Rockpool Bar and Grill - Southbank

For my 22nd birthday, Kevin ended of day of festivities with a dinner at Rockpool Bar and Grill. We were the first ones to enter with a 5PM booking. 

Free bread is the best kind of bread.

The sourdough was very fluffy and nice with the butter and sea salt. Nothing can compare to Heston's bread and butter tho. 

DRANKS

For drinks we ordered the Kiwi Sling ($8) which had pear, kiwi and pineapple and The Rockpool Classic ($8) which had apple, passionfruit and mint. Both mocktails were tasty and not strong in mint flavour, which I liked.

Not your basic pasta.

For entree, we ordered the Hand Cut Linguine ($35) with the spanner crab and spicy prawn oil. They divided in into two portions which was very nice of them. The pasta was al dente and there were lovely chunks of the spanner crab in every bite. The prawn oil was subtle but coated everything perfectly. This was the dish of the night for me. 

Scallops

We also ordered the Hand Dived Grilled Port Phillip Bay Scallop with Herb and Garlic Butter ($42). It sounds pretty simple but tasted fantastic. Just a perfect marriage of flavours. 

Cape Grim Dry Aged 36 Month Old Grass Fed - Scotch Fillet

 Kevin insisted I ordered the steak since Rockpool is famous for them. I ended up choosing the scotch fillet 300g 28 days ($70) after some explanations from our helpful waitress. Disclaimer: I am not a hater. Steak just really isn't my thing and I got pretty bored with it I guess. It was perfectly cooked to a medium rare and soft but it's just meat. I needed more variety and it was my fault for not ordering a more complex dish. I mixed it up with the sides and sauces but I guess I was just a little (like a tiny bit) disappointed in my choice of meal. 70 dorra for this tho, HNGGGGGGGGG.

For sided I ordered the Dutch Cream Potatoes Sautéed with Wagyu Fat, Garlic and Rosemary ($12). I had legit read so many reviews worshipping these potatoes so my expectations went through the roof. They were nice although only cripsy at some bits. TBH what's da hype fam.

Kevin's potato photography SMH

Kevin ordered a dish on that night's special menu. It was roast pork with a generous serving of crackling and various vegetables in a jus. The pork was cooked beautifully and crackling done right is always a crowd pleaser. It was just delicious and I had mad food envy. Thank-god for sharing amirite!

Main Meals

Overall, I had a pretty good night at Rockpool. Our entrees were definitely a highlight for me. I probably shouldn't have ordered the steak and if I do ever go back I'd grab one of the other mains. We were definitely completely full and had no room for dessert afterwards. As for service, the waitress was definitely knowledgeable and the food came out surprisingly fast. Since we were one of the first diners there, we were kinda shoved in a corner, a very dimly lit corner, so that sucked. I guess it's all about that intimate cosy ambience but it was probably too dark for my liking. It was nice being fancy and eating fancy but I don't see myself coming back here any time soon. There's just sooooo many fine dining restaurants to try in Melbourne!



Taste: 8/10
Presentation: 8/10
Service: 8/10
Value for Money: 7/10