Ludlow Bar & Dining Room

$ 10 cocktails from 5pm till late on Thursdays. Nice outdoor patio and good view for people watching. Cocktails were OK but I won’t be running back to try more as the size was quite small.

Nice spot to sit by the Yarra and enjoy a drink. They’re currently having a Pimms summer garden and a great deal on Pimms jug. Staff and super friendly and helpful. Bar service too but staff will always help if needed

Ludlow is one of the better bars in Riverside Quay (a big step up from Left Bank). It’s got a good menu selection and lunch specials available for $ 20, which include a decent portion of food along with beer, wine or soft drink.
Our large group received great service and everyone’s food arrived at the same time. Most people cleared their plates, a sign of a good meal. Orders ranged from fish and chips (which were made in the traditional pub manner), a lovely burger and fries, a fresh quinoa salad, and a hearty chicken roll.
There is a nice selection of beers on tap, along with all other spirits for a great happy hour spot. With ample outdoor and indoor seating and bars, you are bound to find a comfortable place to partake in the sights along the river. Expect a lot of suits during the week but don’t worry, the staff nor the atmosphere is pretentious. It’s good, simple food and drinks in a convenient location.

Pretty spot by the river.
We came here after the eureka sky deck experience. Lured in by $ 20 lunch and beer special.
The burger was ok, fries were great. Enjoy fat yak and that was the craft beer special that came with food.
The music is hip (always what I listen for) and the staff are friendly.
Many more restaurants on the water to try, so I’m not committing just yet, but I’ll be back one day ^_^

Not worth it too many choices nearby. Waited very long, food came before drinks! Undercooked and ignored… Apparently the staff is not interested in the needs of the customers, 40 $ for a ribeye, major warning flags when they insist on steak sauce. Waiting still no check-​in from waitress to see how the food came out. Not busy at all, no excuses, other than simply I guess when the staff doesn’t expect a tip, this is what you get. My drink was empty forever guy’s! Maybe better for breakfast?

Service: good but very very slow
Food: well done= burned, steak sauce is not like it’s name, French fries was ½ fried
Place: attractive, apart from loud music
Waitresses: helpful, smily and patience

Visited this bar and dining room recently and really enjoyed the experience. Lovely feel to the space and staff were well informed and friendly. Had one a house daily special confit salmon dish which was delicious, very good wine list. Want to go back. Good spot too for a city visit, close to Flinders at if you don’t fancy driving. I’ll be back!

Friendly attentive staff. Nice range on menu. Had the platter of skewers. Well cooked, accompanied by dips and yummy tortillas. All we needed and seemed to be a popular menu item. Two buskers outside really set the night off. Would go here again.

Gosh so it’s the start of the year 1^st Jan 2015 six of us are at Laidlow for a celebratory dinner only to leave the place an hour later because :
1. waitress kept nagging every five minutes if we were ready to order (we were enjoying our drinks and had to tell her we will call you when we are ready)
2. We ordered the mixed skewers that had: two lamb, two chicken and two beef skewers. But since we don’t eat beef — we simply asked that the beef skewers be substituted by chicken or lamb skewers.
That simple request was met with such negative gusto by the waiter that he walked off and sent the manager to take our order who was even more pig headed than the waiter.
Needless to say that they both insulted my intelligence by advising «we can’t substitute or amend menus». We paid for the drinks and went next door to World.
Wish the waiter and manager a long career in Hospitality but I am taking my dollars next door !

Great food, great vibe but the 5 stars is for the staff especially Dawi. We had a sick baby and our phones had died trying to call the doc, Dawi made sure we were charged up. Other staff helped us find a quiet place so we could feed the baby.
Skewers were delish as so was the burger. Fat Yak on tap — nyams.
Along southbank there are plenty of places and they all offer a similar thing so I’ll be back to the place where we felt welcome and looked after!

I wanted a good dining experience with my wife and daughter.
Ordered lamp steak and fish and chips. The quality of fish and chips were less than average. The steak was average. If you are looking for tasty food I wouldn’t suggest this place.

Dropped in for dinner with some out of town friends on a hot summer evening.
This is a great location on the river with the advantage of ‘free’ entertainment from the buskers along the promenade.
For a modern bar and restaurant there is a fairly limited selection of local and international beers.
Food is definitely the traditional burgers, steaks, chicken parma etc. while tasty, portions and value were fair for Southbank.
If you’re a tourist I would recommend eating in the city for better food and value, otherwise have a beer, play some pingpong, enjoy the music, sunshine and people watching.

