David positively surprised me last week when I inquired about getting lunch together. I proposed Friday. I let him choose where. So the city, on a Friday, we normally just go to a cute little cafe or get something simple and Asian. Can you imagine my delight then when "Comme kitchen?" popped up on my facebook wall?
I was just tickled!
I feel like it's been a while since I've been to one of the more finer dining establishments in Melbourne, not that I am complaining, but a girl likes a treat once in a while!
We wandered in early, at about 12:15pm, to a gorgeous slice of luxury in the middle of the business district. It was almost like walking into someone's house, with a staircase alluding to an upstairs and a mini foyer area where you would normally drop off your wet umbrella's and possibly kick off your shoes...were you at someone's residence. Whilst through one door we spied a bar and some lovely window seats, we were instead guided into a cosy little room with a fireplace and what looked like a very cute little wine cellar.
It was initially empty when we first entered, but by 1pm, the place was filled, one table in the centre of the room taking a booking of about 8.
Since it was lunchtime, we both decided against wine (or I may have had one too many the night before as well...), and decided to get an entree to share and a dish each. There were some great options on the menu, it was quite difficult narrowing it down!
Comme Kitchen also does a daily lunch special, which comes with a glass of wine and side for $33. Wasn't quite in the mood for lamb on Friday though.
Oh bread. Delicious bread. I couldn't resist a bite and it was warm, soft and fluffy, but with a nice firm crust around the outside. I couldn't help but stare in envy as David completely cleaned out the bowl over the course of our meal!
Although I wanted to convince David to have crumbed lamb brains with me (I think I'd have a tough time getting anyone to...), we decided since we were in a French restaurant we would have a classic. Burgundy snails, braised in Chardonnay & stuffed with parsley, garlic & Pernod butter. After instructing David how to eat them, I found them the tiniest bit underwhelming, whilst overall quite good, I found the garlic and butter flavours a little bit too subtle. I suppose I would expect and prefer, garlic and butter snails to be rich and sinful.
David decided (with some help from me...) to get the partridge - roast breast & ballontine of leg, radishes, crostillant of pear & ginger, celeriac & jus. Quite a bit more on the plate than I expected to see! There were so many interesting flavours and textures put onto one plate, the sauce was rich, partridge was tender and the pastry was just the most curious thing. I bit into it expecting something savoury, but got a sweetness instead, which complimented and gave a lightness to the dish, which was otherwise very meaty! David really enjoyed the dish and I quite liked what I tasted.
I was feeling something a bit lighter (if that's ever possible at a French restaurant really...) and after tossing up between the two fish dishes I settled on the salmon. A crisp skin fillet of salmon, Jerusalem artichokes, confit shallots, spinach, crisp caper berries and sauce Cintronelle. I couldn't go past the artichokes!
The dish was just beautiful and so well balanced, I could put all the elements together in one delicious bite. The salmon was cooked perfectly, the flesh was soft and just melted away in my mouth, whilst the skin was just perfectly lightly crispy. Whilst most of the elements were quite soft, and smooth in texture, there was still enough variance between everything to create interest. The ingredients were rich with flavour, and whilst I thought it was quite small initially, I found myself almost struggling to finish it!
We were thinking of continuing on to dessert, but David had to unfortunately run off to a meeting. Always have to leave something for next time right?
There have been a few mixed reviews for Comme Kitchen, but I certainly enjoyed my experience, it is definitely on the pricier side, but as I had the entertainment card, I found it far more reasonable! To be fair though, the service we received was impeccable, warm and friendly, the only downside maybe being the slight delay in getting our bill, although this is when the restaurant started to fill up, so we no longer had the full attention of our waitress and we were in a wee bit more of a rush than usual.
I'd love to come back next time to sit by the bar and find some time to indulge in dessert...
I was just tickled!
I feel like it's been a while since I've been to one of the more finer dining establishments in Melbourne, not that I am complaining, but a girl likes a treat once in a while!
We wandered in early, at about 12:15pm, to a gorgeous slice of luxury in the middle of the business district. It was almost like walking into someone's house, with a staircase alluding to an upstairs and a mini foyer area where you would normally drop off your wet umbrella's and possibly kick off your shoes...were you at someone's residence. Whilst through one door we spied a bar and some lovely window seats, we were instead guided into a cosy little room with a fireplace and what looked like a very cute little wine cellar.
It was initially empty when we first entered, but by 1pm, the place was filled, one table in the centre of the room taking a booking of about 8.
Since it was lunchtime, we both decided against wine (or I may have had one too many the night before as well...), and decided to get an entree to share and a dish each. There were some great options on the menu, it was quite difficult narrowing it down!
Comme Kitchen also does a daily lunch special, which comes with a glass of wine and side for $33. Wasn't quite in the mood for lamb on Friday though.
Oh bread. Delicious bread. I couldn't resist a bite and it was warm, soft and fluffy, but with a nice firm crust around the outside. I couldn't help but stare in envy as David completely cleaned out the bowl over the course of our meal!
Although I wanted to convince David to have crumbed lamb brains with me (I think I'd have a tough time getting anyone to...), we decided since we were in a French restaurant we would have a classic. Burgundy snails, braised in Chardonnay & stuffed with parsley, garlic & Pernod butter. After instructing David how to eat them, I found them the tiniest bit underwhelming, whilst overall quite good, I found the garlic and butter flavours a little bit too subtle. I suppose I would expect and prefer, garlic and butter snails to be rich and sinful.
David decided (with some help from me...) to get the partridge - roast breast & ballontine of leg, radishes, crostillant of pear & ginger, celeriac & jus. Quite a bit more on the plate than I expected to see! There were so many interesting flavours and textures put onto one plate, the sauce was rich, partridge was tender and the pastry was just the most curious thing. I bit into it expecting something savoury, but got a sweetness instead, which complimented and gave a lightness to the dish, which was otherwise very meaty! David really enjoyed the dish and I quite liked what I tasted.
I was feeling something a bit lighter (if that's ever possible at a French restaurant really...) and after tossing up between the two fish dishes I settled on the salmon. A crisp skin fillet of salmon, Jerusalem artichokes, confit shallots, spinach, crisp caper berries and sauce Cintronelle. I couldn't go past the artichokes!
The dish was just beautiful and so well balanced, I could put all the elements together in one delicious bite. The salmon was cooked perfectly, the flesh was soft and just melted away in my mouth, whilst the skin was just perfectly lightly crispy. Whilst most of the elements were quite soft, and smooth in texture, there was still enough variance between everything to create interest. The ingredients were rich with flavour, and whilst I thought it was quite small initially, I found myself almost struggling to finish it!
We were thinking of continuing on to dessert, but David had to unfortunately run off to a meeting. Always have to leave something for next time right?
There have been a few mixed reviews for Comme Kitchen, but I certainly enjoyed my experience, it is definitely on the pricier side, but as I had the entertainment card, I found it far more reasonable! To be fair though, the service we received was impeccable, warm and friendly, the only downside maybe being the slight delay in getting our bill, although this is when the restaurant started to fill up, so we no longer had the full attention of our waitress and we were in a wee bit more of a rush than usual.
I'd love to come back next time to sit by the bar and find some time to indulge in dessert...
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Those snails look great! yeah can never have too much garlic and butter... mmmm
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