Why you stayWith an open kitchen down one end giving off flash and dazzle from a wood-fired grill, a bar down the other, crowded with drinkers perched on bentwood barstools, and a noise level – from both music and the happy crowd – that’s loud but not obnoxious, the better question at Serai is why wouldn’t you stay? It’s the kind of set-up that makes you feel like you’re in the right place at the right time, especially in Melbourne right now where the food of the Philippines is starting to attract a wider audience. There are places in the city that present Pinoy food in a more traditional light, but Serai is at the cool, young, rule-breaking end of the spectrum, and owner-chef Ross Magnaye is the right man for the job – a smart operator as interested in good flavours as he is in good times. If you’re the kind of person who turns their nose up at pineapple in a savoury context or baulks at the idea of tapioca, prepare to have your preconceptions overturned – always the recipe for a great night out.