Call me an intolerable elitist, but if you’re paying through the nose for an average-​quality dinner, you’d at least expect the waiters to notice when your wine glass is empty and refill it on your behalf. As Beth von Benz, wine director at Porter House New York, says: «You want the glasses to be always filled. … If I see low wineglasses on a table, I’ll go to the waiter and ask what the story is.» — if only the manager at Ludlow was as astute as von Benz!
But that’s mostly a side issue: what’s worse is when you order a 2010 shiraz from the menu and you are brought out a 2011 bottle instead. Do these servers have any idea what they’re doing at all? Who knows!
Meals were satisfactory. Slightly on the small size for the price, but otherwise unnoteworthy. The interior design was similarly satisfactory: a fresh, clean-​looking modern appearance.
Overall, I probably won’t be back, simply due to the poor service provided by the staff. The Southbank area has quite a number of restaurants, and you’d be easily able find an establishment with better service for a more competitive price for an enjoyable dining experience.

This review is quite heavily skewed on account of the fact we were ripped off much like a fellow reviewer with the gold plated 10 dollar still water. Nothing like a deceptive charge to leave a bitter taste in your mouth after a decent meal.
Would have been okay if the service was impressive, but it was not.
10 dollars for water. 10 dollars! I’m not that cheap, but there needs to be some warning before you order 10 dollar water — I am fairly certain that it was the exact same as the tap water they served free of charge (which we only out shortly after).
Stay away.

We dined at the restaurant side of the ludlow bar. Wanted a special night out for our last night in Melbourne. Well, it was especially poor.
Started off on the right note with three different people asking us if we wanted water: ‘still or sparkling?’ After a few days of dining out we didn’t care for sparkling water.
From that point it took 5 minutes to get a menu, 5 more for someone to take our drinks order, then another couple before they came back to tell us the beer my bf wanted was not available on draft but was in a bottle for the same price (it wasn’t).
We then actually had to prompt for the drink s to be delivered and by that point I’d decided we would only stay for an appy, because we were just so darn hungry.
Then they brought the wrong beer anyway.
We asked to get the correct one to which she said they didn’t have it in stock at all.
We had ordered a tasting plate to share and found it a bit low on sustenance for $ 28.
Mini Soup, pork belly, some cured meats, breadsticks and a thai inspired sashimi concoction didn’t seem to blend particularly well but each bite was flavourful.
We asked for the bill and found we were charged $ 10 dollars for the bottle of still water. Not happy about that. Everywhere else we’ve been has just served tap water (free!) so I felt cheated somehow when that wasn’t mentioned at the beginning.
Overall, a very expensive, dissatisfying meal.
Will not return.

We came for Sunday brunch and they were one of the few places still serving eggs benedict after 11am. Eggplant chips were very nice but the yoghurt dip is perhaps a little bit more sour than necessary. The kids loved the steamed mussels. It had a nice outside corner space for those warm sunny days and balmy evenings and I reckon it would be pretty rocking at night. Inside is quite spacious but gets stuffy quickly if the air con is off and windows closed.

I’m hoping this place either still exists or is still trading, as I was only
there around two weeks ago. Despite the overwhelming commonality
factor of all of these buildings in the area, this does seem to be slightly
better than most; with decent design and attractive interior. From
what I had the drinks selection is quite good, and they have decent
whisky. As is the case with the majority of my reviews, I’m really interested
in trying some of the food and snackings.

