Middletown

Melbourne’s a town that’s pretty laid back and casual, where people seem to be buying more leggings than designer handbags and loving warehouse and blonde wood over Toorak style mansions. 

And then Middletown pops open to challenge Melbourne’s palate yet again. 

The new cafe located in Prahran on High Street, a long awaited second site from the guys who brought us Operator 25, is inspired by the Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton. Royal but close the people. The gorgeous fit out is definitely luxe, gorgeously structured with dark rich blues against perfectly crisp whites, but approachable with blonde wood furnishings and minimal fittings softening out the space whilst keeping it contemporary. There’s lots of attention to detail here.

I’m here with Daisy, and when we arrive, we realise Liisa’s just finished eating, but invites us to join her on her round table. Seriously, how good are round tables? So much better for groups, and for sharing food. 

Daisy heads straight for a coffee, whilst I opt for a matcha latte, which I absolutely love. Thick, smooth and almost creamy, with a nice balance of bitterness and sweetness. Matcha seems to be going through what chai did some years ago, where the majority of cafes just get a powder and it’s flavourless, so it’s nice when someone’s really doing it right!

Looking at the menu, it’s definitely quite a bit different to the offering at Operator 25, without the Asian nuances and twists to the dishes. Instead, it’s a whole lot of familiar with a couple of little surprises and presented beautifully. 

Daisy opts for the Benedict, with pork pastrami, poached eggs and aerated blood orange hollandaise on sourdough. Is there anything better than hollandaise lopped all over eggs and cascading down toast? No, I didn’t really think so. If you’re hungry, this is the dish for you, the pork pastrami is rich and delicious, especially with the hollandaise - from the mouthful I had anyway.

And man - yolk porn is on point. 

Having previously eaten breakfast (because two cafes in a day within 3 hours of each other is a really smart idea Ashley), I look for something a little lighter and am thrilled with my decision of the pickled mackerel with bullhorn capsicums, manchego cheese, fried egg, damon, fennel emulsion and baguette. 

It is absolutely everything I love, although the cafe is inspired by an English rose, I love all the Spanish going on in this dish. The mackerel is meaty and sweet, slivers of manchego are so moreish and the flavour of the jamon just beefs up the dish and adds a bit of salt. I don’t have the language to say why I liked this dish so much, but I guess it helps that I’m very partial to a bit of a mackerel. Would happily come back and eat this all over again. 

Although I probably wouldn’t line up again to get in anytime soon (even at 1:30-2pm there were still people waiting for seats and it didn’t really start to clear up until about 2:30) Middletown are running a delicious and very tightly run ship. I might wait for the hype train to calm down a little bit. I would probably advise though to come on a hungry stomach (but not too hungry because you could be waiting for a while) as the majority of the dishes on the menu read on the heavier side. On the bright side, lunch is also an all day affair (not so common yet), so if you happen to feel like wagyu brisket at 9am in the morning…by all means…

Middletown

229 High Street

Prahran

 

Toko

Disclosure: I was invited to dine as a guest

I’ve always said to people, that if I had to choose one cuisine in the world to solely eat for the rest of my life, it would have to be Japanese. The breadth and variety that comes in that cuisine is so broad, that anything you want, you can almost get. Soup noodles, fried noodles, fried chicken, grilled meat sticks, sushi…the list goes on. 

And although I love traditional Japanese, from simply beautiful seafood with minimal seasoning or additions, to ramen stock that’s been worked on for hours, it’s always exciting to see how chefs put their own twist on things as well. 

Toko, located on Greville Street in Prahran, is a simply stunning modern Japanese restaurant, with very schmick and modern interiors, with lots of dark wood offset by warm golden tones. Perfect for date night….or date lunch, like Brad and I were here for. 

I imagine at night, the place is pumping music loudly and everyone would be dressed to the nine’s with cocktails are abound. During the day, it’s much more zen and relaxed, which suits me perfectly, getting old before my years!

We opted for the Sora set menu to save us from thinking or choosing (although I did request to add one additional item to out set) and started our afternoon with a cup of tea…was a little too soon to break into the sake!

First were the freshly shucked pacific oysters with tosazu. From the get go, Toko’s presentation is immaculate and I can’t stop oohing over the beautiful crockery. Or the oysters for that matter. Cool, sweet but a touch of ocean salt as well, I adored the smack of flavours from the dressing which were zesty and bright, and the texture from the fish roe on top, that just pop in the mouth. It’s an absolutely delicious palate teaser. 

