delicious. 100 Victoria: Lagoon Dining named best restaurant in people’s choice vote

The votes are in and the people have chosen this crowd-pleasing restaurant as their favourite in the delicious.100 People’s Choice.

An unassuming modern Chinese restaurant in Carlton’s land of red sauce and pasta has been crowned the winner of the delicious. 100 People’s Choice vote.

Lagoon Dining, run by mates Chris Lerch, Ned Trumble and Keat Lee, was the dark horse of this year’s list, making its debut and unexpectedly snaring the most popular restaurant title.

After the critics revealed Victoria’s top restaurants in the annual delicious. 100 on August 6, the voting was opened to everyday diners to have their say.

Lagoon Dining’s Ned Trumble, Chris Lerch and Keat Lee cooking up a storm in the kitchen. Picture: David Caird

Almost 10,000 votes were cast, with the Lygon Street restaurant, which came in at No.51 on the official list, proving the crowd favourite, beating Richmond’s luxe Japanese diner Minamishima in second and Geelong’s fire-powered Igni in third.

Lerch was surprised by the result, especially with the calibre of other venues on the list.

“It’s amazing. We really appreciate the support,” he said.

“We were up against restaurants that have been around for a long time and venues quite larger than us with broader reach, so that’s what I feel most proud about: that we have really connected and resonated with people.”

Lagoon Dining has taken the title of Victoria’s favourite restaurant, according to a reader vote. Picture: Nicole Cleary

Lagoon Dining opened in November 2019 and like the majority of the hospitality industry has faced a brutal two years of lockdowns and staff shortages.

“It’s been a challenging 12 to 24 months as a new business. We only had a few months of trade before we had to start doing these pivots,” Trumble said.

“Not only were we trying to navigate the challenges of Covid, but it was a tough and extremely challenging time for all.”

On the other side of lockdown, Trumble said the restaurant had found its groove.

“We are confident in our offering and have settled into the flavour profiles and know what people respond to,” he said.

“We’ve built up a loyal clientele, we know their names and they know ours. It comes with time and I feel like we’re hitting our stride.”