Melbourne Eats: Ludlow Review

Melbourne Eats: Ludlow Review

Hello friends! Welcome to my first Melbourne Eats post where I review one of Melbourne’s Restaurant’s Ludlow. Luke and I went here for our 2025 Valentine’s Day Date Night so I thought it would be a good place to review for eatswithash.

Location: By the Yarra, 6 Riverside Quay, Southbank, Melbourne, VIC AU.
Opening Hours: M – F: 12pm to late, S – S: 11:30am – late (closes around 11pm)
Price Range: $$ – $$$
Cuisine: Rustic Pub Food, Southern European-style

What We Ate!

Drinks

• Taste the rainbow cocktail $24
• Strawberry & coconut negroni $26
• Cranberry juice (unsure of price)
• Little Creatures Pale Ale $16 per pint, $8 for pot

Starters/Sides

• House Baked Bread to Share (confit garlic & rosemary, whipped butter) $16
• Duck Fat Potato Gratin $16

Mains

• Ash – Free Range Pork Cutlet (350g Scottsdale pork cutlet cooked on the hibachi cabbage & chilli slaw, sesame, lime) $36
• Luke – Rolled Lamb Shoulder (Smoked eggplant, cucumber, coriander, sesame, preserved lemon labneh) $38

Desserts

• Ash – Hazelnut Profiterole $18
• Luke – House Made Citrus Tart $17

My Review

Okay, let’s get into the review shall we? First of all, I have been here at least three times before. Luke and I have had brunch here, I had dinner here with my mum once before, and I think this was the second time that Luke and I went here for dinner. So with that in mind, I definitely have a bias because I enjoy this place a lot. The service is great, friendly wait staff, although when they get busy it can be a bit of a wait, but the food comes quickly, they are attentive and always get your order right. I highly recommend Ludlow for brunch, lunch, and dinner.

I like being able to sit either inside or outside and just people watch. It ended up raining on the night that Luke and I went (it was Valentine’s Day and this was our dinner) so we were glad we were undercover and could people watch. It has a cosy yet busy vibe and the atmosphere is kinda sleepy (in a good way), a relaxing ambience and dark decor really sets the mood for date night.

How was the food? It was excellent. I really liked the house made bread, it was so warm and soft and the whipped butter just added that extra touch, although if you’re celiac I would avoid this place like the plague. They have vegan and vegetarian options but I don’t know if they cater to the GF crowd. I can’t find anything on their menu about GF options so you would have to check. I’m just glad I got my IBS in enough remission that I can eat things like gluten, because there have been times when I haven’t been able to. The potato gratin wasn’t something that Luke and I would normally go for, but it’s kinda like a fancy potato bake and it felt like heavenly goodness once it got into my mouth. This type of dish makes it feel like you’re at a fancy fine dining restaurant and not in a rustic Melbourne pub.

I was really looking forward to getting the pork but what I was not expecting was the salad to be as spicy as it was, Luke ending up eating most of my salad because the chilli was too intense. I was jealous of Luke’s lamb because it was cooked to perfection, the lamb melted in your mouth. Don’t get me wrong, the pork was great and it had that extra BBQ feel because it was cooked on the hibachi and that just makes me feel nostalgic for kiwi BBQs but I was sitting there being being very jealous of Luke’s meal and you know when someone else has something, it always tastes better. That reminds me of the time when Luke ordered an alcoholic ginger beer at a food market one night and I liked it so much, he ended up getting me my own one, but it wasn’t as good.

The drinks were ALL great, delicious and I could definitely get through the whole cocktail menu if I was there long enough (not that that’s something I would set out to do). However, the stand out to me was the dessert. I ordered something I wouldn’t normally order – the hazelnut profiterole and it was a giant one which was cool and I LOVED the cinnamon ice cream. The textures all just worked well together. We were a little bit disappointed in Luke’s citrus tart because it was more like a lemon meringue pie inspired tart. It was still nice though but I think we would have both enjoyed it more if it was just a simple lemon tart. You can’t go wrong with a simple lemon tart – maybe I should make one of those!

All in all, I give Ludlow a solid 8/10. It was a great night, we had delicious food and drinks, but I do think they are missing out a little with GF options. I’m sure there are some, but Melbourne has a lot of diversity so I’m sure some people would need more GF options.

Have you been here before? What’s your favourite Melbourne restaurant? Let me know in the comments below.

Ash x