Newmarket Hotel

The milestone about this review is that Newmarket is the first place I dined at during my year living in Melbourne. The menu was complicated but maybe because I’m American. Everyone I was with were residents and even some of them had difficulty.
So I started with drinks, I’m beer only, and there is an American Pale Ale called Hop Thief and an Indian called Little Creatures. Recommend both.
As for food they are all over the place with the menu. BBQ, fish tacos, steak and potatoes, etc… not a bad thing but kind of no identity. So I ordered the soft shell crab tacos, guacamole, and mashed black beans. I come to realise that all that didn’t even equal up to one American portion. Just an observation as a Chicagoan who EATS! The things I ordered were just alright at that. Pictures looked better and made the food look larger in portion. I’m being extra patriotic right now but I would want to know.
I keep telling myself to maybe go again and try the steak as another person I was with ordered but I’m also like whatever. Real nice place, in St. Kilda, and my tab with the two beers was $ 40. Didn’t pay much but didn’t get much.

This is my second time to the NM with a group from work. It was pretty empty when we arrived but filled right up throughout the night. They were able to fit in around my dietary requirements with the feed me menu option which was great.
The staff were friendly and attentive and its a great St. Kilda option.

As I was wandering along Inkerman St I say what looked like the shell of a building located where the pub that I was trying to find was located. I rolled my eyes thinking that another pub that I was looking for had closed down, however when I got closer I discovered that it was pretty much an illusion. The old building is just a reinforced wall while the pub, or should I actually say very classy restaurant, is in a glasshouse inside. The area between the old wall and the glass house is an outdoor dining area, though there are some tables at the front that is for people to have a quiet drink as opposed to a feed. Mind you, as I have suggested, this is a very classy restaurant (that even has wine on tap) so not is not really my place, but I still quite liked the aesthetics of the place.

The fantastic ambiance is probably the best thing going for the Newmarket Hotel.
The food is pretty good — though not phenomenal. We had blue corn tacos and yellowfin ceviche for entrees which were filled with fresh herbs and seasonal ingredients, very tasty.
For mains, my BBQ brisket was, alas, a disappointment. The meat was wonderfully tender, but insufficiently smokey, unseasoned and served with a Carolina-​style vinegar sauce — which is pretty much sacrilege if you’re a BBQ aficionado. (Vinegar sauce is really made for pork, not winning flavours with beef.) My partner’s John Dory steak was initially forgotten, then came out very late and with mussels (not advertised on the menu) which he doesn’t eat. Another plate sans mussels was prepared and the replacement was awful. It looked like an off-​cut from the tail of the fish and was full of bones and inedible.
The saving grace in this first world fiasco was our wonderful server who was absolutely lovely and did everything in her power to keep us happy, bringing us drinks and some small plates to make up for the fish. She deserves a raise — if it hadn’t been for her my partner would have gotten super grumpy — but as it was we left reasonably satisfied.
Overall, not super impressed but I loved the space and would come back again sometime and give it another chance.

This place is a little hard to find. You would never know how nice and cool it is from the outside. The service is great and the food was also.

Overpriced and portions are small. The food is above average but not worth they money they charge. The waiters have attitude and service is slow — maybe I went on a bad night (Thursday) spend your money elsewhere is what I suggest unless you’re a yuppie then it’s probably a place where you want to be seen.

Hands-​down, one of my favourite restaurants in Melbourne. This place is just the best. The food is amazing, service is great, and the décor is hell cool. Why do I only have two thumbs? I want to give more

Too expensive, snobby staff. Food came out really cold. Some items great other parts fail

On arrival, even though we had booked, we had about a 20 min wait for our table. They did provide us with complimentary guacamole to make up for this which was a nice touch.
We were given a table in the ‘communal dining area’. It’s a nice, light environment but was very loud and noisy which made dinner conversation a little difficult.
The tacos were fantastic and I wished we had ordered more starters rather than the main courses of steak and ribs. The starters and sides were much better. The steak was good but nothing special and the ribs weren’t ribs. They were really really fatty pieces of what seemed like pork belly.
Overall, a great atmosphere and good meal.

On the one hand, I want to love this place because the space is freaking amazing, the service is attentive and friendly, and the food is delicious.
On the other hand, the prices are insane for what you get. $ 8 for a single taco that’s about the size of a baby’s palm? Are you kidding me? Between my friend and I, we ended up having our two baby-​palm-​sized tacos each, shared another main, and had two drinks each. Total bill? $ 180. Geez.
I understand that it’s more of an upscale dining establishment, but tacos are by their very nature «peasant» food. Tortillas are probably the cheapest food imaginable. When I was in LA recently, I had delicious tacos from a street cart for $ 1 each! While I know those prices just don’t exist here, it seems a bit over the top for Newmarket to be charging 800% more for microscopic tacos.
So, yeah, I don’t know if I’ll be going back anytime soon, but if you have loads of cash to burn, Newmarket is as good a place to do it as any!

