Corte

The first thing you notice about Corte (and its biggest drawcard) is the venue.  Situated within an old courthouse built in the 1800's, with its distressed stone walls, high ceilings and wooden features, the building just oozes with character.  Also adding to Corte's old world charm is its courtyard which is filled with palm trees and greenery, and spotted with outdoor seating for visitors to enjoy a drink in the sun - a little Oasis in the midst of the bustling Bay Street of Port Melbourne.

Serving Latin cuisine, Corte's menu is designed to share.  On this occasion we ordered (and over-ordered I must add) the Ahi Poke Nachos with raw yellowfin tuna, fresh tortilla chips, kewpie, chilli jam and sesame, the baked Charlston brie with onion jam and rolls stuffed with pulled pork and coleslaw.

The Ahi Poke Nachos was the dish of the day.  Whilst it could have done with more sauce (it looks saucy in the picture below but the chips underneath the top layer were bone dry) the yellow fin tuna was fresh, the sauces were flavoursome and the overall flavours dish surprisingly worked (who would have thought to put raw fish in nachos??).  The baked brie was also executed well -  the brie was warm and gooey and the accompanying sourdough was fresh and spongy.

 

The rolls, however, were disappointing.  The pork was flavoursome and cooked well and the corn chips added a nice textual crunch, but the overall dish was dry, and lacked any zest/spice/tang in its one dimensional flavours.

With live music in the courtyard Fridays from 6pm and Saturdays and Sundays from 2pm, it's definitely a venue I would suggest for an afternoon drink on a sunny afternoon (and maybe order a bowl of the Ahi Poke nachos while you're there!).

Food: 2.5/5
Service: 3/5
Venue: 5/5
Total: 10.5/15
Verdict: like - get around to trying it at some point.