Longrain Restaurant

Ph: (03) 9671 3151; 40-44 Little Bourke St, MELBOURNE 3000 www.longrain.com

Cocktail/Wine Bar, $ -
Open Mon-Fri noon-midnight Sat-Sun 5.30pm-midnight; Licensed; AE DC MC V
Chef Martin Boetz (7-11-07) Owner Sam Christie, Martin Boetz, John Van Haandel & John Sample (7-11-07)

Mietta's Review
Longrain was far hotter than its curries when it lit up the top end of Little Bourke St in late 2005. This local version of one of Sydney's favourites instantly won the hearts and minds not only of a smart city clientele but also of the critics as the attached snippets show. It's a wide space with a more open feel than the original. The bar is integrated into the dining area and accessible from all sides. Tables are still communal, the Thai inspired food is good, the service is more welcoming than its northern counterpart and the prices are a dollar or so less.

Other published opinions

The Age Cheap Eats 2008 "Thai restaurant-bar Longrain is so big, loud, brash and flush with cash you'd think it was a Sydney-scene transplant"

The Age Michael Harden, 7-8-2007 "Anybody who has visited the bar at Longrain in Sydney couldn't help but feel a little deflated on first encountering its Melbourne equivalent. Whereas the northern version has its own airy space and undeniable sense of casual elegance, our town's version initially appears to have been shoved into a corner, almost like an afterthought"

Age Good Food Guide 2008 Score: 15.5/20, One Hat "It's like a Sex and the City set most nights, with wannabe Carries tossing their manes and waiters who just don't stop, unless it's to deliver another crafty cocktail from the bar"

Gourmet Traveller 2008 Australian Restaurant Guide Score: * "Fire, chilli, garlic, sex: sounds like a Chili Peppers album. In truth, it's what makes Longrain the flame it is to the night-time moths of Melbourne's CBD"

The Age John Lethlean, 25-1-2006 "It's big, it's loud, it surges and pulsates. It smells of kaffir lime and garlic and fish sauce and pinot noir and limes smashed up with vodka and the perfume of beautiful women. It sounds like remixed soul classics and boisterous Gen-X conspicuous consumption, a kind of satisfied cacophony. And it is, I have to admit, utterly irresistible."

Herald Sun Eat, Bob Hart, 22-4-06 "THIS is a place with a deliciously split personality - created by a gifted chef with divided loyalties.He is Martin Boetz and his first Longrain, launched in August 1999, operates triumphantly in Sydney."

The Age Melbourne Magazine February 06 John Lethlean "It's big, it's loud, it surges and pulsates. It smells of kaffir lime and garlic and fish sauce and pinot noir and limes smashed up with vodka and the perfume of beautiful women. It sounds like remixed soul classics and boisterous Gen-X conspicuous consumption, a kind of satisfied cacophony. And it is, I have to admit, utterly irresistible."

The Age Epicure John Lethlean December 19, 2005 Score: 16/20 "Longrain is a very social restaurant. And I've been waiting for this moment for five years, ever since eating at the original only to leave floating on a cloud powered by garlic and chilli, lime and fish sauce, pork and duck and maybe the odd limey beverage. And now we have our own."