Tasting Menu

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Moke – Flinders, Mornington Peninsula – Sunday 23 March 2025 – Lunch

Flinders is my favourite town on the Mornington Peninsula. Outside of Portsea and Sorrento, it also seems to be the most expensive, attracting some of the galleries, restaurants, and other necessities of the wealthy. Mere mortals visit. Catherine and I visit often.

With Donna Maria “moving” (changing names, locations, and cuisines) we need a new go-to fine diner in Flinders. Having missed out on trying Moke with Downesy and Lisa a few times, Catherine and I booked well ahead to secure a table on this bright Sunday, at the start of what has ultimately been a very pleasant Autumn.

When Downesy and Lisa have a favourite we pay extra attention. They are globetrotting youngsters (well, younger than me!) who target both insanely good value fine diners, and insanely popular treats from NYC to Cape Town, to where they live in London. I’ve written about two recent meals with them at Polperro and Septime. If I’d organised myself better, on their recommendation we could have tried Pipis before it got so popular!

As we walk up to the restaurant it seems unassuming; a restaurant tucked away secretly in full view of the main drag, albeit at the top of the street. Inside it is warm and inviting. There is already a large table filling up towards the back, but at the front we are for a few moments alone on a comfortable table facing into the restaurant from the front window.

Moke does a tasting menu, running from snacks to dessert, for a very reasonable price. The modern Australian offerings utilise local produce, and are executed with skill by the kitchen, and presented beautifully.

Take the flathead surrounded by a shiny chickpea butter sauce, kaffir lime providing a punch of acid to cut through, and cuttlefish adding interest to the texture. Nothing detracts from the lightness of treatment to the flathead. It is a superb fish course.

The agnolotti is in a similar vein. Looking misleadingly simple, as pasta often can, anyone who has battled with its making knows this must be a specialty of the kitchen when enjoying the first bite to the last. Dressed in a light olive oil Hollandaise, and filled with potato, it is the right portion to leave me wanting more, but equally satisfied. Catherine’s gluten intolerance is also skilfully handled, but I have a few pangs of jealousy when figs feature in her alternative to my pasta.

Leaving room for dessert is a must but before that we have the main savoury course. Presented with pork served two ways, both fillet and shoulder, cauliflower puree, and a gorgeous jus, this is my type of finale. The side of herbed carrots gives some reprieve from the delightful richness of the other elements.

Earlier, snacks were more focussed on flavour than colour. I loved the salted fish croquette, which is saying something because it is hard for me to go past an ox tongue tartlet, and the raw fish taco was tremendous too.

Picking up the presentation game on the dessert, but not losing the flavour profile, is the smoked almond and Bosc pear cake, with generous dollops of pear puree and vanilla cream. Earlier the quince sorbet walks the balance between simple refresher, and something more interesting in itself.

Drinks wise, we liked our waitperson’s disclosure that Moke is looking to be part of the movement bringing back the pre-meal cocktail. It strikes me that the cocktail should be considered at all times through the course of the meal (and day, though perhaps wait until midday). I started off with a barrel-aged Negroni which is a novelty treat for a Negroni lover, and Catherine with classic cosmopolitan.

When it comes to wine, I think there is some work that could be done, but I respect Moke has restricted hours, and wine by the glass lists are fraught for small operators. In saying that, there is enough interest in the wines offered, particularly in the three reds, to keep me involved. The Beaujolais in particular acting as a standout. It is a bit of a secret that Gamay is a wonderfully underrated varietal. Not to mention the Pommery Champagne is a bit of a steal in relative terms.

Through the meal we got to know that the wife and husband combination in ownership is a big reason there is a homely vibe to Moke. The husband, Michael Cole, is humble but certainly carries a good conversation once engaged, and his wife runs the show on the floor, which was high quality, especially on the Peninsula. It’s a reminder of other couple run restaurants, and a reminder that there is still decent value to be had around the Peninsula so the hour long drive shouldn’t put anyone off.

Moke is no joke, utilises yokes, as good as the woke, the food is bespoke, superb for this bloke.

Moke
https://www.mokedining.com.au
60 Cook St, Flinders VIC 3929, Australia
Dinner Thu-Sun; Lunch Sat-Sun
Email hello@mokedining.com.au
Phone 0458 418 524

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Julie Restaurant – Abbotsford – Friday 8 November 2024 – Dinner

Farm to table dining used to be rare. Now it is increasingly stamping itself as not only attractive, but accessible. You are guaranteed freshness, the environmental impact is markedly lessened, and there is normally a passion that is infectiously shared across the entire restaurant staff.

