With a revamped menu and Italian Yum Cha offering, there’s no better place in Richmond to visit post lockdown.
This year, the Grand Dining room celebrates its 18th birthday, and in a city like Melbourne with a constantly evolving restaurant scene, you know it’s got to be pretty good to stand the test of time. For almost two decades, the Grand Hotel’s Dining Room has been the go-to for classic Italian cuisine, and while the old favourites remain, the team behind the scenes have added some exciting new dishes to the lineup that you’ll want to check out.
With Japanese born chef Maro Koboyashi at the helm as Head Chef, visitors to The Grand Dining Room can expect dishes with Italian roots, interpreted for the modern palate, with the flair of Japanese techniques. Koboyashi, originally from Hiroshima, began his career in Japan before venturing to the USA, where he made a name for himself as a sous chef at the two Michelin starred Marea, one of New York’s finest Italian restaurants. Since hitting the sunny shores Down Under, Koboyashi worked as a sous chef at The Grand Dining Room before being promoted to Head Chef just before the pandemic shut down Melbourne for the best part of 2020. Ready to serve Melburnians again, Koboyashi and the team at The Grand are excited to welcome back guests to dine on their modern Italian cuisine.
At The Grand Dining Room, you’ll find all of your favourite Italian classics. The antipasti menu offers up irresistible options such as San Daniele prosciutto and wagyu bresaola, salami Picante, chardonnay pickled Giardiniera and plenty more to satisfy your grazing desires. While standouts from the Primi menu are undoubtedly the Negroni Cured Kingfish Crudo and Koboyashi’s signature dish, the tiger prawn ravioli with chilli butter and pangrattato.
If you’re looking for the perfect main that marries classic Italian flavours with a wow factor, we reckon you should check out the Wild Boar Ragu Lasagna. If that doesn’t tickle your fancy, you can’t go wrong with The Grand Dining Room’s locally sourced, rotating market fish and aged steaks of the day.
If you’re a serial menu peruser, paralysed by the paradox of choice, then you’re going to love The Grand Dining Room’s Italian Yum Cha: all of your favourite Italian dishes, served Yum Cha style on the first Sunday of the month. Who needs to choose when you can have a bit of everything? Think steamed baskets of tortellini, mini pizzas, croquettes, little lasagne, signature gnocchi, beautiful crudo, bomboloni, and more. If you can’t make it on a Sunday, but would still love to try a random assortment of The Grand Dining Room’s favourites, hit up the Chef’s Menu for six dishes carefully curated by the Chef to give you The Grand Dining Room experience – and at just $65, you can’t go wrong.
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