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[Shinboners]

another option is Jacques Reymond, which isn't CBD, but is less then 10 minutes in a cab.

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I'm seriously thinking of Jacques Reymond for my birthday. But Rockpool Bar and Grill and Bistro Guillaume are also options (although the main negative is that both are at the Crown).

In recent dining adventures, I took the missus to Wildflower in Surrey Hills for our 5 year anniversary and that was very good. Our next stop (for her birthday) will be Agrodolce in Forest Hills. The owners are Grossi Florentino alumni, so I'm quite looking forward to it.

[Shinboners]

Is Nobu at the Crown worth a look? I'm fairly leery of hype. We tend to prefer places where the food is the main thing, with a nicely understated vibe.

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Bistro Guillaume (as mentioned in my post above ) might suit you. It got a very good review in the Age a couple of weeks ago.

You can find them here: http://www.bistroguillaume.com.au/

Giuseppe, Arnaldo & Sons is another Crown restaurant that you might enjoy.

http://www.idrb.com

[Adam Balic]

another option is Jacques Reymond, which isn't CBD, but is less then 10 minutes in a cab.

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I'm seriously thinking of Jacques Reymond for my birthday. But Rockpool Bar and Grill and Bistro Guillaume are also options (although the main negative is that both are at the Crown).

In recent dining adventures, I took the missus to Wildflower in Surrey Hills for our 5 year anniversary and that was very good. Our next stop (for her birthday) will be Agrodolce in Forest Hills. The owners are Grossi Florentino alumni, so I'm quite looking forward to it.

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I guess all three are quite different. Would be interesting to compare JR to the others as this is one Melbourne fine dining venue that has bee around for ever without getting stale. Another plus is the wine list, which is huge and well priced.

[Shinboners]

I guess all three are quite different. Would be interesting to compare JR to the others as this is one Melbourne fine dining venue that has bee around for ever without getting stale. Another plus is the wine list, which is huge and well priced.

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How long in advance would I have to book at JR?

If it wasn't for the crap location, I'd probably go to the other two places. Still, it's in my mind that a few years ago, I booked at Vue de Monde for my birthday. But with a month to go, I cancelled and went to France Soir instead as I knew that I wanted to eat something a lot more comforting and in a restaurant where the atmosphere would be a lot more relaxed.

[Adam Balic]

No sure, I usually book a head by 2-4 weeks as a rule.

France Soir, like the food but have been there when they have lost a booking (mine) or given away a table. Also happened to others that I know. Any similar experiences?

[Shinboners]

I've heard stories about people having booking problems/surly waiters/other issues with France Soir, but in all the times I've been, I've never had a problem. My bookings have always been honoured, the food has been very good to excellent, the staff have been fantastic, and I've always had a great time.

Mind you, when we go out to dinner, we avoid Friday and Saturday nights. It has to be something exceptional for us to make a booking at any restaurant on those two evenings.

[sandra]

Also no problems here with France Soir, but we used to go in every week as we lived aroudn the corner and they always had a table for us

[PCL]

Never had an issue with France Soir myself.

Solid and dependable as far as food is concerned.

[Shinboners]

Has anybody been to Three.One.Two.?

Looking at their website, a $110 degustation looks like it's very tidy value.

[Adam Balic]

RE: France Soir, good to know that it isn't a common experience.

[Amarantha]

Has anybody been to Three.One.Two.?

Looking at their website, a $110 degustation looks like it's very tidy value.

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Hehe, I posted about Three, One, Two in the "Taxi-like" thread before I saw this post. We went there shortly after it opened, and again about a year later, and both times we were blown away. Top-quality cooking with excellent ingredients, but in a comfortable environment at reasonable prices. We both think it's probably the best restaurant in Melbourne.

Come to think of it, it's been about a year since we were there last; perhaps it's time we went again

Re: not eating out on Friday/Saturday nights, we do exactly the same. Usually we'll go on a Monday or Tuesday. This Monday - Bar Lourinha, to celebrate the end of this semester's exams

[Shinboners]

Hehe, I posted about Three, One, Two in the "Taxi-like" thread before I saw this post.  We went there shortly after it opened, and again about a year later, and both times we were blown away.  Top-quality cooking with excellent ingredients, but in a comfortable environment at reasonable prices.  We both think it's probably the best restaurant in Melbourne.

Come to think of it, it's been about a year since we were there last; perhaps it's time we went again 

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That's a good enough recommendation for me.

Now, the only thing is whether I go there in September as a birthday present to myself or in December to celebrate an anniversary. It's not the worst decision in the world to have to make.

Anyway, this Friday we're off to Agrodolce for my missus's birthday.

[JSL@Palate]

Oh look, you're all just making me homesick over here. I want to try Bistro Guillaume for all the great reviews it's getting. I want to try Nobu because, well, it has the name 'Nobu' in it. I want to try Flower Drum because it sounds as though it's rejuvenated itself. And now I want to try Three, One, Two. I miss Melbourne.

Although I did go to Jackson's on Friday night and it was sweeet..

[Shinboners]

Anyway, this Friday we're off to Agrodolce for my missus's birthday.

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Agrodolce was very good. The service was excellent, the courses came out at a nice pace, and the food was very well executed.

The mains were the highlights for us. For me, I had a stuffed pigs trotter with citrus juices, and served with braised puy lentils. It had that lovely rich stickiness that you get with a trotter, but there was just enough citrus to cut the richness.

The missus raved about her braised hare....and it was braised with a little bit of dark chocolate.

The waiters also recommended a wine which was a Dunns Creek Estate, 2004 Barbera from the Mornington Peninsula. It's an Italian style wine, and the grapes are grown under some very stressful conditions. The wine itself has a very earthy bouquet, and the flavour was very rich and complex. For me, it had a lot of earthy and chocolate flavours, and the flavour lingered and changed in the mouth. I don't think the wine has a wide distribution, but get in touch with the winery.

