Vegan
International
Beer/Wine
Take-out

Casual vegan restaurant and wine bar. Menu includes small and large dishes as well as sides and dessert. Drinks include wine, beer and cocktails. A degustation option is available. NOTE: Closing time is flexible, so check ahead. Open Tue-Thu 6:00pm-10:00pm, Fri-Sat 6:00pm-10:30pm, Sun 5:30pm-9:00pm. Closed Mon.


Venue map for Ballard's
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48 Reviews

First Review by Kittybiscuit

NilsHeymann

Points +819

Vegetarian
26 Oct 2024

The “Just feed me” menu is yummy

Great vibes, all dishes are imaginative and impressive. We will be back!!!
Way too much food so go hungry

saaurik

Points +110

Vegan
13 Oct 2024

Wonderful dinning experience

Incredibly tasty vegan food. Creative, great flavours, definitely leading the vegan food game. Saying yum after every bite!
I had 2 crochets and the braised cabbage. Plus a mocktail. Which was probably the best mocktail I’ve ever had.

Pros: Exceptional food, Friendly staff, Prompt service

styvbdz

Points +33

Vegan
12 Oct 2024

Vegan fine dining at its tastiest

All the food is sophisticated, fresh and delicious. Order the ‘Just Feed Me’ option and see what comes out - had insane beautiful dishes like Heirloom tomato w smoked mezcal sorbet, almonds & horseradish.

AndyH

Points +66

Vegan
11 Oct 2024

Best vegan restaurant in Melbourne

wonderful rich flavours. The smoky eggplant dip with homemade foccacia alone is worth the trip. Reasonably priced for exceptional quality food. The proprietor/chef is a crazy genius, long may he cook😊

Updated from previous review on 2024-10-08

BiancaLouise

Points +44

Vegan
25 Sep 2024

Lovely food and drinks

Everything was delicious, but I found the food a little too salty for my liking. I had the Lions Maine steak and gin sour mock tail. The mock tails were around $15 each and the steak was average main meal price ($32, I think). It was on a bed of spinach, but no other veggies. It was filling though.

My friend had crispy eggplant and ordered potato skins. She said hers was salty too, but she likes it like that. Her mock tail was full cream ahead and she loved it!

Cool venue. Great location. Easy parking. Very friendly and helpful staff.

Pros: Good service, Lovely ambiance, Vegan restaurant

Cons: A bit too salty for me, Pricey

CabernetS

Points +374

Vegan
04 Sep 2024

Delicious degustation

I’d seen many recommendations for this restaurant. It completely lived up to expectations, even exceeded! We went the chefs menu. Food was delicious, we were absolutely stuffed full. Couldn’t believe how much delicious food we got for $65.

Pros: Delicious food , Friendly staff

BalmainLarger

Points +44

Vegan
08 Aug 2024

Killer food, killer vibes!

Killer food, killer vibes! Amazing flavours & fresh AF ingredients, I’ll be going back again for sure!

luigurl7

Points +137

Vegan
11 Jul 2024

An amazing little gem in the north of Melbourne

This place was recommended to us and it does not disappoint at all! Everything is so tasty and substantial, the only challenge is picking what to get especially on your first time here. Everything could be shared as portion sizes are quite large. You could always take away what you don't finish which was what we did. Would definitely come back!

Pros: Tasty, seasonal food! Drinks were nice , Food can be shared, Good service

Seitanicveg

Points +861

Vegan
25 Jun 2024

Hit and miss

Came here for Tuesday night steak night. Very under-whelmed. Garlic bread was okay. Wasn’t a big fan of the sweet fig and fennel flavour.

Wanted to love the lions mane mushroom steak. It had some nice seared bits, but was under seasoned and lost on the plate. Too much salad (also under seasoned) and too many fries. Not much cauliflower purée. I wonder if this dish would have been better on the regular menu night.

Green man’s arm’s do a much better mushroom steak.

Second time eating here and would not rush to go back, but would give it another go.

Updated from previous review on 2024-05-22

Pros: creative, veg focused/centric, vegan

Cons: Limited indoor seating , Service variable

Caitlee

Points +286

Vegan
22 Apr 2024

My favourite restaurant in Melbs

Truly the best vegan restaurant I’ve been to in Melbourne - a must visit. Everything is to die for and I can’t wait to go again!

jesseMC1991

Points +23

Mostly Veg
22 Mar 2024

Best vegan restaurant I’ve been to

Great food, unpretentious, everything is vegan so ordering is fun because everything is an option!

