Transformer Fitzroy

Be prepared to have your mind blown and taste bud explosion. Fine dining without the stuffiness and depletion of your weekly expenses.
My friend and I dined here two nights ago and we both shared small plates.
Started with organic popcorn crushed nori, pumpkin hummus and sourdough crisps.
Second was spelt baos with crispy organic tofu, roasted cauliflower plate, veggie with wild black rice, and grilled cumin seasoned eggplant.
We didn’t even have room for dessert! Service was wonderful and the atmosphere is so perfect!
Best dining experience of 2016 so far! Highly recommended!

Ok. To be honest, I love eating meat. From pork belly with salty fennel crackling to slow smoked brisket. When I think what’s for dinner? I really mean what’s the meat we are basing the dinner on! So, I’m in Melbourne and going for dinner with a vegetarian friend (not that there’s anything wrong with that.)
He says there’s a vegetarian place that’s incredible. Busy every night but don’t have to wait long and the place runs like a well oiled machine. «Yeah, yeah you bloody hippy. Let’s go and I might grab a burger later tonight»
Rose street Fitzroy reminds me of Newtown in Sydney only cleaner and we manage to find a car space. Must be vegan town, as most restaurants seem to be vege or veg optioned.
Transformers is the place. It’s humming at 8:30 on a Wednesday night. Tables are full and were given a number and directed to the bar to wait for a table. Two brothers brown ale, very nice (by buddy had a mineral water). Two gulps and the tables ready. This place is impressive! Great chilled atmosphere and music good too.
Now the food.
Looks interesting.
My friend orders two mains (why not) some lentil burger and nachos, can’t remember the details. I order the Vietnamese leaf wrap, kimchi tostada and a megoreng.
The reason I don’t remember my friends meal Fula because mine was In Cred E Bull! Leaf wrap was fresh, citrus, crunchy and the kimchi was so tasty. Then the megoreng… Tofu, peanuts, spicy, sweet with egg noodles. Who knew vegetarian food could be so good!
Finished the meal with a long black coffee on ice (too full for desert).
If you like vegetarian, go and try the food. If you don’t like vegetarian, go and try the food at Transformers.
And… Didn’t stop for a burger on the way home.
I wonder if they’re open for brekky?

I can never really be bothered writing a review but sometimes a dining experience is so good that it stands out amongst Melbournes quality food scene. Transformer is such a place.
The interior is fresh and cool. Raw exposed concrete, timber, brick and wire mesh are dramatically softened by extraordinary lighting and wild plants. The place looks like it would be noisy but it’s not and I was able to enjoy great conversation with my friends over delicious vegetarian food without having to shout.
I’m not a vegetarian so I was skeptical but the food was fresh and filling and did indeed ‘transform’ me. I’ll be back…

Wow — a degustation dinner here courtesy of Melbourne Vegan eats & Yalumba wines, four courses (a nibble to start) & eight matching wines.
For all the omnis out there this place shows what startling food can be made from fresh oval produce grown in the ground.
They source their menu from what is in season right now & boy do the pack a flavoursome punch on the plate.
Tonight I had the acidic punchy rockmelon & baby cucumber to start, a fresh asparagus, immature leek, radish & potato dish next followed by a range of Asian mushrooms. Stunning display of what can be done with vegetables.
Light on with the proteins (not a bean or tofu in sight) & looking at the regular menu you would need three of these dishes at $ 15-​$ 18 to feel satisfied.
Service stunning with polite attentive staff who are more than willing to chat about the fare.
I’ve only dropped a star for the price & the size of the portions.
Yeah another vegan superstar venue.

This is truly an upmarket fine dining vegetarian eatery. in smart, but semi casual surroundings.
The food is simply sensational! The flavour combinations have been carefully put together and they work really well.
Most of the items on the menu have changed since our last visit a few months ago, so we had lots of new and interesting dishes to try.
We had the popular pumpkin and tahini dip (I hope this stays on the menu full time!), then we tried corn fritter chips, King oyster, Brussels sprouts and roasted cauliflower salad. All were beautifully presented and tasted really good, but the standout fish was the roasted leek. So simple, but each bite was melt in the mouth and absolutely to die for! I really hope they keep this item on the menu.
They also have an interesting list of beer, wine and cocktails. The bar staff are artists at preparing and presenting the cocktails. The Bellini and Kawaii 5 – 0 that I tried were lovely.
All in all a really lovely dinner, but yes, the serves are small as they are all tapas style tasting plates, meant to be shared, but this means you can try a lot of options. The prices reflect the quality of the food, so we were happy to pay…
We walked in on a Wednesday night without reservation and there were still a few tables available to choose from, so worth a try if you haven’t pre-​booked, but I would strongly recommend booking on the weekend.