[Amarantha]

The mains were the highlights for us.  For me, I had a stuffed pigs trotter with citrus juices, and served with braised puy lentils.  It had that lovely rich stickiness that you get with a trotter, but there was just enough citrus to cut the richness. 

The missus raved about her braised hare....and it was braised with a little bit of dark chocolate.

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Damn! That sounds incredibly good. Shall add it to my restaurant wishlist

[Shinboners]

Hehe, I posted about Three, One, Two in the "Taxi-like" thread before I saw this post.  We went there shortly after it opened, and again about a year later, and both times we were blown away.  Top-quality cooking with excellent ingredients, but in a comfortable environment at reasonable prices.  We both think it's probably the best restaurant in Melbourne.

Come to think of it, it's been about a year since we were there last; perhaps it's time we went again 

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I'm pretty much booked in for dinner at Three.One.Two next month. Excellent....I can't wait.

I'll also be at the Furnitex trade show at Jeff's Shed next week, so I'm hoping to have lunch with a friend at Giuseppe, Arnaldo, and Sons.

[jkim]

have lunch with a friend at Giuseppe, Arnaldo, and Sons.

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Any idea when this place opens?

Everytime I walk by, it's closed.

As I understand, it's a no bookings first come first served establishment?

Also has anyone actually tried Jacques mentioned earlier in this thread? What was the experience like? I've heard some good passing by comments about it from a couple of friends, but no indepth comments and have not been able to try it myself yet.

[Shinboners]

Oh look, you're all just making me homesick over here.  I want to try Bistro Guillaume for all the great reviews it's getting.  I want to try Nobu because, well, it has the name 'Nobu' in it.  I want to try Flower Drum because it sounds as though it's rejuvenated itself.  And now I want to try  Three, One, Two.  I miss Melbourne.

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And the homesickness might get even worse if the rumours are true about Thomas Keller and Gordon Ramsay opening restaurants at Crown.

[PCL]

News to my ears Dan... do elaborate!!

[Shinboners]

News to my ears Dan... do elaborate!!

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The Thomas Keller rumours were doing the rounds last year. I actually thought they had put aside some space at Crown for a 30 seater (or something like that) restaurant. But I haven't heard anything since then. Here's an old thread on the Keller rumour..... http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=100596 Anyway, I've got my order in for his new book on sous vide cooking. btw, one of my footy mates is living in New York and he and his wife had dinner at Per Se (amongst other many fine New York restaurants).

As for Gordon Ramsay, he was in Australia recently, and he spoke about opening a restaruant in either Melbourne or Sydney, but it seemed that he was favouring Melbourne. The rumour was that he was going to do a reality TV show about opening a new restaurant in Australia. Naturally, with him doing a lot of work with Channel 9 (which is home to his Kitchen Nightmares and Hells Kitchen TV shows), and that station's links with Crown Casino, it seems to be a natural fit.

[Shinboners]

another option is Jacques Reymond, which isn't CBD, but is less then 10 minutes in a cab.

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I went to Jacques Reymond last night, and we had a superb time.

The service was excellent, and the food was brilliantly well executed. Reymond's food doesn't have the same "surprise" factor that places like Three.One.Two, Vue de Monde, and Interlude have.....to my mind, these places like to fiddle around with the textures and expectations of food so the diner gets a "wow! I didn't expect that" response......but it's all about the purity of the flavour of the ingredients.

We had the 7 course degustation, and everything came out at a nice and relaxed pace. The only thing that didn't make sense was the palate cleanser. It tasted fantastic, but it didn't really cleanse my palate.

But anyway, we had an outstanding night and we'll hopefully be back sooner rather than later.

[Adam Balic]

Glad yo liked it. Eh, so what was the food?

[Shinboners]

To the best of my memory, we had the following:

Rock lobster dumpling in dashi broth, with a paper thin slice of dehydrated apple and a tiny salad of herbs. The flavours shone brightly and the lobster had a great texture.

A salad with duck cooked rare, foie gras, raw tuna, some pickled vegetables and salad leaves. The foie gras was the highlight - not too strongly flavoured, but with such a smooth texture. There was a paper thin slice of cep on the bottom of the salad - very nice.

Kingfish with a miso glaze, and a pea puree. The kingfish was ever so slightly rare in the middle, but again, a lovely texture and clean, clear flavours.

Seared venison that was coated with...something. Not sure what it was. Nice and caramalised in the middle, but sweet and rare in the middle.

For the course where you had a choice, I had milk fed veal with a milk foam and vegetables. The veal had a milky flavour, and the texture was so smooth - firm, but it broke apart on the fork. The missus had a rack of lamb, and this was superb. Nicely charred on the outside, rare in the middle, and it was probably the best lamb that we've tasted.

Palate cleanser. A mint marshmallow, some coffee cream, and a couple of other things (a powder and a foam) - tasted great, but it didn't really cleanse my palate.

Dessert. Chocolate icecream, banana ice cream, caramalised passionfruit puree, and a chocolate biscuit. Sounds simple, but all the flavours were vibrant.

Petit fours were a choux pastry ball filled with creme, nougart, a pistachio meringue, raspberry Turkish delight, and a chocolate truffle.

Hmmmm.....I get the feeling that I've missed out on one course as I don't think the palate cleanser really counts as a course.

Edited September 26, 2008 by Shinboners (log)

[PCL]

Palate cleanser definitely not a course.

I'd complain Dan.

[Shinboners]

I didn't count the palate cleanser as a course.

I know we had the right amount of courses, but for the life of me, I can't remember the one I've forgotten.