Cecconi's

With its crisp white table cloths, elegant glassware, exquisite Italian food, and slightly stuffy and overcrowded venue, the formal dining area at Cecconi's stays refreshingly true to the old-worldly concept of the long boozy business lunch.

Situated in the CBD, on the left side of venue is the casual bar area which offers a range of Italian inspired entree's at around the $15 mark, and mains at around $30. On the right side of the venue is the pièce de résistance, where dishes will set you back about $30 for an entree and $50 for a main.  On this occasion we were lucky enough to dine in the formal dining area. 

My entree of calamari fritti was flawless - tender, juicy and cooked to absolute perfection.  So too was the eye fillet steak, which was also served with mashed potato and a roasted mushroom on the side.

The service was also excellent - well that is until one of the waiters was incredibly rude to us at the end - an unnecessary blemish on what could have otherwise been an exceptional experience.

With the suits piled in, the expensive booze flowing and the bellows of laughter coming from all corners of the room at 3.30pm on a Weekday, you'd be forgiven for thinking you'd stepped into a scene on Wall Street.  But all of this adds to Cecconi's distinct charm which what makes it one of the best restaurants in Melbourne.

Food: 5/5
Service: 3.5/5
Venue: 4/5
Value for money: 4/5
Total: 16.5/20
Verdict: Love - get around to trying it soon

Souk

 

 

 

 

 Hidden away on Blight Avenue is Melbourne’s newsih Middle Eastern restaurant Souk. Lit up by only the likes of pink neon signs and yellow taxi lights (hence the terrible pictures), the venue itself is spacious a metro-edgy vibe.

Heading there for a mid week lunch, I was surprised to find that we were the only ones in the restaurant - although let’s be honest, as a Middle Eastern restaurant, you’re always going to face an up hill battle with Melbourne institute Maha situated just around the corner.

But at a slightly cheaper price tag than Maha, $45 will get you the 'Opa Gardash Style' (2 small meze and large meze), $55 will get you the 'Salim Shady' (3 small meze and 2 large meze), $65 the 'Fat Fatima' (4 small meze and 2 large meze) and $70 will get you the 'Yallah Feed Me' (7 items of the chef's choice plus desert).

On this occasion we went for the 'Salim Shady' ordering the KFC (Kuwaiti fried chicken), the Manti (tiny Turkish beef dumplings), the Fattoush Salad, the DIY Kebab Station and the Lamb Shwarma.
The Manti was the highlight of the meal - an incredibly more-ish dish that perfectly balanced in texture and flavour. The Fattoush Salad was also another highlight, but unfortunately the cone it was wrapped in was slightly on the tough (midly soggy) side, making it hard to crack with a spoon.

 

 

The KFC was the disappointment of the day - I know what you’re thinking...how can you go wrong with fried chicken?? But it was dry, almost tasted burnt, and definitely wasn't worth the calories.



The mains were both okay, but the DIY Kebabs hit one of my pet hates - they only gave us 5 pita breads when there were three of us (I mean come on, how hard is it either to cut the pita smaller so there’s six, or just add in a little extra) and there wasn't enough sauce meaning that our kebabs were pretty dry.



 

Was it the best Middle Eastern food I’ve had in Melbourne? Well no, but some of the dishes were still pretty tasty.

Food: 3/5
Service: 4/5
Venue: 3.5/5
Total: 10.5/15
Verdict: like - get around to trying it at some point.

Taxi Kitchen

Whilst Taxi Kitchen at Federation Square is slightly shabby around some of its edges, there is no question that it serves up some exceptional food. With a view that just screams Melbourne, the menu is Asian inspired, offering both an a la carte menu or a very reasonably priced $85 six course tasting menu. 

Unable to go past the tasting menu, our starters consisted of sake washed tuna with soy bean pesto and yuzu jelly, flathead tails with seeded mayonnaise, and candied pork papaya with red nam jim.  All three of these fresh and fragrant starters impressed with their impeccably balanced flavours of sweetness, saltiness and spice, and certainly set a high bar for the rest of the meal. 

Luckily the Crispy skin salmon and the Szechuan duck with hot Vietnamese salad and 5 spice caramel were just as exceptional - both of the proteins were cooked to perfection and married well with their accompanying salads. 

For the finale, our desert of Zokoko white chocolate cream, goats' yogurt foam, honey oat crumble and berry sorbet came out looking like a garden party.  Delicate but still decadent, it was a sweet but refreshing way to finish the meal.  

