Flinders Lane

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Hazel – Melbourne, City – Tuesday 2 November 2021 – Dinner

There are not too many people who would rather style over substance when it comes to food. Sure, there is a place for the fancy, but genuine flavour is prime. While some of my favourite dishes I’ve had are beautiful to look at, the reason I remember them is the taste, which is the sense that dominates when it comes to dining, even though visuals are also important.

Here, at Hazel, the style is strong, but the substance is palpable. Is it crazy to say my favourite dish was the barbecued potatoes with shoyu (Japanese style soy) and saltbush. To say these potatoes are cooked perfectly is a tremendous understatement. Like most of us, having had potatoes in the many forms, many times, this one had me thinking of the perfect consistency of Attica’s “potato cooked in the earth it was grown”. It was that good that to call it a side is offensive. I could happily have these on the bar on their own prior to my other favourite dish of the evening.

Before I get to my dessert, with the potatoes, Catherine and I also tried the chopped salad, and scotch fillet with mushroom butter. The chopped salad, you may find humorous, was epic. It is hard to describe why, and how, it was so great, and I’ve tried a few times to blank looks. In summary it is a combination of the most gorgeous fresh vegetables chopped in a small and rustic fashion. If I could get this in my repertoire I could win friends with salad.

The scotch fillet was very nicely cooked, and the mushrooms really shone. Somehow the steak took a back seat to our “sides” but was still excellent. Earlier we had a pig’s head croquette each, which were rich and delicious, topped with some nettles that had seemingly been pounded in a mortar and pestle. The charred octopus could have been a little more charred for my taste, but the broad beans were superb, and featured in the chopped salad too.

Back to dessert. The honey tart is quite simply stunning. Paired with cultured (sour) cream to balance the sweetness of the honey, this is a meticulously created dessert, from a technical perspective primarily, but because of the perfect technique, the result is a dish that I want to eat again now.

This ode to farm-to-table dining in the city is not in a rustic space. The dining room is sleek and stylish, with pale tones, and a bar acting as the centrepiece of the main room, with other spaces upstairs and next to the main room. There is a minimalist feel, with artistic touches, such as the sketch on the menu, which captures your attention immediately on being seated. The location in Richard Allen & Sons on Flinders Lane near many polished restaurants such as Kisume and Supernormal, is a smart choice from management.

We recognised one of our waitstaff who worked at places such as Bistro Gitan, and had a great manner about her. Generally service was good, and there is no stuffiness, even though the whole venture is very professional. When we entered early after Melbourne Cup day at Flemington, there was one table with a little baby enjoying herself (but very well behaved), and when we left a couple of hours later the whole restaurant was full on a Tuesday.

Catherine had discovered Hazel because the head chef, Brianna Smith, worked at Blue Hill at Stone Barns in upstate New York. We haven’t been to that three Michelin star masterpiece, but we’ve been to the city sister restaurant in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village and Hazel captures some of that vibe. Though in the end, the only vibe we needed is what was captured on our plates during a delicious meal, showcasing the best local producers and their seasonal produce. The low waste cooking, and sustainable sourcing, adds even more weight to the script.

Hazel
164 Flinders Lane, Melbourne
https://hazelrestaurant.com.au/
+61 3 9070 4938
info@hazelrestaurant.com.au

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Gimlet – Melbourne, City – Friday 27 November 2020 – Lunch

Friday lunch or Saturday dinner? Surely these are the most atmospheric times to dine, but often for different reasons. Today I get to enjoy the intimate side of Friday lunch with my wife, rather than in connection with my work.

There are plenty of power lunches going on mind you. Though we are seated on a table of two above the majority of business lunches. Here we have a view of the good looking dining room that is full of architectural character in Cavendish House.

Gimlet has pedigree. The latest and greatest by Andrew McConnell, there is no doubt it has the bones to succeed. It’s down the road from Supernormal on the corner of Flinders Lane and Russell; it already has a charismatic feel; and it walks the difficult tightrope between intimacy, and a place to be seen.

Before I write about the high quality coming out of the kitchen, and also the bar, I need to point out that Gimlet is not at its peak from a service perspective. Again, it has the makings, but the execution is not quite there yet. There are some noticeable times where the floor is trying to communicate covertly, but is tripping up. A knowing of what to do, but not necessarily how to do it; a nervousness.

Not that service took anything away from our terrific lunch, playing high stakes, and placing our main bet on a half lobster, and a bottle of chardonnay from Burgundy. More of that a little later.

As we finished our Coutier champagne to celebrate being out for a Friday date, and 28 days of double doughnuts, we were presented with our first entree. We began with “seafood salad” which appealed to us, especially after learning it consisted of a Tiger prawn, pippies, and mussels. Those elements are delicious, but the peeled cherry tomatoes, heavy on flavour, are the other half of the equation, along with succulents that do a dual role of enhancing this dish, which is dressed beautifully.

Seafood salad, preserved tomatoes, coastal herbs

The gnocco fritto is superb too. Crisp pockets topped with bresaola, that already had us thinking about the next time we could drop by on the bar for a few snacks and cocktails. At this stage the charred romaine heart side came out.

It was a completely innocent mistake, but we had asked what would go well with the lobster as a side and this was the recommendation, which was a great suggestion, especially with the salty guanciale, and anchovy dressing. However, because it came out with entrees, the lobster wasn’t called away as a main and we waited for quite a while until our waitperson realised. Though, nothing in the world was wrong when the half Southern rock lobster landed on our table.

The selling point as a very expensive main to share was the saffron rice that surrounds and adds flavour to the wood roasted king of seafood. As a combination, the tomatoey saffron rice, along with the indulgent juicy lobster meat, is utterly gorgeous. Add in a 2015 Colin-Morey Bourgogne chardonnay and you have the Friday lunch dreams are made of.

Panettone, zabaglione, Christmas spices and grappa

As we reflected on our delicious savoury courses, we had some room for a shared dessert. The “Panettone, zabaglione, Christmas spices and grappa” seemed to jump off the menu as we enter the Christmas period. Once we had our first taste of the thick zabaglione and rich panettone we couldn’t stop until it was but a memory. Absolutely delicious.

Catherine’s mint tea, and my double espresso, were also good quality as you’d expect, but the extended time they took post dessert to hit the table was again a sign that there is some room to improve. It honestly didn’t matter because I’m already thinking about the next opportunity to get back to Gimlet. It was that great.

Gimlet at Cavendish House
https://gimlet.melbourne/
33 Russell Street, Melbourne
(03) 9277 9777
frontdesk@gimlet.melbourne