James Said Bistro 926 High Street, Armadale, Victoria 3143

"It’s hard to really define the cuisine served here. There’s a bit of french, a bit of Italian and so it’s probably best described as Modern European. Food was really nicely cooked and plated. Good flavours; attentive service too and the bistro is a nicely renovated space - nice and sparse and bright. Great addition to High St, Armadale"

"Beautiful spot for a semi private function. I came here for my partner’s birthday dinner and everything was great. They do some lovely cocktails (try the margarita or amaretto sour) and have a nice wine selection. All the food is nice as well but the tuna ceviche and pumpkin ravioli were standout. Service is really good too and the space is beautiful."

"The decor was beautiful and the staff were great in getting us in quick. However there was just something a little lacking when we went here. Maybe it was due to being a Monday lunch that it lacked the pizazz you’d want from a beautiful lunch spot. The food was ok but nothing special, just good. I’d definitely give this place another shot to see if it was just a one off strange week."

"The restaurant looks stunning with its classy blue velvet decor. However, I found the food a bit pricey for what you get. I was definitely expecting more than 5 slices of Kingfish for $25.. The service was good, and the dishes looked nice, but I think they could improve the flavours and portions to match the cost."

"I think I'm still in the food/cocktail haze 24 hours later ... oh my what a complete, incredible and fantastic experience at dinner last night! First of all service was impeccable, actually the best I've experienced in some time. Intuitive, aware, respectful and warm. Meghan and the lovely French guy were out of this world. Truly amazing with their timing and spacing of food and drink. To the owner of James Said (may be it is James Said!) you have got the 5 star class staff; they really enhanced incredible food and drink! Downed three incredible cocktails (French Martini, My Way Martini & Passionfruit Collins) yeah, indulgent I know but it was happy hour and these were the most high quality (read good amount of alcohol) cocktails I've had, may be ever. One thing that always annoys me is happy hour means many places give you half the amount of alcohol for half the price. Not here! Wow! Incredible again. Am I waxing lyrical enough? Olives to start (were a little too hot to eat, may be warming is better), then lovely pillow shaped bread roll with the best butter, was it French? Tasted like it. Then I chose the ceviche kingfish with lime and coconut ... can I say I wish it were just a slightly larger entree, was too small, but that's only because I wanted more. Then moved onto the Taste of the Sea for main, beautifully cooked barramundi with beurre blanc & asparagus. Sided it with frieds and beans almandine. I was so in my own world eating this meal, I hope I didn't offend other guests, lol! Just fantastic. The fries were better than Maccas. Could not fault anything here. No dessert though the offering was tempting but tum was full and very satisfied. James Said Bistro is a well kept secret in Armadale. I was completely blown away as well as my partner (had the scallops and vegie ravioli plus cocktails) on every level here. The beauty of the restaurant also made the experience incredible. Lights and space and not too fussy or lacking. The cocktail maker was incredible watching her get those cocktails out in perfect time. I cannot wait to come back! Thank you so much!"