Taxi Dining Room

After reading the seductive promotion of the restaurant and its innovative menus, I was keenly interested and made notes to visit when I am in Melbourne shortly. Sadly, I won't be booking after seeing the price list. Has every restaurateur in Australia gone bonkers? Do they only expect Oprah-style celebrities and oil-sheiks as patrons? I read constantly where Tourism chiefs in Oz bemoan the failing industry and no one understands that those prices are not to blame? The "Aussie" is no longer worth only US54 cents! Prices that were once doubled overnight need to be halved. I am aware that Oz salaries are often splendid. Surely someone in authority knows that one can still get a complimentary cup of soup with the main dish in America? My closest restaurant here in rural France is an unpretentious place with near-gourmet food, serving a five-course luncheon with complimentary table wine, Normandy cider, bread and fairly hefty Government service taxes for the princely sum of eleven euros!!! Give or take depending on the exchange all of $A14. Melbourne won't be luring many French tourists. What a pity! This fabulous city avoided because of sheer greed. As for $195 for an obscure bottle of Campania wine...guffaws! How very sad! My final comment: on the International scale "fusion' food is totally passe, with trends nack to extravagant French cooking or excellent English cuisine, most certainly at the horrendous costs at poor Taxi Dining. Please believe that I am not "ranting", but am trying to be constructive and am generally the first person to rave about Melbourne.  19/02/2012