I absolutely loved the presentation of the salmon tartare with wasabi miso. The salmon itself was so moreish, meaty, creamy and quite decadent, which complimented nicely with the sweetness from the chips. My only nitpick is that it would have been the nice for the chips to be even crunchier than they were. 

The venison carpaccio with nacho pear, yuzu koshu and potato airbags (funny thing to call them isn’t it?), was a very textural and zesty dish.

Having whet our appetites, and knowing that our sushi course was on the way, I couldn’t resist a nip or three of sake, and the tasting flight is not just economical but delicious. One flight was just right for lunch for Brad and I to share. All of the sakes in the flight were Junmai Gingo, which mean they are high quality sakes with, made of pure rice (no distilled alcohol added) and 40% of the outer rice grain milled away.

Yet again, the sushi plate was stunning. Gorgeously cut slices of sashimi were thick and velvety in the mouth. The seared wagyu melted in the mouth, and I loved the richness of the unagi with the torched foie gras and umeboshi (my requested addition), although I have to say the foie gras flavour did not come through as much as I would have hoped.

However, the surprise favourite was the scampi with (very generously) shaved foie gras over the top and truffle oil. This combination worked so perfectly together, the sweetness and the texture of the scampi really highlighted the richness of the foie gras, and in the shaved format it literally melted in the mouth. Nearly took Brad’s portion. Nearly.

The soft shell crab was an unexpectedly generous serve, and I loved how perfectly light and crunchy the batter was, not overwhelming the crab itself which was gorgeously meaty. Love a good clean fry. 

The smoked miso king salmon with house pickled ginger was stunning, gorgeous in colour. The fish was perfectly cooked, still slightly under inside and so tender and the broccolini with sesame sauce was nicely done, so that the greens were still a bit crunchy and the sesame packed flavour. 

Hard to go past marble score 9+ wagyu tenderloin, I loved how simply it was served with just a couple of condiments, to highlight the tenderness of the beef. 

To finish, although it’s not particularly Japanese, the Valrhona dark chocolate mousse with mixed berries and passion fruit is exactly how I like to finish my meal. Rich in flavour, but not heavy on the stomach, with the berries and passionfruit punching through and so silky smooth. 

It’s quite easy, especially in Melbourne to fall into brunch habits on the weekend, but this lunch at Toko totally reminded me that it is worth splurging now and then, to try something different and mix up the schedules. Far more fun that way! 

Toko

142 Greville Street

Prahran

 

Woodland House

Disclosure: I was invited to dine as a guest of the restaurant 

I love socialising, meeting people, eating out, doing things; but there’s always a limit. A point in the night or the day where I’ll start watching the time, and be aware of how long it’s dragging out. 

So when I was invited to the Woodland House for a long lunch…I think I underestimated how long of a lunch it would be…and how much I would enjoy it!

Perhaps it’s the mix of good company, and plenty of social lubricant…alcohol of course! Reflecting on this meal afterwards, I felt like that if it had just been Brad and I, despite how much I do love him, our conversation might have dried up half way through the courses. Long lunches are surely best enjoyed with at least two couples…if not 20 people, which is basically what our table was!

But let me take a step back and tell you a bit more about the gorgeous Woodland House.

Located in a gorgeous house in Prahran, Woodland House was once Jaques Reymond, the only western restaurant my dad admitted to really enjoy, so I was very excited to see 

With Melbourne’s food scene moving ever faster to shared plates, and a smart casual dining scene; where the beats are loud and lines ever prominent, fine dining is getting to be more scarce these days. However, despite that, when we do get fine dining in Melbourne, in particular, I think our restaurants do a fantastic job or elevating it from the stuffiness that fine dining used to imply, to fun yet still beautiful experiences. 

Woodland House was definitely an example of this.

Located in a gorgeous house in Prahran, Woodland House was once Jaques Reymond, the only western restaurant my dad admitted to really enjoy, so I was very excited when I had the opportunity to visit and see how the space had changed. 

It’s an absolutely gorgeous property, the space feels like someone’s beautiful home, with gorgeous installations and art and since the house is split up into quite a number of rooms, there’s a sense of intimacy and cosiness in each space. 

Woodland House is owned by chefs Thomas Woods and Hayden McFarland (who were both trained by Jaques Reymond), and we were gathered to experience their Sunday lunch menu, which let me tell you, goes far faster than you think it does, and is definitely best with plenty of company…as we had! I definitely felt like I was in a bit of a timewarp by the time we finished!