MeaganKiely

Points +779

Vegan
15 Mar 2024

The cabbage 🤤 I could eat this every day. Seriously delicious!!

Great vibe and even better food! Very well priced and friendly staff. You won’t be disappointed.

StephF

Points +133

Vegan
13 Mar 2024

The best feed I’ve had in a while!

The FOOD here - oh my god! So delicious. These people know their vegetables! It’s a cute little venue with a lovely outdoor area. The cocktails were a particular highlight. Would definitely come again.

Pros: Delicious food, Interesting variety, Great cocktails

Cons: Music was a little loud for conversation

jacintascarfone

Points +69

Vegan
21 Jan 2024

Soooooo good!!!

Will definitely be coming back, sat in the courtyard which was adorable and had the cosiest vibe inside! Good cocktails too!

belinda.ralston

Points +24

Vegan
28 Dec 2023

Amazing food!

We were so impressed by the food!! We had the Fed Me menu and were so impressed by the quality and flavours of the food! We will be back again for sure!

Updated from previous review on 2023-12-28

omgvegan

Points +72

Vegan
28 Oct 2023

Vegetables have never tasted so good

I went for the feed me option and enjoyed every single dish. Everything had so much flavour and I’m already looking forward to my next visit. My only wish is that the dessert wasn’t shared as a vanilla slice is not easy to share and not big enough for 2.

ligi

Points +31

Vegan
14 Oct 2023

Unique flavours!!

Food is just amazing. Can’t recommend the lion’s mane steak highly enough.

Kittybiscuit

Points +8724

Vegan
27 Aug 2023

Best vegan food in Melbourne

I walked past this with a friend and there were seats available so we decided to try it. I had a few tables (mostly for 4 and a couple of booths for 6. It was really nice inside. I love places where the tables aren’t too close to each other. All of the alcohol is vegan too and the cocktails were delicious. I shared a plate of salt and pepper tofu which was very nice. It was also served with sprouts with a dressing and they were delicious! I didn’t think I’d ever say that either! I ordered a mushroom ravioli for my main. It had really nice flavours. It would have been nice to have another piece of ravioli but I can’t say that I was starved afterwards. I could smell the cauliflower croquettes and they smelt delicious. I think next time I’d order two entrees to share!
It seems like it would be a great date place or a great place to catch up with small groups of friends. I also loved they were playing Talking Heads!
I’ll definitely go back.

Updated from previous review on 2019-06-15

Pros: Tables aren’t too close together, The lighting, The music

DanielBarnett

Points +18

Vegan
08 Aug 2023

Hands down my favourite

Absolutely my favourite restaurant in Melbourne. The food is amazing.

Updated from previous review on 2022-11-02

AmberWilson

Points +28

Vegan
14 Jul 2023

FAVOURITE RESTAURANT

Ballard's is my absolute favourite restaurant I've ever been to. Somehow you just nail every single thing on the menu, the flavours are just so good! If you are in Melb you MUST go here. Sunday roasts are an epic, the gnocci is 🤤 and the parma deal was amazing (pls bring it back).

Pros: Flavour, Very reasonably priced, Atmosphere

Tiggy

Points +13798

Vegan
09 Jul 2023

Great food but not very relaxing

We came here for a special occasion. We were seated in a booth, not as intimate as a table,  but further away from the cold air when the door opens. We’d been here a few times and never tried a degustation, so it seemed like as good a time as any. We got to sample a good deal of the menu, and everything was delicious, perhaps with the Brussels sprouts at the lower end of the rankings for me (while still good). The arancini and the Jerusalem artichoke balls were very nice and I was surprised at how delicious the braised cabbage was with its rich, savoury flavour. The meal was good value at $65 for eight dishes and I was definitely full by the end. The restaurant has a lively atmosphere and was booked out on this occasion. Staff were very busy and this did detract from the dining experience. After finishing our meal we were notified that we needed to leave in 15 minutes. I understand that restaurants need to maximise bookings, particularly in the current economic climate, and I also realise that 90 minutes is not an unusual allocation of time for a booking. However, given that the topic of booking times had already come up when we arrived (when we couldn’t sit at a particular table), it would have been good to be informed of this time limit at that stage, and it ended up making us feel rushed. That said, I do see this as the first choice for a special date night in Melbourne: a small, completely vegan fine-dining restaurant in close proximity to a boutique independent cinema.

