While living in Chinatown during my stay in Melbourne, I Unilocaled for a bit and found that Darac was super close to my apartment, so I thought I’d check it out with the family. The restaurant was on the small side, with cool décor and an atmosphere filled with steam from hotpots. Definitely somewhat divey, but we decided it was worth the wait and got a table after about 10 minutes. I ordered the grilled sashimi plate #1, which was my favorite dish of the night. Normally I love sashimi, but the light grilling provided by the blowtorch was not only a great show but also provided an interesting change in the salmon’s taste and texture; yum! The other dishes we ordered(tofu bimbambap, the soup with rice cakes, spicy beef plate) were decent and filling, but not as noteworthy. Keep in mind, I am not the biggest fan of spicy food, so Da-rack of spices used will bias me against Korean food, but the menu is so varied that I found many things to like.
O W.
Place rating: 5 Melbourne, Australia
Great cosy little venue. Signature dish is the army hotpot — cheese, various sausages, kimchi in a spicy soup. Add extras like ramen for a tasty satisfying dinner for two. Starters like the gyoza are top notch too.
Patrick M.
Place rating: 4 Melbourne, Australia
If you like spicy food, you should try this korean resturant. They do a mean sasuage stew, apparently they’re famous for it. Looking around as I ate, practically everyone was eating it so I guess it must be true ;)
Aletha C.
Place rating: 3 Canterbury, Australia
Set in an eclectic atmosphere, found myself puzzled by the random collective decorative items around the bar/café. Didn’t feel that it was the most Korea /Japanese theme but rather a try hard eclectic Melbourne style you sometimes see in cafés but doesn’t really work– I’m a designer that’s my design critique. Found the cutesie childish seat cushions on the chairs tacky. Probably enjoyed by international Asian students(homely) but for a local it’s not my thing. The grilled food was good quality. Highlight: burger patty– great flavours, fresh, a touch of spice. Also the nashi pear drink. I don’t drink alcohol so this was something nice to try. Those who drink alcohol add the Korean alcoholic wine to this which was a big hit with friends. Had grilled king prawns but they were dry and over cooked. The main course attraction to this place is their stewed hot pot which cooks at your table. It was tasty– but much unhealthier than traditional Korean stews. Reminded me a little of SPC tinned spaghetti with tomato and cheese. The down side to this hot pot is it’s FULL of processed meats, instant dried noodles which I am not a fan of. If you’re into healthy eating stay away from that dish and stick to grilled foods. Giving it three stars because I prefer healthy fresh cuisine and décor a bit weird.
Wendy F.
Place rating: 4 Melbourne, Australia
I love love love this place! My fav Korean restaurant in Melbourne cbd. It smells delicious as you walk in. Staff are friendly yet efficient and really who can go past a drunken frog cocktail? Not me. The bimimbap? was delicious. Good, cheap, comfortable, friendly, busy but you don’t have to wait long. I’ve tried mist things on the menu all good x
Nathan G.
Place rating: 4 Melbourne, Australia
Big, reasonably priced, potions of food that are definitely worth trying. They’re not at all stingy with the meat, which is great
Terrence L.
Place rating: 5 Manhattan, NY
Dolsot Bibimbap FIlled with Vegetables and Meat Sunshine Centre Awaits. 1. Come during lunch 2. Get Bibimbap 3. Let it rip That is all.
Emily C.
Place rating: 4 Montreal, Canada
Charming little restaurant with a homely feel. The lunch special is a great option and the small portion is plenty big. The spaghetti was so tasty I would gladly wolf down a big bowl. The beef bulgogi and chicken cutlet were also great.
Stuart M.
Place rating: 4 Australia
Tucked away in A’beckett street this Korean restaurant was all hustle and bustle on the Wednesday night we popped in. We ordered goysa, seafood, spicy chicken pancake, a signature dish that name of escapes me right now and spicy chicken balls. Service was a tad laid back, in a bad way, but the food was hot and tasty so we weren’t going to complain. The only dish that didn’t blow us away was the spicy chicken balls, the rest were enjoyable full of flavour and filling, in fact we ordered too much and had to take the chicken balls home, in a doggy bag.
Tresna L.
