The $12 dumplings represent unbeatable value. And they are tasty. They also do a $25 Sunday special of two courses which is the cost of a fancy North Melbourne brekky! The service is very pleasant and professional and they seem to have taken the cosy (carby) European vibe to heart.

First time at this restaurant went well. The service is fantastic. Meals and drinks came out quickly. The waiter had great knowledge of wine and food. He answered all our questions.
The dumplings were delicious, the smoked Salmon was tasty also. And the mixed donuts yummy.

Overall though I found it a little to pricey for what you got. Small dishes that just made it around four people. Salmon was really small too. The entre calamari was tiny also, only one small piece each.

Approximate cost: $31.00

Went to The Crimean for a Christmas dinner with some friends last year and the service was impeccable the moment we arrived. We booked our table for 7pm but unfortunately we arrived around 30-40mins late, but they still held the table for us and we started the night off with bread and butter and some light drinks. I had the Zubrowka & Apple, which is basically vodka and apple juice and fresh lime - a perfect summery drink for a warm night in Melbourne.



We started off with some entrees to share. We ordered the beef and pork dumplings with sour cream and horseradish. Though it was very tasty, it did remind me a lot of yumcha beef dumplings, so it was nothing special. The wagyu pastrami with sour cream and horseradish was absolutely divine. The wagyu was thinly sliced and cooked perfectly. The sour cream and horseradish complement the wagyu very well. The stand-out entree, however, was the cabbage and mushroom dumplings with creamy cauliflower puree and pickled purple cabbages. I could probably eat a few plates of them as the main! The dumpling was cooked perfectly and the filling was so flavoursome. The cauliflower puree was very sweet and creamy that I just started spreading it on some bread!



For my main I had the smoked salmon fillet, eggs and boil potato topped with shaved radish and red-orange fish eggs. The salmon was cooked perfectly, though I felt that it was a bit too salty. The potato and egg helped balance out the saltiness a bit, but I just thought that it could do with a mini salad on the side.



For dessert, my friend and I had the Crimean Mess, which had sour cherries, chocolate icecream, walnut brittle and meringue. The dessert was in a small cup so it's probably usually for just 1 person, but the chocolate icecream was very rich, so I would have probably struggled to finish it myself. The sour cherries worked so well with the chocolate icecream and every so often you'll bite into a crunchy walnut brittle or a chewy meringue, which just adds some fantastic texture to the dessert!

Overall, the night was fab. This was my first time at a Hungarian restaurant and I loved it! The service was amazing and we didn't have to wait long for each of the meals to come out. The atmosphere was intimate as well, though not too quiet and the tables weren't ridiculously close to one another. Great dining place to go to with a group of friends (Though I encourage you to book in advance if it's a Friday or Saturday night). Stand out dish was the cabbage and mushroom dumplings with cauliflower puree!

Approximate cost: $30

It's really hard to find an Eastern European restaurant, let alone a good one! So we were pleasantly surprised with our experience at the Crimean restaurant. My husband first read about it in the Age and we booked in to go as soon as we could.

Being Eastern European myself, I know that it's hard to turn traditional peasant food into fine dining fare. They managed to do this at the Crimean. We started off with beef & pork pelmeni and a shopska salad. The shopska was prepared exactly right, with the tomatoes and cucumbers sliced very thin.

For mains, I had the salmon which was cooked to perfection and absolutely delicious with potato, egg and fish roe accompaniments. My husband had the guveche which he quite liked as well. We indulged and got the duck fat roasted potatoes. We probably didn't need them as we were quite full, but who can resist?

Finally, for dessert, my husband had the quark fritters with apricot brandy which he enjoyed and I had the pumpkin strudel with gingerbread ice cream which was ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!!! The flavours complemented each other so well, it really was a new taste sensation.

The staff were genuinely kind and friendly. They were attentive throughout the night, they gave us all the information we needed about the food on the menu and the attention they paid to detail was first class. One example of this was when they moved us to a different table when they saw that the area we were sitting in was a little bit too loud.

The decor of the restaurant is quite tasteful; they really pulled out all the stops. One of the owners walks around with a trolley of exotic spirits which you can order from. The whole place is really quite charming.

All in all, a wonderful experience. We will definitely be going back!