This place is going to take off! Quality food in a well designed converted warehouse. I’m definitely heading back to check out the weekend breakfast menu.

For those vegetarians/​vegans who are just looking for deep fried Cauliflower, Tofu and faux meats this place isn’t for you. Yes they actually cook here and use a blend of cooking techniques to get the best out of their fresh produce. This comes at a cost of course, but well worth it as the interior is well designed, intimate and chic.

Transformer. More than meets the eye.
Sorry, as a child of the 80s I couldn’t resist.
Wanting a healthy dinner option for a catch up with a girlfriend, I thought we’d give new kid on the block, Transformer, a go. I’m not sure what I was expecting. Vegetables disguised as other things, faux meat… maybe hippies, mungbeans and incense? Having no real expectations meant I was really impressed with our experience.
Upon entering, we were pleased to see a beautiful fit out, ambient lighting, and not a hippie in site. There was, however, lots of hipsters and it soon became apparent that we should have made a reservation! We luckily scored what was a cancelled table and proceeded to have a really lovely meal, with the perfect amount of friendly service.
There’s a decent wine list, beers and cocktails too. But for those not drinking (myself included on this particular occasion) there was an interesting selection of cold pressed juices and some little mini tonics (read: shots) loaded up with the likes of turmeric, ginger and coconut water. I liked having this before the meal as a way to get my appetite firing.
We shared the pumpkin and tahini dip which is apparently the most popular thing on the menu. It comes with a slick of good quality olive oil and what I think is pomegranate molasses on top. Tangy, savoury and silky smooth it really was terrific.
Next we had oyster mushrooms (tasty but not the biggest portion), a cucumber salad (fresh and creamy) and a sprouted brown rice beetroot risotto (delicious!). I can see more decadent, and boozy, nights being an expensive affair but we weren’t super hungry and so these shared dishes only set us back around $ 30 a head! Bargain.
I’ll be back to try more of the interesting menu items.

Being in charge of my younger sister’s birthday dinner was feeling a little overwhelming until the *very* conveniently timed grand opening of Transformer! As a Vegetarian, my sis has always been a huge fan of Vegie Bar, but we needed somewhere a little fancier for a special occasion, and this place was perfect.
Firstly can I just say, the design is absolutely gorgeous. Whoever is responsible for this place has done such a beautiful job. For a warehouse space the noise levels are really great, thanks in part to the separation of dining areas by huge fence walls covered in climbing plants. It’s going to look even more stunning once they’ve grown up a bit.
Food is all vegetarian, and split between starters, small plates, salads, main plates and desserts. For somewhere that is fine dining, you’re doing pretty well when meals are less than $ 20!
All of the dishes are weird, and in a good way! Great flavours, plated up so nicely and just really interesting, which is exactly what you want from somewhere like this. It’s fine dining vegetarian without the crazy price tags of somewhere similar that serves meat.
We shared the pumpkin-​tahini dip with rye-​quinoa chips ($ 7) from the starters, and they were deeeelish. Amazing dip. Such great flavour. We also shared the ricotta and eye gnocchi with lentils, pumpkin mousse and blueberry compote ($ 15). This dish was so so pretty to look at and very delicious. Not the best sharing dish for four people as I wanted more, but very yum and a surprising mix of ingredients that worked well together. Our other shared dish was the roasted sweet potato with coconut yogurt, lime and togarashi. ($ 9) Also yummy, and a perfect one to share.
After our 3 starters we each got our own main– They’re smallish, but the combo of starters and mains was a perfect size.
I had the green curried polenta with wild rice, thai pesto and coconut reduction ($ 16). A little spicy but very delicious! Others on the table had the eggplant with Meredith goat’s feta, grapes and lentils ($ 17). The warmed grapes were a strange sight but everyone enjoyed! The eggplant itself was really good. Someone else also had the brown rice and beetroot risotto ($ 18) which was sweeter than expected but also delicious.
I’m pretty annoyed we didn’t try any desserts because they look phenomenal, but we had a cake waiting for us at home!
The staff were all lovely, we had a tiny mix up where the waiter thought we were sharing all the dishes, so my main arrived much later than the others, but it was easily forgiven.
Worth dropping by here– They take bookings so shoot them an email to secure your spot, as I have a feeling they’ll be busy for awhile. Really nice date night vibe too!
I don’t think I could ever become a Vegetarian myself, but there’s certainly flavours and meals at Transformer that make you forget about being a meat-​eater while you’re there. Well done to the team.

This is a very cool vegetarian restaurant. It’s the sister restaurant to Vegie Bar which is next door. It’s a little more formal and a little quieter than Vegie Bar. The food is different but just as good. They have smaller dishes that are meant to be shared. I had the soba noodles which was delicious. The vegan chocolate mousse cake looked like a work of art when brought out. I loved that too.