Melbourne City

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Harriot – Melbourne, City – Friday 27 June 2025 – Lunch

The new venture by the restaurant group behind some of our favourites such as Tipo 00 and Osteria Ilaria, has opened a French bistro. The specific similarities end with the ownership, but the general warmth is shared inside Harriot. On a crisp winter day, Catherine and I enter the restaurant on the corner of King and Collins, protected from the busy intersection outside by low hanging curtains. We are brought to a corner table on a lengthy banquette, and settle in for a quick but luxurious lunch.

This may be the first time we’ve been invited to a soft opening, but such is Catherine’s following of Tipo, Osteria, and Figlia, that her long time patronage has been recognised. While I myself have been a long time patron too, it is normally walking-in and sitting on the bar at Tipo from 11.30am, so I am seemingly off the radar. The only noticeable feature of the soft opening is the absence of tables of more than four people, likely allowing the kitchen to not be overwhelmed in the opening days.

Service from the outset has a genuineness and care that is not surprising given the stable of venues. It has an ease about it, and doesn’t show any signs of opening greenness. There’s an understanding of what is being offered, and there is some initiative being shown too. As an example, we decided to start by sharing the spanner crab ravioli. While we are initially given some share plates, the kitchen seems to suggest presenting the shared dish on two separate plates, and the floorstaff are open to changing their minds.

The pumpkin bisque, diced firmish pumpkin, and scattering of espelette pepper, often used in Basque cooking, is a glorious combination. Due to its richness it is excellent to share, but as a single dish I could easily indulge next time. It is at this stage that we are finishing our nicely executed cocktails (a martini, and a “French Pearl”), and moving into a glass of Chenin Blanc (Chateau de Plaisance ‘Anjou’) and Langhe Nebbiolo (Pierro Busso). These wines, and the look of the wine list more broadly, are delicious.

Sher Wagyu rump is the second main that we split, and it comes with rosa radicchio which illuminates the plate, and parsley root which is pureed. Combined with a well-dressed leafy salad, the wagyu is rich and tender, cooked to our medium-rare request. Next door we notice other diners gushing over the sweetbreads, and they have gone on our list for next time, but we really enjoyed what we had ordered.

Dessert for Catherine came in the form of a disk of vanilla custard, draped in white chocolate, with rhubarb sherbet granita hidden, but for the escape of the red juice beneath. More traditional, my chocolate sabayon tart, with buttermilk ice cream, and wattleseed, made it three from three on the rich list today. Both desserts were nice sweet endings to the meal, but I preferred mine.

I feel that this part of town, while dotted with good and solid options, needs more diversity and excellence. Harriot is the west-end place for versatility. You could be happy with a cocktail or glass of wine and a snack, through to an elaborate multi-course meal; a dessert for a nightcap, or a quick one-dish lunch. Whatever the reason I’m looking forward to the next time.

Harriot
https://www.harriotmelbourne.com
555 Collins Street, Melbourne
+61  (03)  7053 1036
info@harriotmelbourne.com

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Marmelo – Melbourne, City – Saturday 8 March 2025 – Dinner

Once a year it is tradition for the boys to go out for a fancy dinner following the races on the March long weekend, formerly known as Super Saturday. In fact, it is such a tradition that referring it to as “the boys” was once quite reasonable, but now it is better monikered as “the gents”. We’ve had some beauties! Memorable meals, and memorable moments; some even infamous.

When a group of men turn up to a restaurant for dinner there is a different mannerism that comes from the entire service experience, from the greeting, to the banter during dinner, to the ending, which has been fuzzy in our memory on occasion. Tonight it is almost all positive, with a nice pace and vibe to the evening. Marmelo is definitely a good place for a group.

We arrived early and went below to try the bar, Mr Mills. We already knew we were in for an expensive evening, and the drink prices at Mr Mills confirmed our expectation. Somehow, there is no cucumber downstairs or upstairs, so Chef immediately took off a point, but lime in a Hendricks is fine in any case. My Voyager Chenin Blanc was a nice cleansing start after several beers and champagnes at the races.

Once upstairs, by now we were technically a little late, but for some reason we still had to wait a bit longer for our table. Any minor complaints about the evening ended here, as the forthcoming food, drinks, and service were all terrific. We had some epic starters like the Murray cod croquette that is sure to be a continual feature, to the utterly divine spanner crab tart. The Portuguese offerings pack plenty of flavour given the star ingredient of the tart is known for its subtlety; the prominence of the spanner crab showing excellent technique in the kitchen.

Turning to one of the themes in this restaurant, fire takes centre stage upon the delicate skin of calamari, and elevating it to greatness as a result. Alongside, the Skull Island prawns are diced in an acorda (diced bread, coriander, garlic, and egg), with scallops, and pipies. It’s nice, and it’s different, but out of the dishes for the evening it is my least favourite.

Washing these dishes down to begin is a grape variety that I have not tried to my knowledge before. This Encruzado comes from the Dao region of Portugal, and is by Impecavel. It is vibrant and versatile with the starters and entrees, and thoroughly enjoyable. Next we turn towards an equally versatile Italian red for the mains, which is luscious, in the form of Centanni Rosso, consisting of Sangiovese and Montepulciano.

The mains were all impressive. The highlight was the O’Connor rib eye. Thoroughly seasoned, licked by the flame, and every bite was melting in my mouth. I could give or take the peppers with it, but they were nice enough. The Kurobuta pork promised to be just as tender, and it certainly was. This must be the best value offering on the menu. Throw in a delightfully cooked fig, and you have a wonderful pig and fig dish.

Last but not least, the wood roasted cockerel reminds us of the impact the Portuguese can have on perfectly cooked chicken, that in some people’s eyes is closely on the border line to undercooked. The result is juicy deliciousness. I had enjoyed so much food that sides were not a priority, but special mention to the chickpeas and spinach which Jarrod rated as one of his favourite dishes of the night. The potatoes, while perfectly cooked, didn’t need the sauce, making for a soft texture when some crunch would have been appreciated.

It was time for dessert, and even with a generous amount of food through the savoury courses, we were ready to get stuck in. Chef Simon and I shared the wood fired olive oil cheesecake. It was big and rich, and could easily satisfy four people having a taste of dessert. We also had a “pastels de nata” which was the most delicious and most overpriced Portuguese custard tart you can imagine at $16. I guess you need some give and take!

Guy loved his tiny chocolate cup with house made ginja berry liqueur and Amarena cherries, and Jarrod also enjoyed the “Textures of milk”. Some Malvasia Madiera hit the spot with dessert, as a further nod to Portuguese wine (this time one of its autonomous regions). Needless to say we were all pleased with a tremendous dinner, not least of all Simon who had picked the restaurant for this year’s edition of our traditional catch up.

Marmelo
https://www.marmelorestaurant.com.au
130 Russell Street, Melbourne
Open Tuesday to Sunday for lunch and dinner
03 7035 2999
@marmelorestaurant