Rosa's Canteen

Sister restaurant to Rosa's Kitchen, Rosa's Canteen is cleverly placed in the legal district. Perfect for a mid week lunch, this bustling Italian restaurant has become a favourite to many for a deliciously cooked bowl of pasta.

With its open kitchen, wooden tables and floorboards, and sweeping glass windows that extend across the restaurant, Rosa's Canteen has an elegant but smart casual vibe.

In terms of the menu, with its vibrant sauce (with just a tease of chilli) and perfectly cooked al dente pasta,  the penne amitriciana is an exceptional choice.

Also, whilst a carbonara can often be a risky choice (think scrambled eggs with pasta / bland thick cream on pasta / so overly creamy that it makes you feel ill by the end pasta), Rosa's Canteen's cabornara is exactly what a good carbonara should be - no cream, deliciously cheesy and packed full of flavour whilst not being too heavy. 

Perfect for a business lunch, or a lunch with the girls, if looking for a mid week lunch spot in the CBD I would highly recommend making a booking at Rosa's Canteen .

Food: 4/5

Service: 4.5/5

Décor: 4/5

Total: 12.5/15

Verdict: Love - get around to trying it soon

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Borsch Vodka and Tears

Styled after a Krakow cellar bar, Borsch, Vodka and Tears used to be on the list of faves.  Unfortunately, when visiting this restaurant with a group of friends last week, the food turned out to be quite disappointing.

To eat we shared the polish gnocchi, pierogi (polish dumplings), 12 hour roast pork, lamb croquettes, cevapici (skinless sausages) and saganaki.

The polish dumplings filled with beef, chicken, herbs and spices, then topped with bacon, were my favourite dish of the night.  I have a soft spot for polish dumplings and these definitely didn't disappoint - fluffy on the outside and full of flavour on the inside.
The lamb croquettes and cevapici, however,  were both just 'okay' -  the meat in both dishes were dry and the flavours quite bland.



Lamb croquettes

The saganaki was good (but how hard is it to muck up fried cheese) and the 12 hour roast pork itself was rather delicious - but unfortunately that's all it was - delicious pork and a bit of dry bread.

Saganaki

12 hour roast pork

Whilst sounding delicious, the pan fried gnocchi with 5 mushroom ragout, truffle oil and spinach was edible but nothing special - according to one of my dinner companions, it tasted like a can of Campbell's mushroom soup which, in my view, was a pretty spot on assessment of the dish. 

However, the drinks list at Borsch Vodka and Tear's is absolutely exceptional. The vodka menu is a novel in itself and would be a heavenly read for any vodka lover.  This fact, combined with the friendly service and previous exceptional experiences I've had at this restaurant, is enough for me to give this place another shot in the future (but I will definitely be ordering different dishes next time!)

Service: 3.5/5

Décor: 3/5

Food: 2.5/5

Total: 9/15

Verdict: like - get around to trying it at some point

Longrain

Longrain is the type of restaurant that I could easily eat at every night of the week. Their dishes are always spectacular and their service is always amazing.

Whilst in typical Melbourne form there is usually a line out of the door, it usually doesn't take long to be seated at the bar for one of their sensational cocktails while waiting for a table - and trust me, it is definitely worth the wait!

To eat we shared the eggnet, coconut poached chicken and seared tuna. The eggnet filled with pork, prawns, peanuts and caramelised coconut was delicious - incredible textures and cleverly presented, this eggnet is one of Longrain's signature dishes.  A hot tip from the night is that even though it's not on the menu, the eggnet also comes in a smaller size (which is what we ordered - a great idea if you want to make more room in the tummy for more dishes on the menu!).

I was slightly hesitant at ordering the coconut poached chicken with green papaya and Vietnamese mint  (how good can chicken be?) but I was pleasantly surprised.  The chicken itself was moist and flavoursome (the bones were a bit of struggle though so perhaps I wouldn't recommend this dish if on a hot date) and the jalapenos in the papaya salad lifted the whole dish and gave it delicious sweet but spicy bursts of flavour.

The last dish we tried was a special of the night - seared tuna.  The tuna was absolute melt in the mouth and the zingy salad on top was the perfect companion. 

As the venue is mainly shared tables - I wouldn't recommend this place if wanting to share your deepest darkest secrets with your dinner companion.  Otherwise, with its absolutely spectacular mouth-watering dishes, Longrain definitely deserves the title of being the new fave.

Décor: 4/5
Food: 4.5/5
Service: 5/5
Total: 13.5/15
Verdict: the new fave - put it as number one on your to do list.

Rosa's Kitchen 

After being to Rosa's Canteen just the week before (which was pretty incredible) I had high hopes going into Rosa's Kitchen. Unfortunately, whilst it was definitely 'nice', Rosa's Kitchen was a bit of a disappointment. 

