Brunswick folk have it pretty good when it comes to the cultural food spread, but the area is not known for Asian eateries. So word about a new Thai restaurant has had locals abuzz in the suburb's steadily gentrifying eastern reaches.
Set behind a slick glass facade at Lygon Street's northern end, Eleven Tigers looks purpose-built for Melbourne's scorching summers. There's polished concrete underfoot, a lush jungle mural on one wall, Scandi-style furnishings, some gutsy air-con and a central bar well stacked with Asian beers such as Chang, Singha and Beerlao.
Owner Adrian Lekchinhda is no restaurant novice. His first Melbourne restaurant was a traditional affair in Boronia and he operates Osha Thai Kitchen, in an arcade next to Glenferrie train station, which specialises in takeaway-style street food for the Swinburne Uni crowd.
With Eleven Tigers, he's going for something in between – traditional Thai flavours but with share-plate appeal and an edgier aesthetic.
Eleven Tigers' menu is peppered with "small plates", including crunchy calamari with wasabi mayo and "Miang" scallops perched on betel leaf and crowned with toasted coconut.
For bigger appetites , Lekchinhda is pushing barbecue platters featuring grilled prawns and "Crying Tiger" beef sirloin – or a combination if you can't decide between beef, prawns or calamari, along with Thai curries and zesty, green papaya-style salads.
Open Tue-Thu and Sun 5.30pm-10pm; Fri-Sat 5.30pm-10.30pm.
402 Lygon Street, Brunswick East, 03 9387 5164