The Deck - Melbourne

Where could I possibly start, the restaurant was nothing like it’s pictures, shows a picture with tables for groups for people for the outside view, but me and my friends were not allowed to sit outside because it was only for “two people seating” then...what i am guessing the manager was very rude, gave attitude the whole time, rolled his eyes and walked away when me and my friends said could you please give us 5 minutes since we were not ready to order yet. He clearly has anger issues. My brother then told him off because he continued to be rude to my brothers girlfriend, Now this is where the whole restaurant just went to absolute rubbish, THE OWNER that was sitting across to the restaurant in a closed dark area, comes out and goes off at my brother saying “ oh he wasn’t being rude” when he was not even in the restaurant so he had no reason to bud in like a little bug, he then swears at my brother, calling him a “c**nt” and a “little girl” and many more. and he says these after I told him to calm down since it was my birthday and I wanted no trouble (which he ignored me and continued to try pick a fight with my brother) funny thing is how he was swearing then closing the gate so my brother can’t come back to him because he knew what he was about to get himself into. So yeah preach to the owner for making his restaurant look amazing, such a good gentleman and role model to 16 year old girls on their birthday party, oh and it is a fine dine restaurant too. Very immature of the pathetic jerk owner of the restaurant. In all honesty the only kind person was this one lady serving me and my friends. Really would not recommend booking a dinner here, total waste of time and money, there are much better places with better atmosphere and workers.

Lunch today with my wife and a friend, nice eating as usual, south bank really quiet, people out there, we need to support the restaurants that are currently fighting.

A surprise night out for my partner as work circumstances had taken a turn.No tears, it was a good payout and the circumstances imply no fault on her behalf and all out of her control.So I'd purchased tickets for JC Superstar at the State Theatre.The Deck was the perfect choice for its location, atmosphere, service, drinks and food.Minutes after being seated we were presented with virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar with fresh backed (in house) sour dough bread, awesome! Extra bread was offered and delivered.We both started with the excellent Tassie oysters, so fresh and the salty brine they were in was so sweet.Partner had a NZ Sav Blanc and I a very nice Italian Pinot Grigio and a lovely Yarra Valley Chardonnay, each by the glass.Also with the entree my partner and I shared the Chicken liver pâté, port jelly, persimmon chutney. It was lush and rich but well presented with a small sweet bun instead of the usual bread or crackers.For the main course my partner had the Pappardelle, duck ragù, parmigiano and I had the Great Ocean duck breast & sausage, oats, baby apple - I ordered a side of kipfler potatoes.The tiny apple the size of a cherry tomato was sweet and tart at the same time. Never experienced these before, lovely balance of flavours.However the Pinot by the glass on offer didn't do justice to the dish so I was able to sample an Italian Montepulciano, but went for the Spanish Tempranillo which had a mid weight body and a subtle richness of fruit tannins better matched to the dish but it still lacked the silky tannins found in Pinot Noir that is better matched to Duck.No dessert, as we had dawdled and savoured the flavours of our meal and had to get to the show, only a 10 min walk along Southbank - could have been the Left Bank of Paris the way I was feeling after our delightful meal and the atmosphere that Melbourne projects.A great night out!The Deck is not huge maybe seats 40 and and some and at first sight maybe a little unimpressive and cramped but it all unfolds wonderfully from the moment of first contact with the personnel.I recommend The Deck to you and I plan to visit again soon in the Spring or Summer at a table outside on the deck to take in the views across the Yarra River towards Flinders Street station and Melbourne's skyline - truely a picture.Cheers,TheosTruthFoodie - The Truth, The Whole Truth and Nothing But The Truth.

We had a group booking, read the menu online but when we got there it was quite different. It was limited, not what we would have chosen had that been the menu shown online. The waiter was great but the food let it all down. There was one dish that was quite good but the others were sub par for a restaurant of this type. Would we go again? No. Would we recommend? No,

Value for money restaurants near the theatres are difficult to find and this is one of the best. Great atmosphere, friendly efficient service and innovative food make this small eatery hard to beat.