Place rating: 3 Melbourne, Australia
For someone who eats a lot of food, I’m actually pretty clueless when it comes to Korean food. Everything about it(spicy stuff, grilled meats and crazy soupy things) sounds like my kind of thing yet for some reason I’ve just not eaten a whole lot of it. Until now… Darac has been in my bookmarks now for some time and last night I finally got there for an early dinner. My dining companion and I shared the gyoza and then had a bibimbap each. The worst thing about this place? We waited for what seemed an eternity after ordering and I wanted to lunge myself across the table next to us to eat things from their bubbling cauldron of «stuff». It smelt amazing, btu having waited for 30 minutes for ANY food to arrive on my table meant I was about ready to chew my own arm off. Finally, the bibimbap arrived and shortly thereafter, our Gyoza(which sits under the Japanese banner rather than the Korean, but hey let’s not get technical). The filling was fresh, the dough soft and not greasy and the side dish of yuzu dipping sauce was amazing and lifted the seafood filling. The bibimbap? AWESOME. I’m all for participative dining, so anything I need to mix, assemble or play with is good in my book. Bimbimbap fits the brief, needing to be mixed up(with the accompanying mild and sweet sauce or the hot chilli EVIL) being being devoured. I drowned that bad boy in chilli sauce and loved that the hot clay bowl it comes served in continued to keep the whole dish hot throughout my eating frenzy. I’ll be back Darac… and I’ll probably give you more stars if the service gets better.
David H.
Place rating: 4 Australia
Darac Grill and Bar is a fabulous Korean restaurant in A’Beckett St CBD and a class above many others. This is a place that visits the fine dining realm with great ambience and smart service. The great vibe is as decent as the superb food and service. This place is full of quirky items from suspended aeroplanes to old sewing machines. Funky music plays while loud conversation fills the room. Someone planned this place well because everything hums nicely. Get out your pencil and creatively fill in the lunch menu. You know you’ve been working with documents all morning — here’s a chance to really make it count. The lunch special is fantastic with a choice within each of 3 options — from the rice to the main and finally the side dish. Staff were accommodating in helping me make my choices — I always want to know what is the popular dish to go for. I ordered the dumplings as entrée on one occasion and the octopus as the entrée(could have gone for crab meat) on another occasion. As well as steamed rice and the pork belly both times. The food was sensational and well presented. The dumplings are tasty albeit small. The octopus balls were delicate and flavoursome. The rice was cooked to perfection. And the pork belly was also done well, not dry, but marinated superbly and cooked wonderfully. It was all graced with a tasty small salad. I thought there and then that I will rave about this place. The ambience is cool throughout with the open kitchen, distressed look tables, the mismatched lamps, the cartoon on the wall and that cardboard moose. So much going on. You can also sit out the front and enjoy the ambience of A’Beckett Street.
Tim M.
Place rating: 5 Toronto, Canada
I love the food here! Best dolsot bibimbap in Melbourne. The timber décor is cosy and inviting. A great place to meet friends and eat great Korean food. This place is notorious for one traditional Korean dish that they won’t serve to the average schmo off the street due to its squeamish nature. This is a good place to go if you’re obsessed with finding Melbourne’s hidden gems.
Michael R.
Place rating: 4 Australia
Great little Korean/Jap place(emphasis on the Korean) in the north side of the city square. Well worth a visit, and the spicy chicken is a must!!! Yum :)
Irene C.
Place rating: 5 Melbourne, Australia
This is an adorable(and artsy) little Korean restaurant I discovered recently, and their food is really worth the mention. I had the vegetarian curry don(they do Korean and Japanese), and it was delicious. I crave it all the time! My friend got the spicy beef bulgogi and it was so good I bought one takeaway to share with my partner(big time bulgogi fan). He loved it so much, the next day we went back there for lunch. I much prefer their dinner menu to their lunch, at lunch it is a set menu where you choose 3 steps; choice of meat, choice of rice/noodle etc, choice of extra. Their lunch is still good, but it’s got nowhere near as much variety for dinner, and I personally think the food at dinner is MUCH tastier than their food at lunch. This place is always filled with a bunch of Korean students(hence I know its authentic and tasty), the only downside is the waitresses(all of them drop dead gorgeous) can’t speak a cent of English. You might manage to get by with sign language and basic words, but if you’re trying to make a specific alteration to your meal, good luck! I love coming here, the food is fantastic, the environment is cozy and the price is cheap!
