Uncle

Uncle has all the makings of a great Summertime restaurant - an incredible outdoor courtyard (tick), a  menu filled with fresh Vietnamese cuisine (tick) and a drinks list worth not being the desi-driver for (tick).  However, unfortunately its food didn't manage to hit the mark.

To be fair, two out of the three dishes we had, whilst not spot on, were quite tasty.  The free range chicken slaw with fragrant herbs, bean sprouts and chili came out looking spectacular - but lacked a punch in any of its flavours.

The flavours, however, were spot on in the chicken tenderloin steamed bao with  Vietnamese mint and spicy pickles, but the fried chicken was a touch on the soggy side.

 

 Unfortunately, the lamb curry with okra would have be one of the worst dishes I have had in Melbourne.  Am I exaggerating? When you actually have to spit out your meal into your napkin I would say absolutely not.  The flavours were there (I'll give them that), however, there was barely any sauce and the lamb was so fatty and filled with cartilage/bones, I'd be surprised if there was actually any meat on it. Indeed, it was a mouth full of cartilage that made me spit out my food, which is never a nice look at any restaurant.

Whilst the venue was incredible, and the staff were amazing, the food alone is enough for me to not want to go back.

Food: 2/5
Service: 4/5
Venue: 5/5
Total: 11/15
Verdict: Don't bother - there are much better Vietnamese restaurant's out there