St. Hotel

Disclosure: I was invited to dine as a guest

The last time I was at the St. Hotel in St Kilda, the gorgeous old building (which has been in the neighbourhood since 1915) was packed rafter to rafter with people, lining up for Asian bites from St Hotel and a range of other restaurants as an event. 

Although it was fun, it was hectic, so when I had an opportunity to revisit the St. Hotel to try their new European bar and dining menu, I was certainly keen to check out what head chef Ben Isaacs had to offer. 

The St. Hotel is so Melbourne when you walk in, retaining a lot of the old world charm - rough brick walls, and accented with new timber floor finishes, polished concrete and black steel. Rather than one big open space, the restaurant/bar is an array of dining spaces so if you want to grab a quick drink you can, or if you want to sit in a cosy corner with a date…you can do that too.

Or if you want to have dinner with 20 other bloggers, that’s totally doable too!

The ‘bite me’ neon has to be one of my favourite pieces of neon in Melbourne - talk about getting straight to the point!

We started with an array of nibbles, with the crumbed pacific oysters with tartare sauce and lemon the first to come out. Although usually I do favour my oysters natural, these were done exceptionally well. Golden, and crispy batter beautifully protected the juicy and sweet meat inside which exploded into a delicious textural delight. 

Smoked ocean trout rilles and Yarra Valley caviar on rye crisp were also vibrant and bright in flavour - I adore trout - and the rye crisps were crispy as advertised and the parmesan gougeres with truffled gruyere sauce were to die for. Light choux style pastry on the outside, stuffed full with cheese goodness on the inside - I was definitely eyeing the plate to see if there were an extras left behind…

Our wines this evening were selected and matched by Red + White - one of my favourite wines for the night had to be this La la Land Pinot Gris - so fruity and bright. 

Our next dish, would could have been our main for it’s heft in flavour and weight, was the wood roasted jamon wrapped buffalo mozzarella with mild mushrooms and bitter leaves. Woah. Big plate. One of these each. Totally okay with this! The mozzarella was creamy, and deliciously oozy from being roasted - on a cold night, was there anything better really? 

For our mains, we shared (fortunately) a couple of plates. The wood roasted chateaubriand served a la bourguigononne style was a winner with the group. It can definitely be tough to get red meat right for a big group, but St. Hotel delivered the most tender and perfectly cooked piece of meat we could ever ask for. It just melted in the mouth. 

I was a little less excited by the wood BBQ wild barramundi with wild mushrooms, burnt butter and sage - I’m personally just not a huge fan of barramundi - but I did not stop picking at the pine mushrooms that came with the dish. Meaty and just a match made in heaven with the burnt butter. 

Cauliflower and gruyere mac and cheese is everything you want it to be. Need I say more? 

To finish our evening, we all enjoy an elderflower panna cotta with blueberries and lemon - which I just adore. After a big meal, the dessert was light and refreshing. A lovely mix of textures from the crumbly meringue to the soft and creamy panna cotta. Well balanced - one that even Brad finished! 

I’m definitely selective when it comes to dinner, more so because I want to make sure Brad will enjoy the food as well. St Hotel ticked all the boxes for me and my man for hearty, filling and just really well executed dishes. Although I’m not ever really in St Kilda, St. Hotel will definitely be on my list to recommend that side of town! 

St. Hotel

54 Fitzroy Street

St Kilda

 

The Catch Up - Fall menu at Nieuw Amsterdam, Le Petite Prince & House of Crabs

Disclosure: I was invited to dine as a guest at the following venues 

You may notice these days, that there’s quite a bit of a gap from when I have a dining experience on Instagram, versus when it’s up on the blog. 

It’s definitely hard to stay on top of everything, between flat out days at work which leave me not wanting to be in front of a computer, nights out and then making sure I’m in bed by 10:30 so I can go to the gym (prioritising fitness, whoo!) and well…blogging is a bit of work!

So here’s a little round up of a couple of places that I’ve been wanting to write about, just to help expedite the process a little!

NIEUW AMSTERDAM

106-112 Hardware Lane

Melbourne 3000 

 

A couple months back, I popped into Nieuw Amsterdam to check out their new (and now obviously running) autumn menu, matched with cocktails. 

I’m always amazed at how creative with cocktails the guys at Nieuw Amsterdam get. One of my favourites from the evening? Peas-go-sour. A play on a ‘pisco sour’ (see what they did there?) with pisco, applejack, lime, snow pea syrup and habanero shrub. What. It’s fresh, it’s springy, it’s almost healthy…right? 

Highlights included the deep fried pickles we munched on prior to our meal; which are basically the perfect bar snack. How come these aren’t everywhere? Golden, crunchy, piping hot and just yum. 

Southern fried quail with romesco sauce and pickled grapes are also pure fried perfection. I absolutely love that these meaty mouthfuls are only dedicated battered, and the kick in the seasoning. There’s a lovely heat, and each mouthful is still so juicy. Happy sighs. 

Curry spiced lamb ribs with cauliflower, eggplant, coriander and lime are also a favourite of mine, again amazingly meaty and no-hands-barred with all the flavour. Love the charred outsides and still pink insides.

It’s hearty, hearty food, it’s been a little bit of a warm autumn sure, but once we swing full on into the colder weather…? Oh goodness. Perfection.

LE PETIT PRINCE

1A Mercer Road

Armadale

 

Armadale and Toorak can sometimes be a bit pretentious, and hoity-toity sometimes. But I love being surprised and instead of finding overly healthy dishes, or a little bit too intricate plating, just great big hearty dishes, that still look great.

