, and an elegant decor; it's difficult not to be impressed by all the beautiful bottles of wine on display.serviceis sophisticated but still warm and lovely, and staff are more than happy to recommend a tipple or two.

our desserts were absolutely delicious. quality, french style food with a simple presentation and divine taste; taking advantage of seasonal produce and delivering beautiful dishes. all in all, we were very impressed with our visit to marion and definitely intend to return again for a dinner date.

truly one of melbournes best dining experiences, the food is consistently mind blowing andservicesolid. the only negative are the prices on beverages, most specifically on wine which in some cases can feel outrageous.

i took my partner here for a night out. we couldn’t get a booking but we were assured that we could do a walk in and when we did we were shown some stools and a nice ppl watching seating area.

theservicewas excellent, really professional and friendly. as this was a wine bar we ordered a delicious bottle of exceptional local wine, as i like to support local growers. we had a red wine that was superb, just perfect with our chefs recommendation for dinner.

this consisted of a range of small entrees, a main meal and dessert. perfect as we had a ravishing appetite hahaha ... we were so hungry we could have eaten the napkins!

we started w an oyster and some bbq chestnuts, both of which were delicious, followed by home made bread and creme fresh! yes yes yes lol

then some kingfish that was so thin it just fell apart! wow!! just beautiful.

the next dish of hot peppers was soooo hot, phew hahaha i had one ... then i managed 2 more but i was perspiring so much that i almost created a puddle. my partner soldiered on and reluctantly finished the plate, when others around us failed! mmnn the delights of spice hahahaha

the main course was free range chicken, french crispy fries and a radicchio salad. and this was the perfect combination for me, the chook was fed a heavenly diet, the chips crispy, and light, and the salad lacked too much bitterness, instead it was well balanced and it all worked so effortlessly together. sublime really.

oh and the wine... hahaha that was so good, a speciality vineyard with minimal human intervention makes the most incredible depth of complex flavours not generally tasted in your average bottle. just incredible, i felt swept away! lol

the tiramisu dessert was good, very good but this was my least favourite dish of the night, maybe because i’m not a huge fan of cream.

but overall this was a very special night at a great italian restaurant in a very accessible location in gertrude street, fitzroy.

a must try... enough said! enjoy :)

we didn’t come here for the wine though the wine list is extensive but for the food and it didn’t disappoint. the mussels & rump dishes were delicious and full of flavour and desert mmm.
cons- we were oddly seated in an awkward corner spot near cases of wine like i was in a stock room. there was one over zealous waiter who kept hounding us then another who couldn’t care less soservicewas lacking. i would still go back nevertheless.

just returned home after an absolutely delicious lunch.servicewas slick and friendly and my wife and i felt very well looked after. much respect for a kitchen that produces such wonderful depth and complexity of flavour in everything that comes over the pass! special mention for the roast chicken; probably the best we have ever eaten. truly wonderful! thank you team!

i am torn to rate this place 2.5 out of 5. our friends recommended this place and we really looked forward to the brunch. we order croissants and coffee to start with before we order our brunch. our friends told us marion's croissants are the best in melbourne. in deed they were beautiful. crispy and crunchy on the outside and airy in the inside. i would say it was one of the best i have had from the places i have been around the world. i was really impressed by it. if only rating the croissant, i would give it 4.5 out of 5. but things went downhill from here. i ordered a latte, the milk was over frothed. coffee itself was average. i ordered baked eggs with greens. basically two eggs on a bed of stewed veggie. the greens were so bland and the yogurt-ish source on top was overpowering.  i couldn't finished the dish. my husband and a friend ordered omelette, which were very average. i would not recommend breakfast in this place except for the croissant. theservicewas very friendly though.

we finally made it back to marion for a meal. previously when we last stopped by for a drink we tried the prawn horseradish rolls which left me hungry to return - i am a total sucker for a crispy/creamy combination and this dish nails it, so we of course had some more. this is a must have dish when dining at marion.

it’s perhaps a little unsophisticated of me to say the fried bread with fromage blanc was another highlight for me. the rump was cooked perfectly (fantastic with the curry sauce) and the roast chicken was also on point.

the only dish i wasn’t so keen on was the zucchini on a crispy, pastry base, but this dish is no longer on the menu in any case.

wine tip would be the quealy secco splendido ancestrale which was a delicious, crisp, dry sparkling.

theservicewas fantastic, as was the ambiance. if you are going as a couple i would try to get a seat on the long bar looking out to the laneway, which i would say is the best spot during daylight hours.

some time ago we visited marion for pre drinks before dining at cutler & co next door and it looked so good we vowed to come back. we dined here on a thursday night and it was not as busy as the previous visit which was on a warm friday evening in the peak of summer. theservicewas very good, our waitress was friendly, attentive and recommended some wonderful wines and dishes for our meal. the wine list is extensive and well curated. we elected for the chefs selection to feed our party of four and it did not disappoint. the team accommodate for food allergies and even provided special individual dishes to supplement. there were too many highlights to name them all but the deserts were fantastic and the 2013 curly flat pinot noir was a perfect companion for our meal. i highly recommend making reservation for a romantic evening or just to catch up with friends.

amazing wine list and delightful bar food. from the minute we walked in we felt like we were somewhere special, a cut above the rest. theservicewas impeccable, the recommendations for wine took us to places we would never normally venture, and the food was simply spectacular. well done marion, clever you.

went to marion on a friday without a booking. got a table all the way at the back, which was actually fine because we could hear each other well.servicewas friendly. all meat is free range. did bring us a wrong drink but that was fixed easy enough. we had the prawn roll which some people in their review said it was overpriced. suppose that's true, but maybe it is an expensive prawn? it had nice flavours but $10 for a tiny little roll with 1 prawn and a bit of mayo is a lot. also had the peppers, they were very nice! so were the asparagus. as main we shared 1/2 chicken which i thought was very boring and totally not worth the money ($38 i think it was). boyfriend thought it was delicious though. had a salad which was basically just some leaves, $8.. all and all we spent about $140. not too bad and the food was yummy.