Burma Lane

For a public holiday evening and without a reservation I am so happy Burma Lane were able to accommodate my husband and I for dinner. The food is sensational and if you’re looking for a good selection of vegetarian dishes there is plenty on the menu. We ordered the samosas, pickled tea leaf salad, scallops and the paratha. All were divine. The tea leaf salad was a stand out dish for me and would highly recommend trying it. The service was terrific. The décor is lovely and stylish. The ambience is classy and spacious with good acoustics (very important). The restaurant is on the pricy side but I am more than happy to pay for good food and service. I will definitely be back and would recommend a meal here.

Great, fresh food. Large venue and takes bookings. Staff could have been more attentive and were in a huge hurry to get us off our table as soon as we finished. Food is good enough to forgive this!

Located in the old Mahjong building the Bruma Lane team has done a bit of a re-​model. It is fairly swish versus what I suspect you actually get in Burma however this should appeal to the city crowd in the buildings nearby (like me!).
The food is what I came for though and it really hit the mark. I’m not sure that I have tried Burmese food before but I was very happy with the $ 35 lunch set (minimum of two people) and went with the lamb (disintegrated at a touch), pork belly (sweet, crispy, suckling goodness), potato cakes (also crispy tastiness) and the fish cakes.
I’ll be back to this place to try out other menu items and hope that it is a success!

Absolutely delicious! Wonderful flavours beautifully put together
It’s certainly a place to go to treat yourself as is a little pricy but great place for a date– get a few dishes and share
Yum

Having recently returned from Burma, I can say that the food and dining experience at Burma Lane is nothing like the authentic experience, but this restaurant is surely a Melbourne dining competitor, especially considering it’s one of few Burmese restaurants around town.
It’s obvious that this restaurant is going for an East meets West theme. The menu is designed for sharing and consists of: small bites, salads, bigger bites and desserts. The dishes are presented well and clean on the plate. Individual condiments are brought out as they would in Burma to complement the flavours of each dish, which is a nice touch. And in case you didn’t already know, Burmese food is a blend of Chinese, Indian and Thai cuisine, so there’s always a mixed-​bag of delicious and exotic flavours. Curries are a main focus and are generally dry rather than wet and have a taste like no other. Meals are always served with rice, soup, condiments and a plate of green vegetables.
Mark ‘The Terrifying Sharptooth’ and I tasted the ‘19^th street crispy pork’ with lemon, cumin and chilli. Pork and cumin is a match made in heaven, so this was absolutely delicious and the crackle on top just melted in the mouth. I could have eaten three ‘potato cakes’ filled with spicy slow roasted lamb belly, cabbage salad and mint yoghurt, because they were just that good! The ‘broad bean fritter’ with crunchy broad beans and spinach relish was deliciously different, but the ‘shan noodles’ with slow cooked chicken, peanuts, green onion, chilli, coriander and crispy shallots didn’t impress as much as the other dishes. It was rather bland, and didn’t deliver on flavour. We ate at a restaurant called Shan Noodle in Yangon, and this contemporary version really missed the mark.
Interior wise, it’s nothing like what you’d find in a local Burmese restaurant. Normally a makeshift dining space with crates for tables and toddler seats for chairs, not exactly what you’d find on a high-​end strip. Ironically, a large image of Burmese Opposition Leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, presides over the modern and dark polished split-​level interior. Burmese birdcages with western chandeliers decorate the high ceilings, whilst photos and artwork adorn the walls.
The service could be better. Staff were friendly, but not attentive. We were left standing at the entrance for a long time before being greeted, and our booking wasn’t ready for us when we arrived. Our table received the wrong tables drinks and food numerous times and grabbing a waiter to take our orders was often difficult.
Still an enjoyable restaurant to try a unique cuisine.