Gray & Gray Solicitors

Refined Russian & Georgian cuisine in Northcote located in an old solicitors office. After reading the reviews, we opted for the a la cart option between two adults (instead of the $55 feed me offer available on Sun+Mon).

We ordered three dishes to share + honey cake for dessert. The cold smoked chicken dish was divine, as was the grilled binza cheese. I would’ve liked to try the braised cuttlefish but it was not available so will have to come back.

Bottles are takeaway prices on Mondays but I ordered a brut cava by the glass. Service was attentive. Parking was easy to find on a weekday.

- Staff were incredible and very welcoming 10/10
- Food was great, however a bit on the salty side, otherwise really good

Food: 4.3/5
Atmosphere: 5/5
Service: 5/5
Overall: would return, but would not order the 'Feed Me' menu and opt for a la carte instead. Portions are relatively small but smart ordering (balancing rich plates with fibrous ones) will ensure you leave full - we did!
Would recommend: whipped potato and smoked eel, arrowhead cabbage

I'll start off by saying the service was lovely, waiters were super attentive and professional. We booked ahead and requested a personalised touch for a special occasion, and they were more than happy to deliver. Disclaimer: although this is a wine bar we didn't have any wines, so obviously can't comment on the beverage aspect. Below is a short review of everything we had as part of the 'Feed Me' menu ($85pp) :

1. Preserved sunflower butter and mixed pickle (d vegetables) : paired with 2.flatbread and rye: unremarkable. Everything was done well, bread was warmed, but it wasn't much to write home about. Personally not for me.

3. Grilled Brinza cheese w/ honey: sumptuous, creamy, not too salty. Lovely balance of salty, sweet and lemony tartness, but as part of a 2 person Feed Me menu, a 10x7 piece is rather small.

4. Whipped potato, smoked eel, blinis, Kvass, salmon roe: favorite dish of the night. Utterly sumptuous, the smokiness from the eel really added to the dish. Not entirely sure where the blinis were (I didn't see them on the dish). Personally I would've loved more smoked eel, and the portion was, once again, very small. (By comparison, I've had a similar whipped roe and dip dish at comparable wine bars - twice the volume for a similar price.)

5. Braised arrowhead cabbage, smoked fish cream: 2nd favorite - this was an unexpected highly. Lovely umami notes, especially with the charred cabbage. Smokiness of the fish custard really came through but personally I'd have loved more fish cream to go with the cabbage.

6. Broccolini and spigarello pkhali, mustard oil and walnut: very flavourful, lovely crunch, vegetable heavy (essentially a salad). A little salty (but I'm a fan of salt so no complaints).

7. Roasted Jerusalem artichoke, Adjika, sunchokes crisps: lightly spicy seasoning. Almost akin to soggier potatoes. From a personal taste perspective, not a favourite. They kindly allowed us to switch from the Romano beans, so maybe this was on me.

8. BBQ pork jowl, Ajapsandalii: the latter refers to eggplant in a lightly spicy sauce. Perfectly cooked, tender and rich, but a little too fatty for my taste personally. There was a lot of fat - ironically we might have been better off saving some of the pickled vegetable at the start to accompany this. I probably should've, and would've, picked the grilled snapper if not for the Feed Me menu.

9. Kyiv: they kindly agreed to let us switch out the polenta cake for the Kyiv for dessert. Meringue sandwiched in orange marmalade and sponge with chocolate buttercream. Very very rich, overly sweet, heavy. While the individual components were well baked/executed, as a dessert I wasn't a fan. Maybe this is why it wasn't paired with the pork jowl originally.

As individual dishes there are definitely a few standouts. As a complete menu, not a fan - the quantities aren't massive (especially compared with similar restaurants) and ordering a la carte would give you more flexibility to choose based on your personal preference. While not dazzling in the creative department, it is certainly some good food, fancied from their original Eastern European origins, paired with excellent service. We'd love to return to try new items a la carte at a future date.

While the place boasts a chill and cosy atmosphere with great service, unfortunately the food menu falls quite short. The sausage at a $35 was disappointing for value, while it was tasty the price was not justified for the sausage and a small side salad. The brown butter custard dessert however was comforting and had the right amount of sweetness.