Edible snack, or art piece? Perhaps a bit of both? These paper thin sweet potato crisps were just mesmerising, with their astonishing colour and ever so thin texture. 

Throughout our lunch, we were treated to two types of bread, and our side plate was never left without one. And despite just being bread, both varieties were just delicious and served so that they were lovely and warm in the hands. I particularly enjoyed the danish with a little cream cheese and sumac salt, there was a density, but a lightness to it as well, and I simply adored the saltiness of it. 

Our first dish was a beautifully elegant plate of rockling, crab emulsion and almond. Oh what a treat this was to the senses, the crab emulsion was delightfully aromatic, smelling of the ocean. The scent was a bit stronger than the flavour, which was a lot more delicate, but I enjoyed the texture of the rockling, which was a bit firmer and muscly than I anticipated. Surprisingly textural. 

This was served with a 2011 Tarrawarra ‘Reserve’ Chardonnay from Yarra Valley, which was much lighter than many other Chardonnay’s I’ve had before. Less savouriness and oak, and a touch more sweetness. Devastatingly easy to drink.

Second course was a John Dory with sheep’s whey, bottarga and dill. What a contrast in texture the John Dory had, tender, melting in the mouth; it was simply cooked to perfection. I loved the greens it was served with, although I cannot name them all, draped with a light bit of crisp foliage over the top, with these lovely textural and slightly crunchy greens underneath. I’m tempted to say seaweed as I recall a touch of oceanic flavour, but I could be mistaken!

I was quite pleased that Melissa next to me was not so excited by the next dish, as I certainly was, a lovely mix of snails and pig tails (it could almost be a nursery rhyme!), topped with a couple of such thin an crisp lotus roots. The snails were quite muscly and textural, earthy too with a nice herbaceous sauce or dressing over them. The meatiness of the pig tails complemented nicely. 

Course four, of spatchcock, jerusalem artichoke and black garlic was possibly one of my favourites. I absolutely adore jerusalem artichoke, and the puree was sublime, sweet, yet earthy, taking the edge of the gaminess of the spatchcock, which was just so tender. Definitely wanted more of this please!

Our shortrib, sweetbreads and kohlrabi course also hit the mark, the meat just gently falling apart with a butter knife, but still keeping it’s structure, the fat and the muscle beautifully balanced for a tender piece of meat. The thick caramel-esque sauce certainly didn’t hurt either. Springy sweetbreads always make my day. 

The cheese course was certainly out to steal my heart. Beginning to gently melt on the warmed plate, the cheese made with a combination of cow and sheep milk, was topped with a black pudding crumble and crisps. Swoon. If there’s one thing better than cheese…it’s warm cheese, with the punch of the black pudding. It’s rich, a little oily on the lips, salty from the crisps, with a meatiness and touch of iron from the black pudding, all equating to heaven. 

To finish, an ever so little (couldn’t it have been just a wee bit bigger guys?) dessert of a celeriac friand, with macadamia milk sorbet and fermented pineapple. I was definitely sceptical of celeriac in my baked goods, but am no longer a sceptic, there’s a lovely natural sweetness that celeriac does have and I was surprised how prominently that flavour appeared, despite being baked. It was also surprisingly delicious and like I said…I only wish our portion was a bit bigger (or if we could have had another)!

And to surprise us at the end, a couple of petit fours, delicious jelly jubes and chocolate coated nuts (think they were hazelnut, but don’t hold me to my word!). 

By the time we wrapped up our meal, four hours had passed. Four! How did I not even notice? It had only felt like I had been there for two. The staff at Woodland House are so professional, but so friendly and approachable, and paced out the meal so well, bringing wine in at the appropriate time to fill the gaps, topping up our bread and so on, so that there was always something happening. As said as well, I think long lunches are definitely best enjoyed with multiple people; I feel like after 3 hours I may have struggled for conversation if it was just Brad and I! 

Fortunately, these long lunches are saved for Sunday, as the amount of wine one consumes during these things is also quite surprising and I didn’t quite realise how much I had drunk until I stood up and started walking a bit. I literally got home, jumped into my PJ’s and prompted to sleep for a solid hour in a drunken stupor/food coma. Blessed Sundays. 

I think what I enjoyed most about this experience though, was that this didn’t really have to be a special occasion meal. It was just a relaxed Sunday, over four hours, with food that is beautifully executed, but also refreshingly approachable in a sublime environment. Why wait for an anniversary? 

Woodland House 

78 Williams Street

Prahran 3181 VIC