Taxi Kitchen

Whilst Taxi Kitchen at Federation Square is slightly shabby around some of its edges, there is no question that it serves up some exceptional food. With a view that just screams Melbourne, the menu is Asian inspired, offering both an a la carte menu or a very reasonably priced $85 six course tasting menu. 

Unable to go past the tasting menu, our starters consisted of sake washed tuna with soy bean pesto and yuzu jelly, flathead tails with seeded mayonnaise, and candied pork papaya with red nam jim.  All three of these fresh and fragrant starters impressed with their impeccably balanced flavours of sweetness, saltiness and spice, and certainly set a high bar for the rest of the meal. 

Luckily the Crispy skin salmon and the Szechuan duck with hot Vietnamese salad and 5 spice caramel were just as exceptional - both of the proteins were cooked to perfection and married well with their accompanying salads. 

For the finale, our desert of Zokoko white chocolate cream, goats' yogurt foam, honey oat crumble and berry sorbet came out looking like a garden party.  Delicate but still decadent, it was a sweet but refreshing way to finish the meal.  

So with such exceptional food, why have I coined it slightly shabby I hear you ask? Well for one, the venue itself needs a bit of a face lift - the couch I was sitting on was so bally I could feel it through my dress. And other than two wonderful gentleman we were lucky enough to have brief encounters with, the service was slow and impersonal  However, with such good food, it's still worth a try if you're in the Fed Square area. 

Food: 4.5/5

Service: 2.5/5

Venue: 2.5/5

Total: 9.5/15

Verdict: like - get around to trying at some point