The Dandenong Pavilion

This place is known for their burgers but i’ve never actually tried a burger from here. That’s more like my husbands kind of food. I always get the lamb ribs or the lamb&rosmary risotto. It’s soooo good! I actually had the risotto tonight for my nephews 6^th birthday. This place is a yearly ritual for us for his birthday. Dessert after dinner is a must here. My favourite would easily be the peanut butter parfait but the mini nutella donuts are also the bomb. The restaurant is very spacy with lots of tables inside and outside and can cater for large groups with a private section for parties. Friendly staff and the service is above average for such a busy restaurant even on week nights. Highly recommended if you’re around the area

This has been on my burger hit list for some time now. ever since it came on the burger radars of the GFG n Burger Adventures… and finally tonight the planets aligned… the dandy pav is on the site of the old pancake parlour. similar setup to hogs in décor and feel.
Competition is tough but when ur named the best! I had to try it. from their separate burger menu I decided to go with the Giro. Beef patty, melted swiss cheese, braised lamb with truffle mayonnaise. the General sounded too heavy and the Tsar. well will give it a go next time.
The burger was fantastic! Juicy meat and with the right amount of melted cheese (this got a bit too much for me near the end). very nice touch to have small pickles served on the side. in case needed to balance out the heavy combo of an all meat burger served with cheese and mayo. For the meat lover this is the one! I don’t think there is a signature burger here but will def try the Tsar next time…
Anyhoooo… was it that good to deserve the #1 slot ??? IMHO and YMMV… a gd burger it is but I would probably only come back only to try the other burger to give it a go. The Giro is boring and uninspiring. I was expecting a «wow» factor from the #1 but it lacked complexity in flavour and the heavy cheese mayo sauce drowned out everything. It took away the taste and flavour of what was a very good patty! In one word «forgettable».
In writing this I am convincing myself that I ordered the wrong burger or that my expectations too high for melb’s #1?
Still I’d rate the Chew Burger as the best burger and Laurie Dee’s #2. May revisit dandy pav to try the Tsar. But on tonight’s forgettable burger choice alone. nah. and again this is my opinion only. give this joint a go and make up ur own mind :)

The burgers are insane, i have been wanting to try this place for a while now, but i have kind of forgotten it existed. HELLO HERE WE ARE I AM GOING TO BE A REGULAR. The burger i had was called the general and it had the beef pattie along with shredded roast beef and heaps of cheese kind of sauce it was UNREAL. My partner had the jyro burger and it was a beef patty with shredded lamb, cheese and mustard and jalapeños it was delicious both burgers were huge and filling. I also got a blue heaven milkshake which was BEAUTIFUL.

I was probably too late to discover this place the other day. Living at just a stone throw, I should have come here a long long time ago.
A nice smiling person welcomed us in and got us the seats we requested (closest to the heater as it was damn cold). We ordered Chicken Parmigiana and Veg Spaghetti. I must say the size of that parmigiana was way too big than I expected and just by looking at the size, I knew I won’t even finish half of it.
The moment I had the first bite, I was regretting not visiting this place long time ago. It was probably the most delicious parmigiana I ever had. The salad had amazing garlic sauce and the chips were absolutely delicious and surprisingly I didn’t leave anything on the plate.
I did try the spaghetti as well but being a non-​vegetarian, probably it wasn’t my thing but yeah it was tasty enough for me to try it once in a while.
We finished our meal with coffee and OMG it was amazing. The barista know the real meaning of Cappuccino. Creamy, great texture and absolutely the sort of sweetness I would expect when I say 3−½ sugars.
The customer service was absolutely the best and couldn’t be beaten.
Absolutely a 5* place and a must visit for good lunch and dinner.

