Belleville

We were recently invited to Belleville, a restaurant and bar located in a rustic warehouse type building near Chinatown. Think dim lights, chandeliers, scuffed walls and floors, loud music and a DJ to create a casual vibe.

Davin and I started off with a couple of drinks and I ordered a dry martini with olives, and Davin ordered a glass of the Champagne Collette.

For starters we ordered the duck ham with taleggio cream, pickled black berry and sour dough crips. We’ve never had duck ham before but the texture and flavours were nice. Davin thought it was probably on the salty side. We also got the chargrilled calamari with ‘ndjuda, cavalo nero and mussels. This was a really nice dish and the seafood was fresh.

With mains we decided to order the Tasmanian salmon with cauliflower, golden raisins and citrus beurre blanc, and their famous rotisserie free range chicken with jus and miso butter. The salmon was nice and cooked well. The rotisserie free range chicken however was a bit of a let down. The chicken skin was on the salty side and tasted more like one of those charcoal chickens you could get from a takeaway shop. It didn’t stand out for us.

We also ordered sides with our mains and got the rotisserie sweet potato with creme fraiche, aged gouda and chives. This was delicious! It came out piping hot and we loved it. We also loved the chargrilled greens with citrus butter and pecorino. It was so flavoured and the greens had a lovely crunch to it.

Overall, Belleville has a great vibe for if you want to have a couple of drinks and food with a bunch of friends in a casual setting.

Belleville
Approx $45 AUD per person
Address: 1 Globe Alley, Melbourne VIC 3000
Phone: +61 3 9663 4041
Website: belleville-melbourne.com

Belleville Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Mjølner

If you’re looking for a unique dining experience in the Melbourne CBD, then look no further! Mjølner is a fairly new restaurant which offers the diner a Viking themed experience while you get to feast on succulent and juicy meats cooked on their rotisserie and deliciously thought out dishes. The restaurant has two levels with their beautiful bar downstairs and a bustling restaurant upstairs. There are plenty of historic Viking features throughout the modern restaurant such as horns, ancient looking knives, axes, and even Thor’s hammer!

On this night we dined with the lovely Bearabbit, Feed with Gusto and their partners. We started off with cocktails and a complimentary shot of amber vermouth, mead and honey – from a glass horn as the shot glass! Yes, a glass horn! We were taught to cheers and yell out “skål!” in true Viking form!

In preparation for our meal, the waitress brought out a selection of different Viking style knives. We all got to pick one to use as our cutting knife for dinner.

The menu is made for sharing so we ordered a range of dishes which included the roast bone marrow, venison loin, the free range chicken, the O’Connor’s pasture fed short ribs and the roast porchetta. We also added the roasted cauliflower and potatoes with goats cheese, cornichons and shallots as sides.

The roast bone marrow was a real highlight. It came with some bread which you could use to dip and scoop up the delicious marrow straight from the bone. After you’ve cleaned up the marrow, they offer you a whisky shot which you drink straight from the that same bone after they’ve torched it. Again another pretty special experience and it was fun to do with a group of friends!

We also loved the O’Connor’s pasture fed short ribs. The meat was so soft and flavoured. Also the brussel sprouts that went with the ribs were perfection!

The venison loin and chicken were also lovely dishes with great flavours, although the chicken was quite pricey for chicken!

The roast porchetta was also nice however for $60 we thought the portion was on the slightly smaller side.

We also ordered some beers which came out served in these huge Viking horns which was pretty cool!

For dessert we decided to order all of them except for the cheese selection. We ordered the malt parfait, bombe alaska and custard tart. All three desserts were delicious but the bombe alaska was definitely the highlight because it came with flamed mandarin liqueur, and the dish was on fire!

Overall we had an awesome time and it’s a great place to just have fun with a group of friends, and feel like you’re in a different world while feasting on some great food. The service was also fantastic. Our waitress was very attentive, efficient and informative. We highly recommend if you’re looking for a great night out with a unique experience.

Mjølner
Approx $75 AUD per person
Address: 106 Hardware St, Melbourne VIC 3000
Phone: +61 3 8393 9367
Website: mjolner.com.au

Mjølner Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Hobba

We’ve fallen in love with Prahran lately, probably because its market is one of the few that stays open until 5 PM which is perfect for us!