Excellent well priced and delicious food especially the ox tongue with rhubarb.
Good choice of wine by owner Mitch

Spectacular dinner, very tasty dishes well designed and accurate service. Nice bottles available. Highly recommended

A barrister and solicitor front for a wine bar, it doesn’t get any more Melbourne than that.
We came with no expectations, just loved what they did with an old chamber. And wow I just adored the entire night.
The interior is just major Brunswick vibes, unpretentious but modern yet ever so slightly rustic, chill, a small menu but complex flavors and a relaxed wine selection chalked up on a black board.

One thing I must say, if you have a conservative, traditional palate, you might not enjoy what Gray and Gray have to offer. But if you are open minded to food, then you need to dive head first into this wonderful establishment

Smoked mussels, delicious, simple, the little pool of oil it sits in is very welcomed, eaten together with the warmed bread, I was a very very happy person

Any restaurant that warms their bread has a special place in my heart, served up with the caviar, salmon roe, whipped potato, chives and maras pepper.heaven on earth! I just want to appreciate for a moment how clean cut the knife work on the chives are warmed bread doused in a creamy whipped potato with the pops of umami the salmon roe and caviar provide, and every so slight freshness from the chives. I could literally devour the entire bowl.

Smoked cod, dill cracker, sour plum - a sublime combination of flavors I have never had and one I will happily welcome again! Actually so difficult to describe
The house made buckwheat black pudding, brinza beetroot leaf and honey khachapuri are just AMAZING with wine, the wines we got which were recommended to us honestly paired so well with the food we ordered. Good food makes you happy and I was overjoyed with the selection of food and wines!

Mains we had the lamb rump cap and a plate of glove artichokes, chick peas, red onion, fermented green chili and herbs.

This is HANDS DOWN the BEST lamb I’ve had in my entire life. SO SO WELL COOKED, so insanely tender, so ridiculously juicy, AND THE SEASONING, THAT SAUCE, I literally wanted to lick the plate. 110% recommend, and the tiny morsels of cooked pickle (? I think) honestly complemented the meat too well! I wanted so much more!
Surprisingly the globe artichoke salad paired so well, the freshness from the herbs made you want to go back for more, such a light dressing, I was initially a little wary the chickpeas might be a bit on the heavier side texture wise, but they were so soft and melt in your mouth and fitted in so well with the rest of the dish.

The biggest compliments to the brilliant chef that curated and executed this menu, THIS is what a good wine bar is, showcasing good food and wine that just pair so so well together. Cannot wait to come back for more

Had at great meal here. Good selection of wines and Russian style tapas. The butterbrot was a real stand out, fish was presented beautifully and was full of flavour. The khachapuri was a little different from the version I'd had previously as it lacked any eggs. This was more like a cheesy croissant in texture but still delicious and very filling. All in all a real hidden gem in Northcote!

We ordered the shared plate menus with an extra of the Russian layer cake at the end. The meal shared plates were OK, nice but not exceptional. The Russian layer cake was terrible. It looked like the typical Russian layer cake ie many layers but which were covered in a layer of special icing. The cake tasted nothing like a Russian layer cake it was a cheap standard bought in fake with synthetic icing and synthetic possibly ginger cake slices when I complained the waiter acknowledged it wasn't made with Russian layer cake recipe. The restaurant would have been far better to not have something so cheap (and expensive) than serve up a cheap wrong Cafe dessert.

Everything was pretty good. The waitress Emma was an amazing person who served us perfectly while she was smiling even in a very busy time. I give a high rate to this place first because of their staff then their food

Ballsy move taking on a previous companies name. The reviews aren’t 100% accurate.

We came here around 2: 30pm on Easter Saturday. The interiors are good with nice lighting and being a small wine bar the kitchen is open but not loud.
Food is small share servings so not really a place to come and fill up on for lunch or dinner.

We enjoyed all of it, the ambiance, the food, the wine.
We had our two kids with us, the menu isn’t child friendly at all (I’d suggest bringing iPads, headphone, drawing material with) we knew this and fed the kids before we got here so all was calm and nice.

They have a feed me option however we chose to go with the cold meats (the bread is phenomenal), snow peas and rockling, which tastes amazing and we’re good sized portions for us to share. To finish the meal we had the desert on offer and they kindly gifted our children a dessert each as well free of charge!

Wine selection is great and seems to change depending on the bottles they have open.