According to the Urban Dictionary, «Ludlow» is defined as «a small town in Massachusetts (USA) where pot heads roam the streets and all (that) people care about (are) soccer and Portugal.» There are more definitions but this one is the most tame.
Fortunately for the majority of the readership of this review, we have the pleasure of living in Australia and if you visit the Ludlow Bar & Dining in Southbank, you will find professionals, both those who work at the place and also most that frequent it roaming the restaurant where they care about providing excellent service and encouraging good times by providing quality food, drink and service. It is certainly a stark contrast from what is happening in the city of Ludlow, which I suppose is fortunate for all of us.
Of all of the restaurants on the Southbank Promenade between St Kilda Road and Freshwater Place, I was originally tempted to venture into Ludlow because I thought the fit-​out was the most attractive. Like with the Izakaya Den, whenever I walk past it just appears clean which I attribute to the good use of dark colours and light. Everything is always in its proper place. When you combine the two, the place looks sleek and stands out.
My recent trip to Ludlow first took me into the entrance to the bar after deciding that it was far too busy at the Meat & Wine Co to be bothered with waiting for a table. We were looking for something more «cheap and cheerful» which is amusing when you think that we would choose either the Meat & Wine Co or even Ludlow, but given it was really cold outside, I wanted to retreat somewhere I knew was comfortable and calm. We were not disappointed after being escorted from the bar to our table in the dining room near the fireplace.
After having a few beers at the Prince of Wales Hotel earlier, I was keen to continue my appreciation of the ales so I ordered a Moo Brew. The server quickly came around with the alcoholic offerings and whilst I relieved my dehydration, she explained the specials. After polishing of the Moo Brew, I ordered another but before she departed, I asked the server’s recommendations for food. This was obviously a night where the only choice that I wanted to make was when to retire home. She recommended both the duck liver parfait and the marinated octopus to start, so we followed her down the path of temptation.
Good duck liver parfait will get me terribly excited. What Ian Curley sends out at the European gives me goosebumps and excites me in the same way that say if The Cure announced they were touring Australia again. What Chef Marc Brown offers at Ludlow hits the spot also. Although the dish doesn’t include shaved black truffles like what you will find currently at the European, it certainly is good and makes for a great starter. I started to regret disrespecting it with beer though, so I ate it quickly with the hopes that I could hide my guilt.
I tasted the marinated octopus. Normally I remain wary of octopus at restaurants because rarely it is cooked properly but again, the kitchen did not disappoint. It was not «chewy» in the slightest and the citrus marinade really enriched the creature.
After more Moo Brew was brought to the table, the cheerful server recommended the chicken breast that is cooked in clay, with a lyonnaise sauce and also the Western Plains lamb, which can be shared for mains. I choose the chicken wanting to continue to eat outside of my comfort zone. Like with the octopus, I rarely ever order chicken at a restaurant (unless it is at an Indian restaurant) since it is such a staple food and I feel like I can (and do) prepare it at home so often. What was presented was a pleasant surprise though. Between the lyonnaise sauce and the wild mushrooms, the tastes blended together and worked well. Perhaps it was because I was on my tenth Moo Brew by this time but the taste of the dish overwhelmed me and with the fire warming my back, I felt relaxed and satisfied.
I have been in both the restaurant and the bar a few times over the last few months and the service remains consistent on both sides of the wall that divides them. They seem to turn over a fair amount of punters since they are open not only early for breakfast but throughout the day for the other important meals and late for drinks. It is a small menu in comparison to other restaurants but everything that I have had was done well. In fact writing about this has made me hungry.
I am thinking of heading over to Ludlow for the «workers lunch» today, which is a choice of three bar meals and a pint for $ 20. I have found the service in the bar and outside areas not to be as professional as I have come to expect in the restaurant especially in busy times, but that is not saying that it should be demonised since it gets popular during the lunch rush.

I had never heard of the ludlow formation, until I was talking a stroll down Southbank around lunchtime last week. Situated on the banks of the Yarra river, The outdoor rea of the restauarant is perfect for people watching and soaking in our beautiful cities atmosphere. The people jogging past almost motivated me to do the same… almost.
The restaurant offers modern Australian cuisine, with a smattering of seafood across the menu, and a couple of steaks to round it out. I chose the glazed chicken ribs, and washed it down with a cider. It was nice enough –I didnt love it, but I was not overly hungry –I honestly just wanted to relax with a drink by the waterfront. I would be happy to try their other dishes; from what I could see coming out around me the disheswere very well presented.
Of course, the main draw is the location. I would definitely come back for a beverage or two!

A great, go with the flow last minute idea to have lunch here on a Sunny afternoon, and especially during the week makes it even more prosperous and fantastic. You would be lucky to have a talented musician busking along the yarra on a warm Melbourne day. Five stars for great ambience before I have even had an opportunity to order my lunch.
During the week at lunchtime they have what is known as a worker’s lunch. For $ 20 a pop you get to choose from a variety of main dishes (one dish only of course) and a pint or any other drink. The fish and chips and a lemon, lime and bitters sounds perfect.
The staff were great mind readers to bring me a jug of water for my enjoyment without even asking for it; bliss. The service is fantastic; although the dish (when it arrived) was a bit of a let down. The salad was slightly disappointing. The grilled fish looked like grilled chicken, and sadly the chips actually looked like McDonald’s french fries. I don’t know about you; however with your common fish and chips: you expect the chips to be quite fat and chunky, not shoestring like.