Rum Baba

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Lilac Wine – Cremorne – Numerous Occasions – Dinner and Lunch

Are you one of those people, like me, who has the propensity to elevate experiences that are close by? I like to think that with the knowledge of this attribute I can rebalance my thoughts on restaurants and cafes, even when they are literally down the road. Sometimes the plaudits are justified, and supported through the weight of evidence. Sometimes the need for decent locals gets in the way, and that is a time where I decide to be sensible, and refrain from advancing a draft review.

I’m constantly considering what makes one place special, and the next dreary, even when the elements seem similar. One aspect that is naturally intangible is charm. For a local, charm is normally a call to friendliness, and consistency. There is not a restaurant, cafe, or bar, that will entirely profit from its locals, but there are very few that do not need a baseline local following to survive. Marketing is important, but experience is everything else.

After a soft opening, the official opening night at Lilac Wine was a night full of locals, with an unofficial suburban red carpet coming in at adult time. With our three year old in tow, we were nearing the end of the family time, which was incredibly busy in itself. A couple of weeks later I returned for lunch on the bar. A few weeks after that it was time for a friend, Lisa’s, leaving dinner, where we had a very adult evening. Not long after that it was an old work friends dinner on a school night.

Even at the same restaurant, no two experiences are completely the same, but the versatility of this new wine bar, sister to Hazel and Dessous, and from restaurant owning royalty, seems to be gathering an incredible amount of steam. During my last visit it was full on a Wednesday night heading into the Easter weekend. The five of us, all previously work colleagues, enjoyed handing over control to the kitchen, with the $75 chef’s menu. The reason we chose this option, which is not normally one of my preferences? There is basically no dish I tried on the previous three visits that I didn’t like.

From the vegetables with whipped eggplant, to the incredibly addictive woodfired sourdough, to the treatment of lamb (whether rump or belly), and the sweet stuff, the entire menu is balanced, considerate, and big on flavour in some dishes, subtle and elegant in others, but all relatively stripped back as good wine driven food should be. The wines by the glass are numerous, and start at entry level prices ($13 for some glasses is a positive feature, though obviously there is better drinking in the high teens and twenties by the glass). The other night the roussane granache blanc was superb drinking, and a real find. The marsanne has been a feature since day one and at the entry level price still has substance to it, with the Chablis on the other end of the spectrum a celebration in a glass.

The menu follows what is now the classic modern sharing concept of snacks, mid-sized dishes, and then a few larger plates to round it out, with sides almost unmissable, and dessert a great option for those inclined. Depending on the agenda, there are several options to sustain any appetite. I’ve been here for bread and charcuterie (don’t miss the wagyu braesola if available); for a light meal with Catherine trying a few snacks, a larger dish and sides to share; to try half the menu in a small group; and to work through the chef’s menu. On a future occasion I hope to just enjoy a glass of wine and the duck fat potatoes, plus perhaps the black garlic coated chicken mousse eclair, which is a tremendous, albeit expensive, bite or two.

There are some challenging dishes that you should not shy away from. Beef heart comes finely sliced, with a strong but poised taste, balanced with white sauce. Zucchini and walnut bolognaise is not sitting atop pasta, but delights a playful response, the intrigue giving way to the enticing flavours of the dish. Dessert wise the rum baba is likely picking up a following, though I still dream of the day the Hazel honey tart finds its way to Lilac. The port flan is a crowd pleaser too.

From the first visit to the last, I’ve noticed similar, well trained staff, who are excited about the restaurant, the neighbourhood, and the wines. Service is not perfectly restaurant attentive, and is more relaxed and charming, like an Italian enoteca. On any occasion you’ll get a few different staff to the table, working hard, and attending to multiple tables and requests. At the same time it is not difficult to attract attention, and I’ve found the enthusiasm and knowledge of the floor outweighs some of the inconsistency.

Right now there is a substantial enough cool vibe happening here that I’m not one hundred percent comfortable to just rock up, outside of the quieter lunch time period. The helpful aspect is that there is no tyranny of distance for me, and getting here early to secure a table, or a drink or two, is not an issue. The long rectangular bar is both a feature and a convenience for walk-ins, and on decent days the outdoor area is cute, appealing for another reason, which is the fact that the restaurant is decidedly smoky from the fire based cooking methods. Waiting for a table shouldn’t be a great issue, with the Cherry Tree about three hundred metres down the road, to potentially open proceedings, or provide a post-dining cleansing ale.

Inside the theme is very much derived from Hazel, from the kitsch crockery, to the antique display furniture, to the stripped back setting that is both comfortable, and unintimidating, especially if the whole white linen and finery is not your thing. In fact, almost as an ode to the ethos, the graffiti present on the front of the Cremorne next-to-the-tracks warehouse has never been removed (and may have built up since opening).

