because I can't cook

Kitchen Workshop at Crown, Southbank.
Address	Ground Floor, Clarendon Street Entrance, 8 Whiteman Street
Opening Times	Mon-Thurs 11.30am-2.30pm, 5.30pm-9.30pm  Fri           11.30am-2.30pm, 5pm-9.30pm Sat           Midday-2.30pm, 5pm-10.30pm Sun           11.30am-2.30pm, 5pm-9.30pm
Cuisine	European, Mediterranean, Italian
Visited	19 November 2010
Rating

Kitchen Workshop was a marvellous little find! Hidden on one of Crown Casino’s corners, I was happy to be introduced by a friend to this gem. Kitchen Workshop was indeed very inviting; their range of delectable desserts displayed at the entrance definitely persuaded sweet tooth me to dine in there.

Conveniently, even with no booking we did not have to really line up or wait long to be seated that Friday night, although on one Saturday night I tried to revisit it, the line was dreadfully long that I dined elsewhere.

Similar but better than Sante (a buffet restaurant of a similar price bracket at the Crown Casino), Kitchen Workshop required us to pay upfront for our dinner before we got in. It was $29.50 per person on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays in comparison to $23.50 every Monday-Thursday. For the extra $6 we were each given a card that could be redeemed for either 300gr of prawns (never below 300gr) or half a dozen natural oysters and there were no extra charges for the food you could not finish (unlike Gaijin’s so-called buffet).

Kitchen Workshop’s dishes were beautifully presented and were absolutely fresh and decent. Admittedly, they were not gourmet-delicious but they did have an impressive range of dishes and incredible desserts. I tried a little bit of everything; their pasta (with various sauces), mixed bean casserole, create-your-own souvlaki (with fresh salads, four types of dips, and also an option of beef or chicken cooked to order), pork belly, peri-peri chicken drumsticks (and no it did not taste like Nando's'), roast potato, fried fish balls, and I also went for their prawn with lemon and sauce – very fresh and tasty indeed! For the dessert, I had a taste of their chocolate brownie, caramel profiteroles, chocolate mousse, strawberry mousse, mango mousse, as well as their cinnamon brulee that was quite unique. There were also panna cotta, custard with fruit, trifle, marshmellow/chocolate fondue, ice cream with various toppings, and fresh fruits. Kitchen Workshop was definitely one of my dessert heavens that I would be back solely for their desserts!

Kitchen Workshop had great ambience; it felt ‘clean’ as none of their buffet dishes were cluttered, comfortable as the restaurant was spacious enough, relaxed yet elegant with minimalist decor, and to top it all off, excellent service. Some of their staff were really friendly and our used/empty plates were frequently taken away (with our permissions of course) constantly leaving enough space on the table for new dishes. There was also a bar at one corner of the restaurant where you could order drinks but it took them quite a long time to deliver the drinks. Drinks were surely charged separately to food that we had to pay for them as soon as they came, but they were not as expensive as those in other restaurants and bars at the Crown Casino.

It was unfortunate that they did not allow bookings on weekend nights, but, for the convenient dining experience and the good value for dollars that they gave me, Kitchen Workshop had certainly become one of my favourite restaurants in Melbourne.

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