Muli

It’s easy to miss Muli. Just one small sign, some light jazz music humming from the speakers and colourful rosebushes out the front signal this seafood-centric spot. Inside, there’s a marble-clad shucking bar where guests are surrounded by oysters, glowing crustacean-filled tanks and a handful of tables with enough seating for 12.

Muli is run by a family with some serious expertise. Owners Van Tran, her husband David Tran and son David Jr previously ran Footscray Market’s renowned D&K Live Seafood.

The family is proud of its relationships both with suppliers and customers. At Muli, Van will come to the table and talk to you about where your seafood comes from whenever a dish is brought out.

These dishes could include smaller plates such as buttery lobster rolls with salmon roe and a kingfish sashimi. Larger plates include grilled seafood fresh from the tanks like the rare blue marron from Western Australia. Plus, blue swimmer crab that’s marinated in gochujang and soy sauce for four days.

And while the dinner menu is intentionally simple, experimental seafood flavours inspire a creative dessert menu. There’s oyster ice-cream and salty-sweet sea urchin ice-cream.