Tucked away in Punch Lane, with its menus scrawled on blackboards and open kitchen, the place definitely has a homely feel. 

Unfortunately, the service was not so homely - it was very slow (it's never a good sign when a dinner companion has to raise their hand like a school kid to try and get someone's attention) and there wasn't much of a smile. But the menu looked incredible and we ended up sharing the antipasto platter and five different pastas. 

 

The antipasto platter was probably one of the best I've had in a while. It had a wonderful mix of cured meats, marinated vegetables, fritters and frittatas - ticked both the boxes for taste and variety. 

The dish of night was definitely the ricotta filled ravioli - deliciously creamy ricotta wrapped up in silky pasta - this dish was absolutely exceptional. 

The pumpkin rigatoni was also exceptional - buttery smooth pumpkin matched with lovely pops of hazelnuts - delicious. 

 

Our other pasta dishes (beef cheek ragu and pea and pecorino) were ok but nothing special - I thought the ragu could have done with more flavour, and the pea and pecorino was a bit eggy. 

Also, when asking whether we could order a side salad with the pasta we were told that salad came with the pasta for free - bonus! Unfortunately, when the salad came out is was one small bowl between 5 of us mostly filled with wilted iceberg. 

Whilst there were definite plusses to this joint, if looking for a good Italian joint in the city I would highly recommend hitting up Rosa's Canteen, Tipo 00 or Lupino's instead. 

 

Food: 3/5

Service: 2/5

Decor: 3/5

Total: 8/15

Verdict: don't bother - there are better Italian restaurants in Melbourne.

Gingerboy

Gingerboy is one of those places that never dissapoints - with its spectacular cocktails, vibrant and fragrant dishes, dark and funky vibe and modern decor, hitting up this venue always feels like a hot date. 

On this occasion a girlfriend and I showed up on Saturday night and to our surprise, were seated immediately at the bar (although hot tip from the night is never sit at the downstairs bar in winter as it is absolutely freezing every time someone opens the door). 

To eat we had the salt and pepper chicken ribs and the beef Penang with green beans and pumpkin. 

The chicken ribs were absolutely incredible - the chicken was juicy, the coating was crispy and the sauce that it was smothered in was the perfect combination of tang and spice. 

The curry was also incredible - not too heavy or rich, but abundantly fragrant and flavoursome. The beef was juicy, the beans were crisp and the sauce was the kind that I could have easily been left licking the bowel.
 

The service was a touch slow, but this can be forgiven seeing that it was a pumping Saturday night.  Overall, it is safe to say Gingerboy is always on my list of recommendations and definitely deserves the title of the new fave. 

 

Food: 5/5

Decor: 4/5Service: 4/5

Total: 13/15

Verdict: the new fave - have it as number one in your to do list 

 

Huxtaburger 

Whilst it has become a bit of a Melbourne institution, to be honest I think Huxtaburger is a bit overrated. 

On this occasion I hit up the Smith Street store. With its burger topped silver trays and chip filled red and white cardboard cups, this place definitely gives off an American vibe. The decor is nothing inspiring - the first room you enter is dull and squishy, and the room next door, with its cardboard chip containers scattered around the room and remanents of tomato sauce stuck on the table tops, reminds me of a high school common room. 

To eat I had the Theo - double pattie, cheese, lettuce and bbq sauce - definitely not the best burger I've had. 

Unfortunately the meat was overcooked and dry, the bacon was soggy and fatty, and the cheese wasn't at all melted and gooey. The chips, however, were crisp and delicious! 

It wasn't terrible, but with so many other good burger joints around, I wouldn't say it's worth the calories. 

Food: 2/5

Service: 3/5

Decor: 2/5

Total: 7/15 

Verdict: Don't bother

North East China Family 

North East China Family has always been one of my go to dumpling houses. But with it's latest reno, refreshed menu and new tasty delights, this dumpling house has moved up on the list. 

The decor is still traditional Melbourne dumpling house style - lots of plastic table and chairs, all cramped into a small space. However, the revamped furniture definitely gives the place a lighter and brighter feel than what it once had. 

The dumplings themselves were exceptional. The pan fried prawn dumplings were packed with real chunks of prawn and cooked to perfection.  The steamed veggie dumplings were just as good - brimming with veggies and loaded with flavours. 

The service, however, was disappointingly slow for a dumpling house - it took as 20 mins to wave down a waiter for menus and wine glasses in a pretty much empty restaurant. 

However, overall, considering the quality of its food and the price tag, I would definitely recommend hitting up North East China Family.

Food: 4.5/5

Decor: 3/5

Service: 2.5/5

Total:10/15

Verdict: love - get around to trying it soon