The Newmarket Hotel can be confusing for those looking to compartmentalise their dining experience. As written by others the origins of the menu are somewhat eclectic (however in my opinion this need not be a bad thing if done well). Yes, yes, Spain is in Europe, Mexico is in North America and Argentina is in South America. So what … there are plenty restaurants happily confusing Thai, Indo, Vietnamese, Chinese and Malay dishes.
If you need to compartmentalise then just assume you’re dining in San Franciso or Santa Monica, where this style of menu is a standard.
We had a dinner table of 14 enjoying the $ 75 fixed menu. Overall whilst not the best value it was fairly spot on in terms of the attentive service, smooth flow of dishes and knowledgable wait staff. Not to mention the architectural designer feel of the venue.
Perhaps not the best place for a smaller group of say 2 – 4 (due to the noise and the difficulty in sharing meals with a small number of guests) but well worth the effort for a larger number of guests.
With respect to the wine list — warning — you’ll have a choice of clean skin style carafes or an expensive international wine list (with no Australian wines) that start at around $ 50 and head up to $ 500 per bottle. Check the website for the wine list before you go if you’re dining with a wine enthusiasts.

Great service, but very average food.

Best Mexican place in Melbourne. Well strictly speaking its ‘Californian’ which is a bit of a mix. Had amazing mussels, kingfish and salads. Absolutely coking back. The only thing was that it was a little loud which can be a good thing sometimes.

Continuing my quest for fantastic Mexican-​inspired food, led me to the Newmarket Hotel in St Kilda. This is yet another Melbourne Pub Group property which has eluded me until recently and I was encouraged to seek it out after my pleasant experience at its newborn sister, the Acland St. Cantina last month. Chef Paul Wilson is responsible for both the menu at the Newmarket Hotel and the Acland St. Cantina, so I knew that I wasn’t in for a surprise, but more so a continuation of the goodness that was afforded to me at the aforementioned cantina last month.
Walking along Inkerman Street and spotting the façade of the Newmarket Hotel, I thought I was in some sort of Margaret Atwood penned dystopian fiction where the multinationals had turned the suburbs into industrial ghettos so I was really surprised when I set foot into the place and found both an ambience and setting that contrasted completely with the outside façade. One certainly should not judge a book by its cover.
Open plan dining is certainly on offer and you are able to take advantage of good weather when we have it in Melbourne by enjoying drinks or ultimately food and cigarettes on the deck that borders the perimeter of the restaurant. The front dining room can take advantage of the abundance of fresh air when the sliding windows are fully open and there is a small amount of natural light that enters the restaurant in the forward area.
Like with the other Melbourne Pub Group properties, the bar takes centre stage and is a focal point of the dining room. It sits further back in the restaurant though and given that both smaller tables are littered in between high wooden tables, it makes for not only a smart fit-​out but is appealing to the eye with the high ceiling.
The menu changes noticeably between the afternoon and the evening and at lunch there are $ 5 tacos on offer. After commencing with the guacamole ($ 5) which has pineapple infused into it, made it one of the best guacamoles that I have had served to me in a restaurant, I ran the gamut of most of tacos that were available since I continue to look for the stand-​out place in Melbourne that does the best «street food» which included those that were on special and others that were more adventurous.
Paul Wilson is inspired by his travels in California and Mexico and has a menu that clearly demonstrates a fascination for the area. These days Mexican-​inspired cuisine is blended between California and Mexico despite without regard to a national border but because of the high Mexican population in California, the cuisine has gradually been bastardised. The grilled snapper taco, heirloom tomatoes, rocket and new season garlic aioli ($ 8) is an example of the bastardisation. The quality morsel of snapper that occupies 25% of the taco enables you to effectively have one taste of it even though it takes a total of four bites to finish the product leaves the diner satisfied because the fish is prepared perfectly combined with the quality of the produce but it really doesn’t substitute for «street food» where some whiting is quickly grilled and pulled apart so that every taste allows the punter to enjoy the taste of fish throughout the experience.
Moving on to the soft shell crab taco, guacamole, shaved fennel, spicy corn and tomatillo salsa ($ 8.5) certainly allows the California influence shine and it was recommended by the server who when we heard like spice, thought this would be a great way to showcase the merging of the flavours and heat. She was right and I did not feel the need to add any habanero chilli sauce to this (or any of the tacos for that matter) as there was an ample amount of seasoning and I enjoyed the quality of the produce which is not usually so prominent in Mexican-​inspired food.
A soft taco with pork carnitas, baby gem, pickled pineapple and hot adobe sauce ($ 8) was one of my favourites. Once again, there was a fair amount of heat and the carnitas was presented in a chunk instead of being pulled over the entire taco. I enjoyed the carnitas however I would have liked to have tasted it with every bite and not just one.
Two of the specials, the pig soft taco ($ 5) and also the poached chicken ($ 5) were also ordered. The pig was probably the most tame of the all of the meats that was consumed and it shouldn’t be confused with the pork carnitas. The poached chicken was once again another example of the California influence on Mexican food. Although it was tasty, you really expect a grilled flavour to be the primary taste however the great fresh produce was a healthy if not surprising pleasant alternative.
I am looking forward to returning soon and not only getting stuck into the pitchers of alcoholic beverages but also trying Paul Wilson’s wood roasted goat. That dish has been evangelised in the press and it certainly gives me a reason to return — if not to further enjoy this interpretation of Mexican and California foods.