I love this place. The owner Danny and his staff are friendly and caring, the interior is contemporary but comfortable, and the food is first class. The lamb and rosemary risotto is an all time favourite for me but there are lots of other great things to eat here too. Their beef burgers are good enough for many to cross town for, but for me, the calamari or their open souvlaki are my next favourite meals. This place has set the standard for contemporary dining in Dandenong ever since they opened and draws a crowd to prove it. It’s not the Fat Duck, but it is the bomb in this part of town! They have pared the menu down a bit of late and taken off some of my old favourites, otherwise I’d give this a 5.

Stopped in for lunch awhile ago, and though the lot seems small, it has quite ample parking. The inside was just as surprisingly spacious as well. The lunch rush was not as busy for a Tuesday. We opted to sit outside in their back patio since it was such a gorgeous day. (They have one in the back and one out front)
We started with their oysters which had just been shipped in fresh that day. They were cooked oysters since I was getting off a bad stomach flu. The sauce was a bit salty for my taste but that may have been with the influence of the bacon that accompanied it. For my main meal I had the lobster rolls which come in two. They are each about the size of my small hands and came with a side of chips. Thank goodness for the chips because I was kinda disappointed with the small size of the rolls. My dining companion ordered the eye filet which made my eyes widen when the dish came out. Definitely something pretty heavy for lunch and would leave me with a heart attack or the meat sweats. But they were able to polish it off quite well with little trouble. This also comes with your choice of salad or fries but I don’t see how you would have room to touch it. Overall it was a nice day for a nice lunch. The service is very friendly but the food does take a bit of time. I wish I had ordered a cocktail since the wait for the food took awhile.

Brilliant!!! Brilliant food. Brilliant service. Brilliant atmosphere.
The food was sensational. We had a big party so we tried everything from burgers (be sure to ask for their secret burger menu or you won’t get it), pasta, steak and salads and everyone was wrapped with their meal.
The service was excellent. Efficient, friendly and nothing was too much trouble. We bought a birthday cake along and they put sparklers on it and gave us plates and spoons and napkins at no charge. It was great.
Everything is really reasonably priced and the portions are huge! But more importantly, the quality is top notch. Really really good comfort food. Next time though I am going to make a point of trying their desserts-​they looked amazing.
My only advice is to book well in advance as the place was packed and it took us a couple of weeks to get in.
Very highly recommended though

Dandenong Pavilion truly is a south eastern gem.
It has a really varied menu (it can be difficult to decide which dishes to choose from!) and the service is really good without being in your face.
I had someone tell me that it was ‘like sizzler’ and that person is a liar because the atmosphere is really nice. It’s been busy every time I have been but no loud music, you can still talk easily even on a table of six or more.
If there is a group of you having dessert the Return of the Mack is quite large and really yummy, like a massive brownie dessert for 4 or more. it doesn’t feel so bad if you share with a few people. I have also had the crème brûlée and it was TOP SHELF.
I don’t usually have high expectations for somewhere so ‘middle of nowhere’ but I honestly can’t wait for my next trip (with friends — hello Return of the Mack) to The Pav!

Super good! Great environment, great food, great service!
Had the dragon salad with chicken (had lots of olive oil. Just the way I liked it!) The lamb suvalaki was very nice as well!
Will def back soon!

So today as promised I returned to the Pavilion for round 2. This was the ultimate test I think as I went in with very high expectations from the last meal and they did not fail! I brought my mum with me this time whose usually a very fussy eater, it takes a lot for her to say something is fantastic and that’s exactly what she did. They food was brilliant if not better! My sister also came along and loved it!
Today I re-​ordered the 400g Medium Rare Rib Eye steak with garlic prawns and garlic sauce, my sister ordered the Lamb Kebab and my mum ordered the Caesar Salad with extra anchovies. Everything was presented beautifully and once again the service of the staff was punctual, polite, GENUINE and well orchestrated. You didn’t have to tackle a staff member to get extra sauce or to even order your meal. Refilling your glass with water, bringing you more water when yours is warm or even asking if everything is alright are just some of the service that comes standard at this restaurant.
They impressed me once again and have taken over the top ranking of my restaurant list and I will be returning for my 21^st birthday this year with the rest of my family to celebrate!