Lounge Kitchen & Bar Launches 9 Lunches for $9 in Melbourne CBD
Affordable lunches? Student? Lounge Kitchen is one of the best student hangouts in Melbourne. The World Loves Melbourne has long been searching Melbourne for value lunches. Let's face it; most of us can't afford $30-$40 a day on lunch. Our radar is always looking for quality lunches around $10 that satisfy. Having worked for years in the Melbourne CBD we know a gem when we see it. And when we do embrace it we like to keep returning. Also check out our Best Fish and Chips article, featuring Lounge Kitchen.
Lounge Kitchen is an iconic venue in the CBD and we've visited several times over the years, lapping up its charm. In recent times it has reinvented itself. Walk up the stairs off Swanston Street into a cool ambience of dark timbers, various dining spaces, mood lighting, plants and character booths. Quintessential Melbourne we say. They even have tables on the standout balcony overlooking Swanston Street (best in Melbourne?). This is a perfect place to dine out with your work colleagues; a place with atmosphere that delivers on quality affordable dishes, and has engaging service. As one blogger put it, "It's nice to get some change in your pocket."
The World Loves Melbourne was invited to Lounge Kitchen to experience their 9 lunches for $9 menu (12-3pm Monday to Friday). Dishes included a BLT Cheeseburger, Mushroom Risotto (below), Grilled Chicken Salad, Thai Red Curry, Roast Duck, Red Wine Beef Ragout, Pot Pie of the Day, and Fish and Chips. These are all favourites with something for everyone. We were also excited about the $5 Shoe string fries and the $5 Garden Salad to complement.
Mushroom risotto with porcini and portobello mushrooms with provolone was a standout dish; rustic and perfect creamy risotto. Serves are generous for the $9 and presentation is top notch.
At this blogger event Lounge Kitchen presented all the lunch special dishes to a blogger group; with the Chef giving us his philosophy on quality with fresh ingredients, handmade, non processed and a desire for value dining.
Lounge Kitchen have always had an A grade burger game; the BLT Cheeseburger with thick chunky wagyu pattie, bacon, lettuce, tomato, cheese, tomato sauce served with side of fries is a winner. This is a classic burger with generous pattie; just the tonic for a CBD worker on a lunch break.
Fish & chips featured beer battered flat head served with fries and roquette salad. Crispy exterior of batter and tender fish inside; a generous 3 fillets.
Or how about a Grilled Chicken Salad with bacon, asparagus, mesculin and aoli. A first class salad with generous amount of chicken; with crispy bacon a highlight.
One of our favourites was the Pot Pie of the Day; again we felt this was a sizeable meal for the price and quailty to boot. Chunks of chicken and gravy like sauce inside were superb, but we also loved the flaky buttery pastry of the pie. All pretty handy with a couple of Hawthorn beers.
Baby Octopus Salad featuring chargrilled baby octopus with Greek salad, oregano, and lemon was another excellent dish. A squeeze of lemon sets it off with delightful amount of char on the baby octopus. A fresh salad to accompany is perfect.
Lounge Kitchen and Bar is a rewarding lunch destination but also a superb live venue with loads of live entertainment. It's been a popular venue for work teams including our own department lunch at one stage; with several CBD worker groups imbibing lunch here as we enjoyed our blogger event.
My favourite dish was this Red Wine Beef Ragout featuring slow cooked beef ragout with penne, parmesan, and basil oil. This is the sort of comfort food you need when your boss has given you a hard time and you've ducked out for lunch.
Thai Red Curry is in a vegan style with veggies, and served with jasmine rice. This dish has a delightful tang and mop up the sauce with the rice.
Thanks to Bec Thexton and Lounge Kitchen. Looking forward to our next visit. Get on it!