So with such exceptional food, why have I coined it slightly shabby I hear you ask? Well for one, the venue itself needs a bit of a face lift - the couch I was sitting on was so bally I could feel it through my dress. And other than two wonderful gentleman we were lucky enough to have brief encounters with, the service was slow and impersonal  However, with such good food, it's still worth a try if you're in the Fed Square area. 

Food: 4.5/5

Service: 2.5/5

Venue: 2.5/5

Total: 9.5/15

Verdict: like - get around to trying at some point 

 

Rosetta Ristorante

Rosetta in a word? Devine. Brought to you by Neil Perry, this exquisite Italian fine dining venue not only has an incredible authentic vibe, the service is nothing short of impeccable. Even the complimentary bread makes Rosetta stand out from the crowd - offering three freshly baked sorts, including an olive and sundried tomato focaccia option.

To start with we shared the Charcoal grilled prawn, calamari, octopus, mussels and Rock Flathead with lemon, capers and chili. Not only a pretty face, the well presented seafood dish was fresh, flavoursome and cooked to perfection.

Whilst some say pasta is not generally a summer dish, with Rosetta's extensive range of mouth watering pastas, it is certainly not a dish that can be missed. On this occasion I couldn't go past the classic tagliatelle ragu bolognese.  Whilst not quite claiming the title of the best ragu bolognese I've ever had, it was still rich and delicious, and the pasta was cooked well.  It also looked far more elegant when it came out than what the picture below shows, which is the aftermath of being drowned in fresh parmesan.

With an outdoor terrace perfect for a long boozy lunch or a hot summer's night - Rosetta's is definitely not a restaurant to be missed this warmer season.

Food: 4.5/5
Service: 5/5
Venue: 4.5/5
Total: 14/15
Verdict: The New Fave - put it as number one on the To Do list

The Atlantic

When you think of restaurants on South Bank in the CBD, you often think overpriced, underserviced, and full of tourists. Setting itself up in the ranks of Rockpool, Nobu and Spice Temple, South Bank's The Atlantic is one of the few that appears to have separated itself from the crowd. Often coined as one of the city's best seafood restaurants, The Atlantic, to no surprise, offers an extensive array of seafood, whilst also catering to the vegetarians and the red meat eating crowd.

The Kilpatrick Oysters and the Garlic Prawns were definitely the highlights of the evening.  The oysters were fresh and well seasoned, and the garlic sauce was so good that there was unquestionably a subtle fight to try and scrape the last drippings of sauce from the serving plate.

 

 

The Moreton Bay Bug Spaghetti however, didn't quite hit the same mark. Whilst the pasta was cooked al dente and the Moreton Bay Bug tasted fresh, the verdict on the table was that the overall dish was missing something - unhelpfully, none of us on the table could work out what it was.  We did, however, order some fresh chilli which definitely lifted the dishes flavour.

Whilst the service was slow, and at times completely uninterested, with its outdoor seating overlooking the river, if you can manage to score yourself a spot out the front, The Atlantic certainly earns itself a spot as one of Melbourne's go-to venues for a summer night's dinner or a leisurely long lunch.

Food: 3.5/5
Service: 3.5/5
Venue: 3.5/5
Total: 10/15
Verdict: Love - get around to trying it soon

Park Street Pasta and Wine

What makes a good local? Somewhere modern but still inviting is a good start, delicious and nourishing food is a must, and warm and friendly staff (who are passionate about what they do) is non-negotiable.  If the owners just happen to be rather good looking too, well that's just a bonus. Park Street Pasta and Wine, one of the latest eateries to join the South Melbourne food scene, manages to tick all of the boxes.

Offering authentic Italian cuisine, the menu is nothing less than drool worthy.  With its fresh flavours and generous portions of seafood, the home made fettuccine with prawn and mussels is absolutely divine.

If your looking for something on the heartier side (and don't worry, it doesn't actually come with that much cheese, the staff were just graciously appeasing my parmesan addiction), the casarecce with wagyu beef cheek ragu is a must.

Whatever you do, make sure to save room for desert. Whilst I don't generally have a sweet tooth, the bombolini, lemon curd, marscapone and passionfruit is definitely worth saving room for.

However, it's really the small touches that sets this place apart. No boring bread and better dumped on your table in sight - instead you will be offered warmed herbed focaccia with whipped lardo.  Also, too shy or sophisticated to lick your plate clean (and trust me, you'll want to)? No worries - they will offer you even more complimentary bread to mop up the delicious juices.