Nice venue, good vibe and service. Food has nice flavours but small serves. Avoid the feed me menu as you will not be fed well for sure. Again tiny serves, mostly salads, but not satisfying main or sides. The dessert (baba) was not tasty neither their honey cake which they will recommend you to buy as an extra.

Wonderful. After eating I gaze at the cork ceiling as if to the Russian gods, to thank them. Русские боги <3

Loved the whole experience. The staff was lovely and the food was delicious! And reasonably priced too. The meals/menu were interesting and super tasty and there's a good selection of wines. Well done all!

I'm going to give these guys 5 stars for their panache, as well as their food and their wonderful wine list. To appreciate the food, you need to first recognise it is not some sort of "fusion food for the Northcote vibe. " No, it is the taste of the former Soviet Union - mostly Georgia, a bit of Armenia, and a chunk of Russia. If you've tried the foods from these countries, or travelled there, you will know that Gray and Gray are providing a snapshot, a time capsule, a journey through history. We had the rolls of fried and marinated eggplant stuffed with the Armenian walnut and garlic paste. Oooh - more of that paste, please! Then we had the smoked "not mortadella" which was a large keilbasa-type cured meat and was an absolute hit. We also tried the lambs tongue, which could be improved by slicing it more thinly. We finished with the shashlik skewers of pork and onion - very tasty, but could have been improved by marinating the pork the old fashioned way and cooking just a little longer.

The list of wines is not random - it is obviously well curated. We had them open a bottle of locally-made version of Georgian Saperavi wine and they could tell we weren't thrilled, and they were happy to take it away. They recommended a beautiful French white wine instead, and we were very pleased with it.

Their panache has to be admired. The frontage and signage is that of a former solicitor's office. You don't realise what's inside until you open the door. The old safe at the back of the office has been converted into cold storage. The menu has deliberate typo's - pork screwers instead of skewers. Their business card says they are open every day and they also close every day. And if you complain.well, sorry you weren't happy with their legal services!

You have to admire their sense of the absurd.like bringing a bit of Master & Margarita to life.

Terrible service and very limited food which is absolutely fusion of everything. Not my cap of tea

Great Russian "tapas". Interesting wine list. Small, a little noisy when full but great atmosphere

I came here for a quiet lunch and was not expecting to love Eastern European food as much as I did. Great service. Five stars.

The interior design of this venue is en pointe. Unfortunately though the food is pretentious and under delivers in its mirage of ingenuity and sophistication. The menu has attempted to offer the white, middle-class bourgeoisie of Northcote an intercultural experience but has, instead, delivered a mediocre, unsatisfying dump of flavours. The chef appears to be trying to elevate the flavours of eastern Europe to make it palatable to the local demographic and aesthetically pleasing when, if anything, they have only succeeded in under valuing the cuisine by rendering their food bland and untrue to its roots. I would opt for something more grounded any day. And for this privilege we paid a grand total of $200 for two people to leave jaded and still hungry.

A suburbia wine bar/restaurant featuring some interesting Georgian dishes.

Lock down lifted, yes, but still in Melbourne. I wanted to experience something, more. So, I choose a restaurant in Northcote with a menu that features words like "schmaltz, xolodetz, mchardi, mtsvadi". What?

I went for lunch, 4 courses at $55.

The first course is basically bread, with 3 spreads (chicken fat, preserved carrot, cheese), and a terrine (xolodetz). Lovely flavours. Especially that preserved carrot butter - it taste like no carrot that I know of - it is rich with a liverish flavour.

Second course is baby globe artichoke, Shuba, and corn bread with cheese (Mchadi). The standout is Shuba, a Georgian dish of layered fish and vegetables. The flavour is intense from the pickled trout and bottarga, yet light and sweet from the vegetable terrine and shaved onions.

The third dish of pork neck is firm, and quite plain (can't really taste the spicy nduja) but the flavours lifted when eaten with the charred, sweet alliums.

For me, the fifth solo dish is the weakest - a French cremeux (like a fancier mousse) over chocolate with grainy bits of buckwheat. To be honest I was kinda hoping for the Russian honey cake that so many other reviewers spoke of - perhaps I have to go for dinner.

The Negroni that I ordered beats most Negroni that are serve in fancy establishments in the city, hands down - and a steal at $10.