Trunk Bar and Restaurant, Melbourne CBD by Bureaucrat

Back in July 2013, I had arranged a lunch at Trunk Diner.  I had high hopes for the place but, as they say, it's risky to have high expectations as, well, you know.  It's now 2015 and I find myself not at Trunk Diner but at Trunk Bar and Restaurant - the more swishy (i.e., pricier) version of the Diner.  I didn't arrange this lunch so I thought maybe the food and experience would be better.  So, how did it go?

What struck us all was the service.  It was slow.  Very.  Slow.  Almost fifty minutes after we had placed our orders, we finally got to eat.  My crispy duck breast w lentils, beetroot and hazelnuts ($24) was tasty with a generous amount of duck breast. I loved the beetroot mash and cubes and the flavoursome lentils.

The tempura battered market fish w hand cut chips and lime aioli ($24) was nice but we couldn't get past the fact that it was served with four, albeit chunky, chips.

The steak sandwich was made with a scotch fillet, caramelised shallots, gruyere, mustard on toasted sourdough ($23).  While it sounded good, Mr L wasn't too impressed with the size of the sanger and the minimalistic three chips.  As you can see, half the plate is empty.  

Ms B liked her margherita pizza. Even for a margherita pizza, I thought Trunk's version was rather lacking in everything.

Ms G's rigatoni w wagyu beef and veal bolognese ($24) looked deliciously yummy.  Fat rigatoni pasta smothered with an unctuous bolognese.  

If it wasn't for the bread at the start, we would have all be absolutely starving.

Verdict: we liked it.

Overall

Apart from the agonizingly slow service, the food here at the restaurant was pretty tasty.  In terms of service and food, I'd prefer the restaurant over the diner.  However, I wouldn't go here if I needed to finish a meal within a lunch hour.