Grossi Florentino (Upstairs) - CBD

For my 25th birthday in September, Quynh took me Grossi Florentino. Hailed as a fine dining institution in Melbourne, we were more than excited to dine here. We got the 6pm reservation and was ushered in upstairs We got the Gran Tour ($180) which was their 6 dish degustation.  

Our menu for the night

Bellini and a strong ass cocktail

Oyster, horseradish, kolralbi

Close-up shot

Our first dish was the oyster, horseradish and kolralbi. It tasted very fresh and briny but perhaps I would've loved a little more acidity in the form of pickled kolralbi. Nonetheless a good start to the meal. It came with some unexpected sides as well.

Russian potato salad

Beautifully presented was the Russian potato salad served in a Cornetto. Such lovely contrasting textures but needed a touch of salt.

Capsicum Crisp & Chicken Sandwiches

There was also a Capsicum crisp which housed artichoke, cucumber and almonds paired with a dainty chicken sandwich. The creamy chicken was scrumptious against the dainty thin wafer holding it together. 

There was also a blob of a dish which was poached veal in a tuna emulsion. This was incredibly flavoursome.

Quite a spread!

We love our bread, we love our butter

Ahh bread and butter. Our favourite course. Always. The sourdough bread was delightfully warm and the smooth silky cured butter was dusted with sage rosemary dust. Did we we have 2 servings of this? Yeah obviously.

White Asparagus & Prosciuto

With our next course, we were given the option to substitute a dish for one of the specials. Such a good option because that means more variety, yay. I got the White Asparagus, Prosciutto and Greens in white sauce. The asparagus were soooo soft and all the flavours worked. I felt that it was a really understated dish that allowed each ingredient to shine. 

Kingfish

Quynh got the Kingfish, Apple, Sorrel, Row, Goat Curd. This was very pretty but quite a small serving compared to mine. The generous sorrel gave the entire dish very herbaceous undertones.

King Prawn

Next was the King Prawn, Banana Shallot, Pantelleria Capers, Pancetta. The prawns were plump and joocy. I really like that crusting. Also no semi-allergic reaction, scorrrrrre.

Straight-up Parmesan

The servers were just casually wheeling around a chunk of parmesan which we could snack on if we preferred. Hell yes! The chunky slices were drizzled with a balsamic reduction. So simple but oh so great. 

Spanner Crab Taglierini

Oh My Goodness. This was the Taglierini di Riso Venere, Spanner Crab, Bottarga. Simply amazing and easily my favourite dish of the night.  The crab was so sweet and plentiful and the flavours were just spot on. Honestly, so good. 

Duck and porcini ravioli

Surprise course that wasn't on the menu! Duck and porcini ravioli with pear. Little bite sized pockets of flavour. i loved how earthy it was. 

Wagyu Rump Cap

Our last main course was the Wagyu Rump Cap, Bitto, Kalette, Mustard Fruit, Bone Marrow. Today I learned that Bitto is an Italian DOP (Denominazione di Origine Protetta) cheese produced in the Valtelline valley in Lombardy. On the day, it was just a cheesy sauce The meat itself was tender and had a nice bite to it. Bone marrow is decadent as always. 

Chocolate Souffle

For dessert we had Chocolate Souffle, Hazelnut, Grains of Paradise. The ice cream had flecks of Szechuan pepper throughout it from what I remember and it gave it such an interesting spicy kick. The souffle itself was super fluffy.

Yay for lil birthday treats. Chocolate bites that well tasted exactly like chocolate. 

Overall, we had a pleasant time at Grossi. The food was quite nice with some really standout dishes. They gave us a nice goodie bag of coffee beans. I really wanted to touch on the service that we encountered. I had scoured the reviews on Grossi before we went and the one common theme I read about was their exceptional service. I don't expect fancy schmancy stuff but if this is what they are known for then I had high hopes Don't get me wrong, we definitely had friendly and very professional servers but there were some things that were odd. It was just small details like not offering to take my jacket, not wheeling the cheese over to us until we got curious and enquired about it or some servers not even cracking a smile when talking to us. Didn't seem the case with other nearby tables. I have noticed this trend with some fine dining restaurants, where because we aren't interested in their wine list or perhaps younger than their usual clientele, that we are not given the same attentiveness as everybody else. It is just a bit disappointing. But whatever, I am glad I have ticked Grossi off my fine dining list. On to the next! 

Taste: 7.5/10

Presentation: 7/10 

Service: 5/10

Value for Money: 7/10

 

Cheek - CBD

On a random Wednesday night a group of us decided to pay Cheek a visit. It is the sister restaurant of Dexter, one of the best restaurants in Melbourne, in my opinion. It is fair to say, I had high hopes. Located smack bang in the CBD on Swanston Street, an unassuming set of stairs leads you to the restaurant which can be accessed via a sliding door on the left. Our group of 6 ordered plenty of small plates, large meatier portions and sides to share.

Almost walked past the entrance!

Sweet n sour Cauliflower

To start, we ate the battered sweet n' sour cauliflower with miso ranch ($15). It looked very inviting but would've preferred a bit more crunch. The miso flavour was very prominent and definitely packed a punch.

Meat Donuts

I was super excited for the meat donuts. It is such a standout dish at Dexter so I had really high expectations for Cheek's version. They sold a Sichuan hot meat donut with mango jam. It was pretty underwhelming. Meat donuts are such a novelty that is fun to eat but I was expecting a lot more spice and a lot more flavour. Thank-you, next.

