MELBOURNE | Commune Group, the people behind several popular Melbourne restaurants, including New Quarter, Tokyo Tina, and Moonhouse, opened Firebird in 2020. It’s a modern-Australian restaurant putting a Vietnamese spin on the ‘cooking things over fire’ trend that’s been sweeping across Melbourne.
The kitchen isn’t a completely open one, but you can peer in and see the action happening at the rear of the restaurant. It looks over a spacious 100 seat dining room marked by natural tones, and a bar with casual seating to the side.
Ex-Sunda sous chef Nabil Ansari took over as head chef early this year, keeping the restaurant’s signature dishes on the menu, and adding several new creations of his own. Scotch quail eggs with chive sate and salted duck egg relish are a must order, as are the grilled squid noodles with caramelised nuoc cham, witlof, and papaya.
Out of the larger dishes, two are hard to separate. You have to order the canh chua pipis, with intense bursts of tamarind, charred pineapple, and sawtooth coriander. It’s served with a large, wood-fired Chinese doughnut. Also must try is the fire-roasted lamb rump cap with green viet sate and curry jus. The lamb is wonderfully tender and the fat melts in your mouth.
For rice, it’s hard to go past the clay pot aromatic tomato fried rice. Mixed with blistered cherry tomatoes, cured egg yolk, and Thai basil, it’s an umami-drive delight. Level it up by adding the optional flame-grilled bone marrow with finger lime.
If you’re looking for dessert, check out the “Hot and Cold Vietnamese Coffee”. It’s a Vietnamese coffee and condensed milk parfait with hot chocolate mousse and cacao nibs.
The flavour theme of the food menu carries over to the bar. Classics with South East Asian flavours, like the gin sour, which contains grapefruit, shiso, and citrus. Beers and wines are a mix of local and imported options. Fun drops that cover all of the bases and pair well with the food.
Firebird
233 High Street
Prahran
Victoria 3181
Australia
Telephone: (03) 9088 8093
E-mail: [email protected]
Website
Open
Mon – Thu: 5:30pm to 10:00pm
Fri: 5:30pm to 11:00pm
Sat – Sun: 12:00pm to 4:00pm, 5:30pm to 11:00pm