A lesson in geography:
Spain is in Europe.
Mexico is in North America.
Argentina is in South America.
None of these places have culinary traits in common. Similarly, none of the outrageously confused dishes on Newmarket’s menu could be attributed to any these countries.
I can’t take a restaurant seriously that tries to serve «Spanish tacos» or «Latin paella». Wtf are zucchini blossoms doing in a quesadilla? Are you seriously trying to pass collard greens off as an appropriate pairing to parrilla? I think my head might explode over the regional fallacies (and overwhelming pretension) of Newmarket’s menu.
I also reserve a special layer of disdain for any establishment that denies patrons substitutions for food allergies. Not cool.
My $ 60 dinner included confounded complications, unhelpful staff, and getting booted from the table the instant we finished eating. No lingering allowed — drinks had to be consumed outside.
I award 2 stars only because of the stunning venue and the bar. I won’t eat here again.

If you are looking for a reason to go to the Newmarket then there are many. To name a few:
— deserts. They are delicious with a Latin twist. My main reason for coming here.
— beer. Wide selection of draft and bottled beers. Yum.
— tapas. Try the potato skins, you know you want to!

Great food. Great ambience. Good service. Yummy cocktails. What, I need to say more?
A basket of corn chips and guacamole to start, with couple of really good cocktails. Soft-​shell crab for me, pork for L — taco entrees are good, very good. BBQ ribs for L, harpuka with seaweed and cactus and scallops for me; mains are delightful. Chocolate pot for L, pavlova with caramelised pineapple and lime shavings for me = sweet tooth satisfied.
We had a friendly waitress, and the atmosphere and service were really good. Two negatives: $ 12 for a basket of corn chips and guacamole is a little cheeky, and the per-​glass wine list was too small. Feels a little like nit-​picking, but there it is.
Would recommend in a heartbeat.

This place is fun. I went on a Friday night with some friends and we had a ball. Wine by the carafe (not as scary as it sounds!) and a ton of delicious, fresh and shareable Mexican food and we were happy campers.
This is the perfect restaurant to head for a drink and rowdy meal with a group of friends. I would even say it would be a fun place to meet someone if you were going for a casual drink but wanted a nice bite.
It’s trendy, it’s in St. Kilda, but I don’t think it takes itself too seriously. Our waitstaff were brilliant and it’s no where near as pretentious as you may think.

Even though I’m generally not a fan of trendy gastropubs and have an aversion to hyped up, «too cool for school» type of restaurants (simply because I am neither trendy nor cool), I couldn’t help but really like the Newmarket Hotel. Their food is just too good!
I love Latin American food and just street food in general, so their menu appealed to me greatly (especially with their relatively wide range of vegetarian options). And it didn’t disappoint. The guacamole was fresh and flavoursome, the huitlacoche quesadilla was smoky and cheesy, and the (triple cooked!!) patatas bravas were just plain tasty. Even though we were full to the brim, we just had to try dessert (it was a birthday after all) — the chilli and chocolate ice cream had a great kick, with the chilli balancing out the richness of the chocolate. We left Newmarket significantly fuller but oh so happy.
The things I didn’t like? The prices and the at times faintly aloof service. But this won’t stop me from returning, although it will definitely need to be a special occasion!

I dunno.
I *want* to give Newmarket 4 stars, but I have a huge problem with the pricing Vs serving size.
As an «honorary Texan», I’m well versed in Ameri-​Mex food, which is the theme of the menu at Newmarket. The menu selection is broad, and will have you struggling to make a decision, as most of the sections are so appealing.
They’re pretty known for their bone marrow tacos, but I opted for the chicken wing ones. The flavours of the dish impeccable and authentic, but when the served places the plate in front of us, and I saw the size of the taco, I was taken aback. $ 9 for a taco with a 4″ diameter? Harsh. Sorry, tortillas are infititely cheap to produce. And this wasn’t specialty meat. Why so expensive? Or perhaps, why not full size?
Other mains come in around the $ 30 mark. They have a large selection of steaks too, up to $ 60, but as is common with many Melbourne fine dining places now, your $ 45 steak comes with nothing but meat. Any sides are an optional extra, which can make for a pricey night out.
All in all, for sure a place you should try at least once, but having recently paid $ 1.50 for the most amazing tacos while travelling in Texas, the $ 9 taco has left a stinging memory.