The Alchemist Bar & Cafe

361 Brunswick St
Fitzroy 3065 VIC
Phone: (03) 9419 8250
Website: thealchemistbar.com.au

On Saturday night I went to The Alchemist to attend a Welcome Back party for a friend of mine who has been overseas for god knows how long. To be honest I even lost track of where in the world he was, point is he's back!



The venue is quite nice with sofas and antique chairs placed around the venue, giving it a really relax and chilled atmosphere. There are even board games and what just in case your friends aren't entertaining enough!

So upon arrival everyone ordered their drinks. I'm regretting not taking more photos of everyone's cocktails, but everyone seemed to be quite pleased with what they got!

DRINKS

Fizzy Strawberry & Raspberry Mocktail $5
As per usual I asked for a mocktail which never seem to exist on the drink menus. A fruity fizzy mocktail to be exact! The bartender was oh so nice to mix one up for me, with real strawberries too! I thought it was very decently priced too.

Philosophers Stone

SOLIDS

During the night one of my friends told me that her sister was going to hold her 21st at the venue. So she was given money to try out some dishes on the menu. We sat there reading the menu and finally decided 5 dishes. Originally we wanted to order the Aloo Ki Tikki but they had sold out for the day, instead they recommended the Lamb Kaftas. (Or at least I think it was the Lamb Kaftas...) Either way, next time I'm there I'm definitely want to try out the Aloo Ki Tikki!

A Marriage of Skewered Chicken, Capsicum and Red Onion with home-made Satay Sauce $7.5
This dish was enjoyable but I guess nothing special at the same time.

Balls of Fury - Italian seasoned meat balls, piping hot & floating in spicy tomato puree $8.5I quite liked this dish. The spicy tomato puree gave it the kick it needed and the crusty bread worked well to compliment it.

Lamb Kaftas a snack that originated in the palaces of Persia centuries ago... $8.0I'm not a big lamb person, but this dish I quite liked, the dipping sauce melded really well with the meat balls. In the menu it says that this dish is served with Mint & Coriander Chutney which makes me question whether I even got the dish right. Since the sauce obviously was not that.

Steamed Dumplings all in a Row - Vegetarian $7.0
The filling I believe was rice noodles. All I can say is, this dish dissapeared within seconds upon arrival.

Chargrilled baby octopus - marinated in red wine, balsamic vinegar, soy and chilli then served with Thai Basil $8.5
This dish didn't seem to be as popular amongst the group. However the flavour and texture of the octopus I found was still quite pleasant.

Price:

• Beers and Wines were around $8 or so
• Cocktails range from $15 to $20
• Solids range from $7 to $10

Cocktails are generally pricey, but I think the cocktails here are made well.
Overall Score - Casual Dining: 16.5/20

• Food: 4.5/5
• Range of Choice: 4.5/5
• Value for Money: 3.5/5
• Venue: 4/5

I'd definitely go back to this place again, however I think I should try going to some other places nearby. Brunswick Street definitely does not lack choices.