When you leave a place already planning when you'll return, you know it's a good sign. Watch out the likes Tipo 00 and Grossi Florentino Grill, you better watch your back - there is clearly a new contender in town.

Food: 4.5/5
Service: 5/5
Venue: 4.5/5
Total: 14/15
Verdict: Love - get around to trying it soon

Om Nom Kitchen

For such a world renowned food scene, it's quite surprising the lack of desert venues in Melbourne. But with a 3 course desert degustation (that's right, a desert degustation) Om Nom has you covered.

 

Situated above Ezard, Om Nom is the Rolls Royce of desert bars - white table cloths, exquisite service and the sweet waft of fairy floss and sherbet the minute you walk through the doors. Being our first time to Om Nom, we couldn't go past the desert degustation ($48 per person), opting for the Granny Smith Pannacotta Party, the White Peach Injection and the Passionista.

Whilst all the dishes tasted 'nice', and came out looking magnificent, some of the flavours were on the underwhelming side. The highlight was the Passionista which consisted of passionfruit curd, passionfruit fluid gel, passionfruit jelly, dehydrated passionfruit air, aerated basil ganache, basil ice cream, fresh baby basil, sesame cat soil and salted caramel. The dish packed an absolute punch and was just bursting with flavour and texture.



The White Peach Injection (which consisted of white peach sorbet, raspberry and rose curd, toasted marshmallow milk granita and peach nitro) whilst putting on a show, was one dimensional in flavour.  So too was the Granny Smith Pannacotta Party (which consisted of vanilla pannacotta, green apple jelly, cinnamon & white chocolate powder, compressed apple, green apple sorbet, lime & green tea meringue, apple whizz fizz and white chocolate aero), which had the overwhelming flavour of apple which masked many of the other incredible flavours.

While I won't be rushing back to Om Nom any time soon (give me Mr Miyagi's Pumpkin Toast desert or Supernormal's Peanut Butter parfait over the above deserts any day), the dishes were still tasty and it definitely offers a novelty factor which is generally missing from the Melbourne food scene.

Food: 2.5/5
Service: 4/5
Venue: 4/5
Total: 10.5/15
Verdict: Like - get around to trying it at some point.

 

The Stokehouse

The revamped Stokehouse in a word? Exceptional. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't the best food I've ever had - but when you pair quite delicious food with a warm and welcoming ambiance, elegant architecture, reasonable prices, and service fit for a queen, you are bound to have an exceptional experience.

To start with, too many restaurants in Melbourne make you feel as though they are doing you the favour by allowing you to dine at their restaurant. Not the Stokehouse - after rudely arriving half an hour late, instead of being shunned like you'd usually expect from a fine dining restaurant, we were welcomed with a warm smile and informed that we were more than welcome to sit at the bar for a drink before being taken to our table if we needed to wind down. The exceptional service didn't stop there - our drinks were never empty, our food was out in a flash, and all with the familiar friendly banter that you'd expect from the favourite bartender at your local.

The menu is Modern Australian with a large showcase of seafood - including an extensive Raw Bar to start. Whilst everything (well nearly everything) was delicious - each of us had our specific favourites from the menu. Packed full of flavour, the beef short rib wrapped in filo pastry definitely appeared in mine. So too did the sashimi tuna tacos which were fresh, crisp and incredible more-ish.

The Australian beef of the day was cooked to perfection, and the sides of roasted broccoli and the grain salad were the perfect accompaniments.

 

 

The only dissapointing dish of the night was the prawn and bug cannelloni with pumpkin and saffron, and fermented chilli. How can such an incredible sounding dish go so wrong I hear you ask. Unfortunately it did - it was bland, dry and tasted very fishy.



In my view, ice cream is a completely underrated desert - thank you Stokehouse for recognising this and putting an ice cream of the day on your menu. That being said, The Bombe (White chocolate parfait, strawberry sorbet and toasted meringue) and the White Chocolate Rose (Yoghurt mousse, white chocolate shaving, yuzu gelato and rose petals) also looked delicious and will definitely making a feature on my next dining experience.

It's exceptional dining experiences like these that made me want to be a food blogger - which is why the Stokehouse has earned the title of the new fave.