One weekend we decided to head to Hobba for brunch before we did our usual weekend shopping given it was on the way for us. We managed to find a parking spot right outside and entered the cafe. The cafe itself is quite a large space and reminds me of a warehouse turned restaurant with the brick walls, high ceilings with wooden beams and hanging plants. It was also PACKED! But surprisingly we were seated straight away.

We started off with some fresh juices. I ordered the Healthy Hawksburnian which had cucumber, apple, beetroot, carrot and ginger. Davin ordered the Detox Refresher with apple, cucumber and lemon. They were both super refreshing and quench thirsting.

For meals I zeroed in on the French Toast dish. Now I don’t normally order French Toast when we go out because this dish is generally served as a sweet breakfast and I always favour the savoury dishes. But on this occasion I noticed that this French Toast dish was served with cheese, bacon, asparagus, green romesco, pickled jalapenos, cheese foam and cured egg yolk. Yes please!

The dish was presented beautifully and tasted just as good as it looked! The bacon was cooked perfectly and not too overly salty, the cheese French toast was fluffy and flavoured, and the cheese foam and green romesco combined with the crunchy asparagus made each bite heaven.

Davin ordered the Mushroom dish which consisted of potato galette, mushrooms, pistou and capsicum caviar. We loved the contrast of all the mushroom flavours and textures, but we especially liked the dehydrated enoki mushrooms which added a more robust flavour to the whole dish. The capsicum caviar was also quite interesting but worked!

Overall we had a great experience at Hobba and will certainly think about this place when we drop by Prahran again which no doubt will be in the very near future. We have yet to try their coffee so we’ll have to do that next time!

Hobba
Approx $25 AUD per person
Address: 428 Malvern Rd, Prahran VIC 3181
Phone: +61 3 9510 8336
Website: hobba.com.au

Hobba Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Jamu

We recently met up with the lovely Bearabbit over the Easter break to experience Jamu after our initial plans didn’t work out (we forgot to take into consideration the fact that a lot of restaurants were closed for the public holiday!). Anyway Jamu has been popping up a lot lately and describe themselves as modern Australian with Asian influences so it peaked out interest to check it out.

Upon arrival, the restaurant looked modern and spacious with wooden decor and floor to ceiling windows. The staff were super friendly, talking us through the menu and even making some recommendations. The menu looked amazing. It had so many unique dishes that we pretty much wanted to order everything! We finally settled on sharing ALL five entrees on the menu which included the cheeseburger springroll, chicken wings, hiramasa kingfish ceviche, raw ora king salmon and the raw beef.

I swear all the entrees were delicious. The cheeseburger springroll was so special and stood out for me. Who wouldn’t say no to trying that? It literally came out looking like a large springroll, was so crispy on the outside and tasted exactly like a cheeseburger on the inside! Their raw dishes, the kingfish ceviche, the raw ora king salmon and the raw beef were all so fresh and were very well balanced in flavours. They also had an element of crunch to it such as puffed rice to provide a layer of texture to their dishes which I loved. The chicken wings came with a dollop of salted egg mayo to dip in which was also quite nice.

For mains we also decided to share the char siu pork, the softshell crab and the roast bendigo chook. The char siu pork was probably our least favourite dish for the night. Even though it was sous vide, it was still quite dry. However it was an interesting new take on a traditional dish. The roast bendigo chook came with com tam sauce and pickled carrots and was flavoured quite well. The chook was so tender and moist, it was a great dish. The softshell crab was fabulous and had a lovely chili sauce with roasted tomatoes and mantou buns. The spicy kick of the chili sauce combined with the sweetness of the roasted tomatoes made it one killer dish. The mantou buns were also great for soaking up the lovely sauce.

Finally (and yes we still had room for it!) we got around to dessert. Given there was 4 of us we decided to share all 4 of the desserts on the menu! My favourite was the mango mousse with coconut granita and mango sorbet. It was a really refreshing dish. The taromisu was also a very unique concept and something we’ve never had before, a take on the tiramisu but using taro instead. It was actually quite nice and not too sweet.

Overall, from the fantastic and unique dishes, to the friendly staff, and of course great company we were in, it resulted in a lovely dining experience. The prices were also quite reasonable however one thing to note is that they do apply a 15% public holiday surcharge fee, a detail we didn’t realise until right at the end.

Jamu
Approx $50 AUD per person
Address: 2 Dyer Street, Richmond VIC 3121
Phone: 0431 261 221
Website: jamudining.com.au

Jamu Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

The Tippler & Co.

