Dandelion

Lovely restaurant, excellent food, gorgeous selection, unique cocktails, a beautiful experience…

The food here is delicious, though some of the things are a little overpriced. Nice, modern set up. Bar staff are great, floor service could be better. The chicken wings and Buddha roll are fantastic, as are the soups. We also visited for full moon crab night and the mud crab was of high quality. A tasty experience and we will be returning. Fine dining Vietnamese.

Elwood is a little out of my patch (and considering I live in St Kilda, my patch is obviously quite small), but Dandelion came highly recommended so I headed over there for Sunday lunch today.
They have a selection of tasting menus ranging from $ 58 to $ 78, but these are for two people minimum so I ordered a few snacks instead. First of these was from the «Wrap and Roll» section — Antarctic King Crab spring roll. This was wrapped in lattice rice paper and came with a little bowl of chilli and ginger dipping sauce and some lettuce leaves. Crunchy and tasty.
Next up were three Tiger prawns coated in green rice and deep fried, also served with lettuce leaves to wrap them in and Nuoc Cham for dipping. Also very nice.
I’d saved the best until last as it turned out; Peking duck broth with bean sprouts and Vietnamese mint. The soup was loaded with succulent strips of meat and lots of sliced onion. Really, really good, but I’d have to say the pork, prawn and egg noodle soup I had at Hanoi Hannah last time I was there probably just edged this one out.
This is the most expensive Vietnamese restaurant I’ve been to, but it’s very good. Service is fast and friendly and it has a modern, trendy ambience which I quite like.

This place has the most amazing food — fresh, full of flavor, not too spicy and beautifully presented. We ordered 4 dishes to share — then 4 deserts — and I can honestly say every dish was excellent. They were very busy and the service was a bit slow but otherwise a great experience.

Has to be the worst service in Melbourne… The waiter was clearing up the first course while one of our party was still eating! Food was great but the value average… frankly for a Geoff Lindsay (ex-​Pearl) establishment I expect way more. Very disappointing

Dandelion offers some of the most innovative and delicious Vietnamese fusion cuisine I’ve had in some time. While tasty, Dandelion is not cheap.
Although Dandelion offers e a series of tasting menus on offer ranging from $ 58 and up (with whimsical names such as The Mountain, The Sea, and The River), we decided to go a la carte. Some of the standouts included the peking duck spring rolls (delicious, but pricey at $ 26 for 4 smallish rolls) and the fried tiger prawns. I had the «famous“ribs for my main which were definitely sweet and tender. It was served Vietnamese style which means it came with lettuce for wrapping, sauces for dipping, and noodles for filing. That said, I ate it the Western way which was not to wrap them but just eat the ribs right off the bones. For dessert get the Mano tarte tatin. It’s fantastic.
All in Dandelion is a great spot if you’re in the mood for creative Vietnamese food in Elwood, just be sure to bring that expense account. Also, be sure to book ahead… we went mid-​week and it was packed!

We had «The Mountain» sampler and was very impressed with the quality and quantity of the food. There were so many exquisite tastes and the pork is to die for. Great service and we will we back. Thank you Dandelion

Oh Dandelion. Your Vietnamese inspired and Asian fusion food is delicious. We feasted on Peking duck rolls, spicy eggplant, octopus salad and lamb brisket with multiple glasses of apple cider. The service, atmosphere and ambience is gorgeous and it’s a good night out in the heart of Elwood. My only quibble? It’s a tad pricey for what you get. The entrée of Peking duck rolls was $ 26 for four small ones that we shared. I’ll be back for a special occasion, but for my daily Vietnamese fix I’ll stick to Victoria Street.

Fantastic. Modern and clean setting. Really fresh ingredients. Spectacular presentation. Great specials for lunch and delicios phở. Great use of flavours. Love the plethora of fresh mint

Whoever determines the prices for their mediocre food is smoking crack. Your tab at Dandelion could probably buy you a ticket to Vietnam to eat more authentic food. Be more imaginative than throwing a small filet on top of some greens (there is both fish and chicken served like this) or having us look for the crab in one of your $ 50 entrees. Needless to say, I’ve had better hole in the wall Vietnamese at 2am.

As tempted as I am to make as many «phở» puns as I can in one review, I will refrain. Ruefully, but probably for the best.
Dandelion delivers fantastic food, good service and a pretty good ambience in a location not known for fine dining. There were seven of us for dinner at the 8pm sitting, and we all walked out agreeing that we’d happily go back.
We shared rice paper rolls of various types for entrée; all delicious, all well-​presented, all delivered in good time. The reason I mention time is that the staff were a little slow in taking both food and drink orders; 20+ minutes of sitting with water only isn’t exactly ideal.
Main course, we each went our own way. For me, phở with spanner crab. Wow. Light, yet complex, a balance of tomato and crab, a hint of citrus and spice, noodles and tofu rounding out the dish. Paired with a ’10 Mornington Peninsula Pinot Noir, it was superb. L loved her pork, my sister her chicken phở, and the others their selections from the grill.
One concern regarding the food: When you insist on having two sittings, it’s poor form to say something isn’t available because you’ve run out. You know there are tables booked in for that seating, anticipate that they want the full menu available to them.
The atmosphere was clean, but hard edges and plain walls meant that sound bounced; overall, «loud», but not deafening. OK for conversation, but louder than desirable.
Overall: Highly recommended. Asian cuisine with subtle yet complex, brilliant flavours in a well-​presented package.

Mmm tasty Vietnamese food! I’m a big fan of Vietnamese cuisine and it’s one of those cuisines that is usually associated with paper tables cloths (if any) and rubbing elbows with strangers over a big steaming bowl of Phở.
Which is what makes this higher-​end establishment a nice treat. Delicious Vietnamese in a more date-​friendly setting. I was taken here for my birthday last year and really keen to go again.
We did try the infamous «Epicure’s dish of the year» ribs which I must say were a big disappointment. Everything else was a delight though — so ignore the hype and just order what you feel like. Don’t expect magic, but do expect a warm and welcoming atmosphere and great Vietnamese food. It’s classy but casual and worth the occasional trip out of the city.

The menu is wonderful! Lots of lovely choices to share with your friends at the table — something to nibble on?, wrap and roll bar, salads, phở and friends, family dishes, coconut grill and sides. Those Peking duck rolls with spring onion, cucumber and hoi sin were the best mistake ever! The Soft shell crab and avocado with Mrs T’s magical sauce are phenominal and the Cambodian pork and peanut sausage with cucumber and roasted nut relish rock my world… read more at my blog

Geoff Lindsay (previous owner of Pearl) invites us to taste the rich and freshness of modern vietnamese cuisine. Every dish is a wow factor and somehow having us wanting more! Great service & atmosphere… Well done!