Food: 3/5
Service: 5/5
Venue: 5/5
Total: 13/15
Verdict: The New Fave - put it as number one on the To Do list

Osteria Ilaria

To say that there was a fair amount of hype surrounding the opening of Tipo 00's sister restaurant Osteria Ilaria would be an understatement.  Situated right next door to Tipo (where Du Nord used to be), Osteria Ilaria sticks with the Italian theme of its sister restaurant, but veers away from the traditional pasta and risotto dishes that Tipo 00 is famed for.  Instead, expect to see the likes of pork liver sausage with spiced sourdough and rhubarb, roast corn fed duck with radicchio and hazelnuts and roast pork scotch fillet with apple and fennel crumbs.

On this occasion, to start with we had the zucchini flowers with Jerusalem artichoke and mizuna, and well as the baby octopus.  The zucchini flowers were cooked to perfection and oozed with flavour when sliced open. The baby octopus was another win - easily cut with a butter knife and rich with flavour.

The baby calamari came out looking beautiful - but was a touch on the tough side and needed an extra burst of acidity.  Tasting overwhelmingly like fish, the paccheri with crystal bay prawns and sorrel was also on the disappointing side - and yes I am aware that prawns are a creature of the sea, but that shouldn't mean that the flavour of the entire dish is overpowered by a fishy taste.

For the mains, the whole whiting with pippies and sea herbs was exceptional, easily flaking into large juicy flakes of meat when digging in with your fork.  The nettle gnocchi with blue cheese and almonds was another highlight of the night - plump fluffy balls of gnocchi covered in an incredibly rich sauce.  However, because of the richness of the blue cheese sauce, this is probably one of those dishes which are best shared because even I as a blue cheese lover could foresee myself struggling with trying to get through a whole dish of this myself.

Also, don't feel too bad if you haven't saved room for desert - whilst coming out looking magnificent, the sheep's yogurt semifreddo with pistachio and orange was tasty, but no more so than a serving of Jock's ice-cream that you can get on the way home.

Whilst there were a number of hits, there were also a number of misses and Osteria Ilario didn't quite meet the high expectations I had walking through their doors.  But in its growing pain stages, I'd still say it was worth a try - especially if you include the whole whiting in your order.

Food: 2.5/5
Service: 4/5
Venue: 3.5/5
Total: 10/15
Verdict: Like - get around to trying it at some point.

Tonka

What is it about Tonka that consistently makes it appear in my top 5 restaurants of Melbourne? Could it be the enchanting venue that makes whimsical and class coexist perfectly in the one room. Or perhaps it's their incredible staff who treat the art of serving with the precision and coordination required of the American ballet. Or is it the food - their mind blowing, incredibly delicious, modern take on Indian cuisine. Whatever it is, a night at Tonka is guaranteed to impress and it was the perfect venue for the very special occasion of my girlfriend's 30th.

On the evening we went, the stars of the show were without a doubt the butter chicken and the palak paneer gnudi with pine nuts and lemon pickle. I know what you're thinking - 'you can get butter chicken anywhere' - but this butter chicken was the cream of the crop - the Kim of the Kardashians.  Rich and full of flavour, it was a dish worth licking the bowl for.  And the palak paneer gnudi - well let's just say I'd happily turn vegetarian if it meant I could eat a bowl of this every night. These soft, moist (sorry moist haters!) but fluffy parcels were an absolute textual and flavour delight.

The ugly duckling of the night was the dal with black lentils.  Whilst still a delicious dish full of fragrant flavours - this runt of the pack brought back memories of the mud pies I used to make as a child.

 

However, if the dal was the ugly duckling of the night, the pani puri and the duck korma with apple and vanilla spiced beetroot was the majestic elegant white swan.  Exquisitely delicate, the pani puri still surprisingly packed a punch and the duck was cooked to perfection.





The highlight of the night for the desert lovers was, well, with no surprise the deserts. But I must admit, these desert lovers were definitely onto something as both the carrot halwa and the coque meringue came out looking like Picasso masterpieces, with tastes to back up their looks.

Tonka has found the perfect formula to make your occasion feel special, but casual - fine dining, but in comfort - exquisite food, that still fills you up and leaves you feeling completely and utterly satisfied. Okay, okay so I'm starting to sound a bit like a 1990s love song - but you get the point - this place should be number 1 on the to do list, which is what scores itself the title of the new fave.
And a very special thanks to the mother of the birthday girl who very generously took us out for this very special evening.

Food: 4.75/5
Service: 5/5
Venue: 5/5
Total: 14.75/15
Verdict: The New Fave - put it as number 1 on the To do list