Salted Egg

Overview

Flinders Lane is home to some of Melbourne's best restaurants, and the eastern end is always packed with punters hunting down a highly sought-after table. The Spencer Street side, on the other hand, is home to a whole lot more office buildings than dining destinations.

But this is slowly changing. More and more stellar spots are popping up on this side of the Melbourne CBD, with Salted Egg adding a fresh dimension back in 2021.

Situated on the first floor, diners have views down Flinders Lane, just above it all, while tucking into a far-reaching assortment of Southeast Asian dishes.

Executive Chef Adam Woodfield (ex-Chin Chin and Jimmy Liks) is serving playful takes on curries, stir-fries and street food eats full of bold flavours. There's no need to reach for the salt or chilli when feasting at Salted Egg.

You can go à la carte for lunch and dinner, choosing your own Southeast Asian adventure, or opt for one of the set menus — something we all love to do these days.

The menu kicks off with a few one-bite snacks inspired by Vietnamese, Thai and Singaporean street food. The smoked duck betel leaf with jeaw, lemongrass, mint and coriander is an absolute banger. As are the fresh oysters that come with red nahm jim.

This is followed up by some spicy curries and stir-fries, as well as fresh salads to cut through the rich flavours. One particular highlight here has got to be the soft-shell crab stir-fry. These generous portions of crab come slathered in lashings of curry powder, Asian celery and oyster mushrooms. There's no doubt you'll be licking this bowl clean.

A couple of desserts round out the food lunch and dinner offerings, best paired with some Southeast Asian-inspired cocktails or Aussie wines from the bar.

The spot is also open to the public for breakfast but is mostly filled with hotel guests at this time of day. The pandan waffles and Vietnamese rice cakes with fried eggs are there for those wanting some Asian-inspired brekkie options, but your classic avo on toast and chilli scrambled eggs remain as well.

Vietnamese coffee is also on the cards for those wanting to change up their usual caffeine fix.

Salted Egg is feeding its hotel guests differently (not just in-room burgers and steaks) while also going after the general public. If you work down this end of town, a trip to Salted Egg or The Q best be on your dining hit list.