Daily Tacos

The daily taco ($8ea) was a chicken and avocado combo. The taco itself was a tad too hard and the double shelling was overkill.

Beef Tartare

Our next starter was the plum leaf tartare with Korean pickle ($18). Quite a small serving but quite tasty. There was a very prominent sesame flavour throughout it.

New York Strip Steak

Time for mains! One of the large dishes to share was the New York Strip Steak (300g) with bone marrow sauce ($37). I would've loved more bone marrow sauce because that is liquid gold but the meat itself was tender. Pretty good standard steak for its pricepoint.

Kurobuta Pork

The rare breed kurobuta pork (350g) ($33) was the dry aged special of the night. It was exquisitely tender and the apple slaw was a nice touch.

Smoked Short Rib

The winner of the night was the smoked short rib (650g) served with a sesame caramel ($65). It was the most tender piece of meat and packed the most flavour. I loved that it was paired with thin ribbons of kolrabi (I am guessing). This is a must-try at Cheek.

Bone Marrow Mash

To accompany our mains, we couldn't not order the mash and gravy ($9). Just as great as the original bone marrow mash at Dexter. Bottle this bone marrow up, it is that good.

Dirty Cream Corn

We also got the dirty cream corn ($17), which was topped with XO, creme fresh and lime. On paper, it looked divine but I guess the flavours were a bit strange to me. Corn that didn't quite taste like corn, probably not worth a try.

Onion Rings

The onion rings ($9) were a winner. They were very thinly sliced and the batter gave it a great crispy texture. The red eye mayo was fab.

Smoked Eggplant ($16)

Mixed Leaf Salad ($8)

My friend, who is a Vegetarian bravely came along to the meatiest joint out, and ordered a few of their vegetarian-friendly options above.

Overall, I had an enjoyable meal at Cheek. Some dishes were better than others. I was told by the waitress that Cheek was a more refined version of Dexter but I couldn't justify the cost for its prime CBD location. It was quite pricey as the sides come separately. Service was fine but I just would have preferred that the dishes all came out together rather than one at a time. It was literally one in one out. Still dreaming of that bone marrow mash tbh.


Taste: 7.5/10
Presentation: 7/10
Service: 7/10
Value for Money 6/10







  

Borsch, Vodka & Tears - Windsor

Polish food is not a cuisine I often eat but the urge to eat was real, so off we went to Borsch, Vodka and Tears in Windsor. I had heard great things about this place so was quite excited to see what all the hype was about. It was dimly lit with warm red hues with quite an extensive bar menu. It was a standard Tuesday night so unfortunately we didn’t try any of its namesake: vodka.

I did order the Sex in Krakow ($17), which was a concoction of cranberry vodka, clear polish vodka and cointreau shaken with cranberry and lime. It was quite sweet but I could definitely taste the alcohol. E had their bestseller, Pinta Pierwsza Pomoc ($10.50). It was described as a crisp and clean Czech style pilsner, perfect for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Safe to say he liked it. It had quite a sweet aftertaste which I couldn’t quite distinguish.

We definitely had to order the Zakuski, described as favourite bites inspired by our travels to the Motherland. We selected the Farmer’s Zakuski ($35) which had an impressive repertoire of Vodka-cured kangaroo "tartare," lamb croquette, venison & smoked duck terrine, devils on horseback, wild boar salami, ham hock fritters, rich man's butter, rye bread and bottomless pickles.

Wow where to even start? 

The vodka-cured kangaroo wasn’t gamey at all and I forgot that vodka was an element. It sat atop a rye crisp. To be honest, it was quite salty but when paired with the mint jelly or saukeraut, it was a lot more enjoyable. The single lamb croquette was very rich and dense. The venison and smoked duck terrine was thinly sliced with pistachios peppered through it. It had a nice meaty taste. Wild boar salami? Tasted like good quality salami. The devils on horseback was an interesting one. Not quite a pate spread but not quite a stand-alone component. The ham hock fritters were a winner. Tasty shredded meat with a good mustardy kick from the sauce. Don’t even get me started on the butter, rich man’s butter indeed. Velvety smooth and so easily devourable with the rye bread. Bottomless pickles? Enough said.

We had to get the traditional Polish dumplings here and ordered 2 Beef and Chicken Pierogis and 2 Porcini and Sauerkraut Pierogis ($18). Love me some variety. The pierogis were good and well flavoured. I actually preferred the latter as I felt the porcini mushrooms really shined.

We also ordered the Lamb Goulash, which comprised of all things yummy: lamb and capsicum ragout, baked semolina dumplings and pickled red cabbage. The semolina dumplings sold me on this dish and I was not disappointed. Very pillowy and the perfect vessel to mop up the flavorsome stew. The lamb chunks were beautifully tender. Highly recommend this dish.

Overall, we had a fantastic time at Borsch, Vodka and Tears. The waitresses were personable and made us feel at ease. The food was fantastic and we were very comfortably full and definitely happy with our food choices. I am excited to go back to try their other dishes and maybe a tasting platter of vodka...or 2. It is definitely worth a visit to satisfy your Polish cravings or experience this cuisine for the first time.


Taste: 9/10
Presentation: 9/10
Value for Money: 7/10
Service: 8/10