There is now a farm to table option that is within a very short distance of the Melbourne CBD, and actually backs on to a farm. Abbotsford Convent, and the Collingwood Children’s Farm, just make sense as a venue, though it is never one I had thought about. For those who’ve been to this area you know it feels like going back in time. The heritage buildings, the farm with its bountiful supply of fresh fruit and vegetables, along with friendly animals, a bustling cafe, and a farmer’s market. Lots of events happen here too, including regular markets.

We feel a bit late to the party, as Julie Restaurant opened in September 2023, but better late than never. As we arrive it is a cool early evening for the mid part of Spring, and we note the outdoor tables on the terrace for a future a la carte meal, or a drink, on a warm night. Inside, the white space is quite small, but the high ceiling reaches upward creating an airy space for the dozen or so tables. Many of the tables, including ours, face the opening to the kitchen pass. In that window, chef Julieanne Blum in turn faces the restaurant whilst controlling the quality of the kitchen, and communicating with the terrific floor staff.

I love the feeling you get when a restaurant is going well, and the staff enjoy working there. From the time you enter, through to the farewell, there is a sense of comfort. There’s something clever from the kitchen too with the way the tasting menu works. The menu is on a blackboard showcasing the main dishes for the incredibly reasonable price of $85. Then there are a host of additions depending on your appetite, and tastes. Oysters, beef tongue, zucchini flower, and coral trout are all options on another blackboard to the left.

As well as adding in the beef tongue, and the zucchini flower, we also opt for the buttery potatoes, not because we need them, but because we want them! As we enjoy our excellently executed aperitifs, a house martini for me, and a Campari spritz for Catherine, our obligatory platter of vegetables, preserves, and dip, arrives on the table. This is becoming a clichéd beginning to a farm to table / seasonal restaurant, but we normally enjoy them, and this one is worthwhile. The vegetable fritter served next is packed with oily goodness, and perfectly handled in the fryer to add a different element to the other starters. Housemade sourdough accompanies as a treat in itself.

The wines by the glass are enticing, and there’s good assistance available to choose one when not already choosing the optional wine matching. I’m offered an off-menu Savagnin by Defialy and it is delicious, with great mouthfeel and complexity, showing good fruit, but layered with honeyed notes. Catherine decides on the Garganega by Alla Caster, which is one of a few Italian wines by the glass offered, on a local leaning list. They both go nicely with our mackerel dish, which is a pleasant surprise for Catherine not normally loving mackerel. It is served in a ceviche type style, diced and mixed with asparagus through a buttermilk sauce, with chips used to add some texture.

Our additional entrees come next with charred thinly sliced beef tongue that is superb, and a beautifully presented, and beautiful tasting zucchini flower. The main course is lamb backstrap cooked sous-vide and finished in the oven, with a delicious gravy using the run-off juices, and a long silverbeet that has soaked it in for a full flavour explosion. Buttery Kipfler potatoes are worth the addition, though we were never going to be able to completely finish all of them, and a spread of peas and sugar snaps are wonderful. As a combination this is what comfort food is all about, and the whole meal is just like one of our waitperson’s favourite descriptors, “gorgeous”.

The medium bodied red wine I enjoyed with our lamb was curious enough for me to research following dinner. Made in Alto Adige, Italy, with two grape varieties I’m not familiar with in Schiava and Lagrein, it is great the restaurant is choosing to showcase something so unusual. Had I not already been a fan of Northern Italian wines, perhaps I would have stuck with the safer Grenache. I’ve got used to trusting the intelligence of the sommelier / wine waitperson in these well regarded venues, and normally am better for it.

It was time for dessert and it had been impossible to miss seeing a bunch of good looking concoctions going out in the same glass I had earlier enjoyed my martini from. Here you have a rather savoury leaning dessert with good balance. There’s just enough sweetness in the honey parfait topped with thyme and rhubarb; salt and olive oil show through as key ingredients.

Our experience at Julie Restaurant brought back some interesting memories. It brought us back to when we first tried Atlas Restaurant in South Yarra / Prahran and it was incredibly reasonable as it started life. It brought us back to great experiences further outside of this inner part of Melbourne where you feel you are closer to a farm than city infrastructure. Julie is an anomaly, but a tremendous one, because it is within good reach of many who may not prioritise travelling for such experiences. Looking around tonight there are only happy faces, both on the customers, and the staff, which is the best expression to find at any place.

Julie Restaurant
https://www.julierestaurant.com.au
1-4 St Heliers Street, Abbotsford Convent
info@julierestaurant.com.au
Dinner – Thursday to Saturday; Lunch Saturday and Sunday