because I can't cook

Box (On Collins) in the Melbourne CBD.
Address	189 Collins Street
Opening Times	Mon-Sat    10am-10.30pm
Cuisine	Seafood, Modern Australian
Visited	4 March 2011
Rating

Due to its close proximity to my home, I had always been meaning to visit Box on Collins. But, Box always looked crowded and small that prevented me many times to dine in there. That evening, however, I really was not creative in finding a restaurant to have dinner at, so I pushed myself for Box.

Turned out, Box was much bigger than thought; as soon as we stepped in, we were offered to be seated upstairs where it was quieter according to a staff.

And it was. It was also more classy, romantic, and relaxed. Box was contemporary and modern making the ambience lively and cozy. It was a nice surprise after a long day at work indeed.

With a few cuisines from the land also on offer, Box specialized in seafood with large seafood collections (seafood platters were available at $80-100pp). For entree, we ordered prawn cocktail and calamari fritty which were surprisingly delivered within minutes to our table. For what looked like a high-end restaurant, the entrees at Box were surprisingly ample in portion – and delicious, of course. The king prawn’s cocktail sauce was kind of sweet and with a hint of lemon, it was very refreshing. The calamari, came with unusual tartar sauce, was a little too lightly fried for me, but I did not mind it.

Our mains came after a good break from the entree. Looking at our entree portion, we were not surprised to find out that we had ordered way too much; pepper prawn and chicken involtini (breast fillet with spinach, tomato, parmesan, pancetta with veloute sauce) meals with a side of Greek salad and rosemary potatoes. None of them was sensational, but they were undeniably delicious and fresh. The chicken involtini was distinct – similar to an inside-out chicken parma with tasty, creamy sauce covering it. The prawn was very peppery but well-matched the rice that was served with it. Unfortunately, Box offered no fancy tea selections to close our dinner; only non-specialty, Twinings tea.

Overall, Box was a little gem! It was pretty rare to find a restaurant where the ambience was admirable, the staff were friendly with a sense of humor, and the food was fine making a good addition to a perfect evening.

• < Prev
• Next >