At first I thought perhaps we were lucky to have a nice wine bar properly in our suburb, and not just on the edge of Richmond. In subsequent visits I’ve started to recommend others plan a visit, and now I’m chuffed to say this place could well become a suburban icon. Lilac Wine has a way to go, but it already has had a fantastic couple of months, and the buzz appears to be growing.

Lilac Wine
31 Stephenson Street Cremorne
https://lilacwinebar.com.au/
hello@lilacwinebar.com.au
Dinner Wed-Sun
Lunch Fri-Sun

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Chancery Lane – Melbourne, City – Friday 2 July 2021 – Dinner

If there was ever a sign that the hospitality industry is struggling for staff, we saw it tonight. It is really unfortunate that one of the global powerhouses of restaurant service has taken a step backwards, but it is certainly not unexpected. It will get better, though it could be slow progress.

By no means did we have a terrible meal. Any opportunity for Catherine and I to enjoy a long dinner together is incredibly valuable to us. As much as we enjoy flawless, and seamless service, we are not so stuffy to truly care enough to let it impact our enjoyment of a dining experience. That doesn’t mean we don’t notice the misses, especially when they add up.

Twice the floorstaff came to our table with a bottle of wine to pour our glass, only to realise there was no glass on the table. Earlier, our glass for champagne was left unfilled for a long enough period that we got an apology. After almost being awarded someone else’s entree, our mains also took a lengthy amount of time (again, we didn’t mind) and we got an apology for that. There was no need for one of the staff to apologise for it being their first night – you need to work a first night at some stage! They actually handled it well. At one stage I asked for the pinot noir from Burgundy and they said they were new and not familiar with the wines by the glass, so could they bring the menu for me to point to it. Absolutely no problem.

While none of this is concerning in isolation, you could tell Chancery Lane was not running like a well oiled machine on this Friday night. For a Scott Pickett restaurant, where there has clearly been some impressive amounts spent on the luxurious fitout, you expect more. It has a beautiful, big-night-out feel to it, with generally well dressed clientele, and seemingly no expense spared on the surfaces, whether at the bar, or underfoot, and in-between.

Usually the food of Scott Pickett would make up for many of the oversights. We start off with some delicious Mooloolaba prawns accompanied by a “Marie Rose” sauce with a spicy accent, which is better known as cocktail sauce. Wanting to keep plenty of room for main and dessert, Catherine orders the whole flounder with Cafe de Paris, I order the Cape Grim porterhouse, and we also select the gratin dauphinoise, and red oak lettuce salad with pancetta vinaigrette, as sides.

A highlight for both of us is the warm baguette which keeps us going while our mains are delayed. Sublime bread and butter is one of life’s charms, and this has me thinking back to some of the great meals I’ve had, where the attention to detail extends all the way to the simple things in life. On the other hand, while my Cape Grim porterhouse is not bad, for such a nice piece of steak, it lacks a bit. There isn’t the heavy char I’d expect from Scott Pickett having been a regular at Matilda, and the seasoning could be stronger. The truffle jus, and the Dijon helps, but it’s not as good as I’d expect. The sides are beautiful though. The dauphinoise epitomises comfort food, and the red oak lettuce salad cuts through the other elements perfectly.

Personally I’m confused about Catherine’s whole flounder. As the sole fish dish on offer, it is always tough to navigate a whole fish in any setting. It is often delicious and the white flesh of the flounder is very nice. The roe however is not something I was overly aware of. It is not to Catherine’s taste (or texture) and I can sympathise. While I’m sure some love the roe, I think the fish offering could be more diverse here.

We had come this far in our meal, and dessert is a reason in itself to remain, so we hoped our desserts would markedly improve the meal. Catherine’s apple and rhubarb baba, and my Pedro Ximenez, saltana, and chocolate tart, were good, but didn’t elevate to the level we hoped for, and it wasn’t as if we were surprised. Perhaps part of the reason was Catherine’s baba the month prior at Carlton Wine Room was just better, and perhaps it was because the meal couldn’t be properly saved. I should mention the pastry on my tart was first class and showed some signs of the excellence that could be achieved here.

It hurts me to say this, but besides our champagne, and Catherine’s Jean Defaix Chablis, the wines were uninspiring. I was really excited and keen to try a few reds, with some higher priced French offerings by the glass tugging at me. Choosing between Cabernet Franc, Malbec, Pinot Noir, and Syrah, all with a few years of age, I thought I might be in heaven. The Clos de Gamot Cahors Malbec was better than solid, but the far more expensive Bruno Colin Bourgogne Pinot Noir was ill-found for mine. Those who think I’m critical need only look at my other couple of hundred reviews to know that if I’m paying $28 for a glass of wine I am generally going to absolutely love it. I would have preferred a local, and given the depth available, I was surprised to be let down.

There’s a lot of depth also in Melbourne’s restaurant offerings. While it is desperately difficult with staff at the moment, there are still many places that are performing terrifically, and more specifically, there are better Scott Pickett restaurants to try. From Vue de Monde, to Bistro Vue, to Chancery Lane, the fortunes of this address seem to have declined.