Pros: Delicious food , Small completely vegan fine-dining restaurant

Cons: Not notified of time limit until time to leave

Ari Gis

Points +79

Vegan
01 Jul 2023

Undefeated Champion

This is the best vegan restaurant in Melbourne. I’ve been dozens of times and it always delivers. I love their regular bistro menu as it always changes but the flavours and textures are incredible. Recently, I’ve been to their roast nights and parma nights and they were great as well. Fanciest parma you can find.

Creative food by an artist of a chef. Relaxed atmosphere in a dimly lit cozy wine bar. Unhinged sarcastic ramblings of a mad man for a social media marketing plan. What more could you ask for?

We are truly not worthy.

Pros: Flavours, Good jokes, Terrible bedside manner

Cons: Costs too little, Not open 24/7, Makes other restaurants seem worse

chatreuse

Points +3191

Vegan
15 May 2023

High quality food for reasonable prices

I generally love the food at Ballard's. The most recent time I went was the first time I ordered a couple things that I ended up not loving. The mushroom gnocchi is pillowy and fluffy, but was a little lukewarm (except those in the centre) this time. We also got the salad and garlic bread included basically free, as part of their $30 gnocchi, salad, garlic bread special. The garlic bread was covered with what looked like bolognaise sauce but tasted like chilli jam (far too sweet for our liking).
The parsnip rosti was a surprising highlight, it was delightfully crunchy.
Their burnt eggplant dip is always delicious, and comes with amazing house made focaccia.
The charred brassicas was layered with some pickles, which was quite strongly flavoured, and wasn't to my taste. Also, the brassicas were kale (I wouldn't have got the dish if I had known) and turnip (I think).
Alot of their dishes are on par with what you'd get at a fancy degustation restaurant, but in a cosy, grunge bar aesthetic. I love what the chef can do with just wholefoods, I wish there was less oil used though.

Pros: Delicious wholefoods

Cons: Some dishes have too much oil drizzled on/around

MartinMare

Points +29

Vegan
13 Apr 2023

Amazing

We had the five course menu. Everything was amazing and felt curated but not in a stuffy way. Warm and inviting atmosphere and great vegan wines.

Pros: Both casual menu and degustation, Great atmosphere, Entirely plant based menu

veganbabe69

Points +226

Vegan
20 Feb 2023

Quaint bar with relaxed vibe

All vegan bar with lovely small dishes for sharing as well as larger plates. Spots to dine inside or outside. Especially enjoyed the focaccia with shiitake dip.

alex.a

Points +521

Vegan
16 Feb 2023

Wow

Have been meaning to come here for a while, to try out the delicious food. Bar has a friendly, eclectic and chilled vibe which is nice. We started with the chili fried popcorn cauliflower which was very very good. Very light but crispy batter/coating finished off with chipotle Mayo and pepitas for some texture. Perfect way to start the meal. My partner had the Sunday roast with all the delicious trimmings. All the elements worked and the flavours balanced like a champion.

But the star in my eyes was the pesto gnocchi with charred broccoli, roast tomato, kale pesto and chili oil. There was so many flavours all balanced so well, it was impossible to fault. As I’m eating each mouthful is as good as the first, with many mmmmmms and “how good is this?!?” to “I can’t believe how good this is”. I’ve grown up around gnocchi my whole life and this was the best I’ve eaten. So much so I bought another serve to take away, took it to my Italian parents to sample (I know, fraught with danger lol). They also agreed with my assessment. “Ma che buoni!!” (how good are these?!?)

We also had the desert, which was okay, but not to the level of the other dishes.

Well done guys, definitely be back.

Update Feb 2023: This has become my favourite restaurant of all time (vegan/non vegan), the variety and inventiveness of the dishes never cease to amaze me. The chef Tamlyn is a wizard of vegan food.

Updated from previous review on 2020-11-30

Pros: Beautiful vegan food, Cool venue

RuthSharon

Points +1271

Vegan
07 Jan 2023

Gnocchi heaven

I’ve been excited to try this place, big fan of the owners social media presence and the menu sounded delicious. Let’s just say it was everything I was hoping for and more. Cool vibes and awesome food, and some Rick and morty music? 😂

Pros: All vegan , Super fluffy gnocchi, Great service




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