Le Petit Prince did just that for me. Beautiful coffees, in sky blue cups, and a pumpkin dish with roast pumpkin two ways which I just want to eat all my life. I don’t think you guys fully understand just how much I love pumpkin. Also helps this dish is loaded with haloumi as well, sprinkled with a bit of dukkah. It’s wholesome but not heavy comfort food that I love eating while sitting outside in the breezy weather. 

Brad’s mixed mushrooms, Spanish morcilla, poached eggs, smashed avocado and feta is also a surprisingly generous feed, and incorporates all my favourite things…what’s not to love?

HOUSE OF CRABS

34 Inkerman Street

St Kilda

 

When I hear there’s a new restaurant open beneath the slick and very cool Newmarket hotel…well…House of Crabs isn’t exactly what I expected when I walk in.

You’re instantly transported to the quirky corner of the south, with funky lamp shades, fringe and red…lots of red. It feels a little burlesque bar, but with a band playing Cotton Eye Joe instead. It’s kind of hilarious and the atmosphere is instantly jovial and bright. 

The cocktails are hard, but delicious; yes there’s a mini bottle of tequila that’s pouring out into my glass. 

But it’s really all about sitting down at the butcher paper lined tables, donning some blue plastic gloves…and getting intimate with some crustaceans. 

Mussels, prawns, and a selection of crabs are available to have as a boil, with your choice of sauce. The Singapore sauce is one of my favourites, totally reminds of chilli crabs back in Singapore, and I can’t remember which, either the Cajun or the Creole has some beautiful curry-ish flavours going on. 

It’s a bit of work, but it’s a whole lot of fun and always a great icebreaker. Good way to vet out a potential date too (if they ain’t peeling prawns or getting into crabs, they’re a party popper and a no goer I’d say).

The stuff on the side is also really good too, lobster fries with bacon, cheese and lobster gravy are terribly moreish and I love the crunchy buttermilk chicken bits with cajun sauce. 

Also highly recommend the soft shell crab tacos with jalapeño mayo and apples, beautifully crisp and a nice kick of heat. 

Fitzrovia Dinner & Saba's Ethopian Restaurant

Disclosure: I was invited as a guest to the following restaurants

Fitzrovia 

2/155 Fitzroy St

St Kilda 3182 

 

With longer sunny afternoons and more gin and tonic inducing weather, it’s lovely to see Fitzrovia sneak out of hibernation and extend their service out to a couple evenings a week. I’d been before with Brad and absolutely loved it, so couldn’t wait to revisit when I was invited to!

I think Fitzrovia describes the food that chef and co-owner Paul Jewsen does perfectly, luxe comfort food; big flavours with rough edges, and I love it. 

Let’s start with the hot and sour crisp salt and pepper calamari with green papaya salad, Asian herbs, rice noodles, lime and cashews with a roast chilli dressing. Wow. Absolutely packed with flavour, this dish was vibrant, with sweet, aromatic citrus, a bit of heat and a bit of crunch. Could have easily eaten a whole bowl for this as a meal by myself!

Chickpea and organic black quinoa falafel with turmeric roast cauliflower and smoked eggplant caviar, sumac spiced lane, minted pine nut dukkah and pomegranate is also deliciously done, wholesome but also quite light and clean. 

The free range chicken breast saltimbocca with crisp prosciutto, sage and taleggio, soft mascarpone polenta and crisp fried leeks was simply comforting flavours; I’m not usually a huge fan of chicken breast but Paul looks after it well here. Tender and juicy, deliciously seasoned with the prosciutto. 

Every time I go to Fitzrovia, or know of people going, I simply rave on about their signature polenta chips, made with three types of cheeses and topped with truffled parsley and parmesan. Oh my goodness. Isn’t it a feast for the eyes? Big generous jenga style chips, which are soft and fluffy, but so rich in cheese flavour simply slays me. You just need two of these to have a meal really, they’re so darn rich! 

I’m hardly in St Kilda as often as I’d like to be, but would always be more than happy to make the journey down if someone wanted to try! 

Saba's Ethiopian Restaurant

328 Brunswick Street

Fitzroy 

 

I was quite surprised when I discovered how tasty Ethiopian food was, although my only experience with it had previously been at Little Africa. So when I saw that Saba’s Ethiopian Restaurant had opened up, I was excited to have something a little closer to home for me (or at least not in the CBD). 

Saba’s is opened by 25-year-old Saba who migrated to Australia 16 years ago, and the restaurant is now a bit of a family affair, with mum working her magic out back and sister helping out with front of house. 

What’s unique about Saba’s is that it uses teff flour in it’s injera (the brown flat bread), instead of regular flour, which apparently most other restaurants use, as teff is a bit more expensive and a bit harder to acquire. Fortunately Saba has been importing the flour since 2014, which is gluten free and native to Ethiopia, meaning you’re getting Ethiopian food that’s closer to what you might actual find in Ethiopia! 

Now, Ethiopian food is not very photogenic, but it does have some other great and redeeming features. Firstly, it’s damned delicious. From the meat dishes, vegetarian and vegan stews, and even the salads. From chickpeas, to a chicken dish covered in a red sauce that reminded me very much of sambal, the flavours at Saba were vibrant and hearty. 

I was surprised how different the teff flour injera was, although we demolished many, many, many, many servings of it, by the end of the meal, I didn’t feel bloated or even overly full, despite all the eating we did. It felt really clean. 

The second redeeming feature about Ethiopian food, is how fun and interactive it is. Out come the great big woven baskets with the injera on top. The different stews and dishes are then poured in over the top…and off you go at it! Fingers and all, my favourite way to eat, especially this kind of food!

Saba’s food is definitely made with plenty of heart and I can’t wait to bring Brad back to try it together; the food is made for sharing, so make sure to bring a party!