This was a restaurant Helen and I discovered upon returning from our first Europe trip. Trip Advisor is the preferred review site overseas, so out of curiosity I looked up what the top Melbourne restaurant was on Trip Advisor. To our surprise, it was The Tippler & Co! We had never heard of this restaurant before, so we were very curious as to why The Tippler & Co. were rated so highly by our international and local visitors. We made an online booking and when we got there we realised that a booking wasn’t really necessary. This continued to be a common pattern even until today. Out of habit I still call up to make a booking every time just in case. If you’re someone that links how busy a restaurant is to the quality of their food, The Tippler & Co. will throw that theory out the window because their food is amazing!

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Pan Fried Gnocchi with sweet potato, sage burnt butter, lemon, pine nuts, goat’s chevre

The food is based on a sharing plate menu. They have a wide variety of vegetarian and non-vegetarian foods which will appeal to a wide range of people. The menu also changes regularly so we do get excited when something new is added (and equally get disappointed when a great dish is taken off). I can tell when a restaurant gets their food right when I really enjoy their vegetarian dishes. I’m usually the type that goes looking for meat in a dish but I actually look forward to the veggie dishes here. As a matter of fact, one of my favourite and long standing dishes here is the roasted cauliflower salad! It consists of cauliflower, green beans, pine nuts, goji berries, quinoa, and tahini yoghurt. This salad is just so appetizing and I love how they just lightly roast the cauliflower. I’ve lost count of the amount of times other places have charred the cauliflower. Everything just goes so well together and being so healthy makes me feel good too. That’s until I move onto the smoked chicken ribs! Oh these were so good we ordered another serving last time we were here. They have a nice woody and smokey flavour that’s been fully embedded into the meat, it’s topped off with a barbeque sauce glaze. These are guaranteed to make you want to lick your fingers!

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Their pan fried gnocchi is another stand out. Sage burnt butter with lemon forms the basis of this dish. How can any dish go wrong with these two ingredients together? It’s just not fair! Then sweet potato, pine nuts and little balls of goat cheese are added in. While you’re enjoying the perfectly cooked and fluffy gnocchi, the goat cheese just bursts in your mouth. As the goat cheese flavour mellows down, the sweetness of the potato takes over. The problem with a lot of gnocchi’s is that it can feel a bit heavy and bloated, no such problem here even with the goat cheese. Other dishes such as the spatchcock and the chunky beef & wild mushroom pie were also exceptional. And this is what The Tippler & Co. does so well, they just understand how food should taste. It’s never bland or overseasoned, they just hit the mark consistently and they do it so effortlessly. Their dishes remind me of some country style dishes. Whilst there are similarities with the taste and ingredients used, what I’m really thinking of is the way the food here makes me feel. The food here gives me this warm and fuzzy feeling, the same feeling I get when I’m having hearty country style dishes.

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Chunky beef & wild mushroom pie – smoky cheddar scone, roast tomato ketchup

Now the big question on your mind right now is probably… price? Well it’s our go to place to take our friends because the prices here are really reasonable! The last thing we want is to make anyone feel uncomfortable with high food prices. The smaller items such as the roasted cauliflower salad and smoked chicken ribs are around the $10 mark, and the larger meals such as the pan fried gnocchi, pie and spatchcock are in the low $20 price range. Excellent value considering all the dishes come in very decent portions.

The service has always been excellent at The Tippler & Co. They seem to really enjoy their jobs and it shows in their level of service. They are attentive and also break down the waiting staff / customer barrier. My impressions of them are that they are honest and down to earth. If we over order they will be the first to let us know. Their menu knowledge is also impeccable and can pretty much answer any questions you may throw at them. All while still making the effort to come and have a chat with us about a wide range of topics. This is the service I feel most comfortable with and I really appreciate their efforts. One minor disadvantage of The Tippler & Co. is probably the location, it’s situated in East Melbourne and therefore a little far away from the CBD walking wise. However there is a bar here serving a wide range of spirits and beers which should make for a pretty good night! A part of me doesn’t want to give away this hidden gem of a restaurant, well what can I say, guess I’m just a generous person. Do give The Tippler & Co. a try and I’m sure they’ll fulfill your heart with warm and lovely foods.

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Ginger and date pudding – salted butter caramel and fried ice cream

The Tippler & Co.
Approx $35 AUD per person
Website: www.thetipplerandco.com
58 Wellington Parade, East Melbourne, VIC 3002
Phone:+61 3 9416 0618

The Tippler & Co. Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato