The Brasserie - Melbourne

[Dim Sim]

Finally went to The Brasserie last saturday evening, it was a beautiful mild Melbourne weather, we had a table near the doorway which opened to the deck.

the tables were well spaced, high ceiling, overall a nice space (can anyone remember what it used to be ? was it The Duck ?) The service is helpful, pleasant and well timed, the right food and drink.

Two fine bread rolls came to the table, one with sesame seed, and a EVOO and a coarse texture dukkah for dipping.

I ordered a ballotine and rillette of rabbit and a glass of viognior from McLaren Vale, the ballotine came with a light salad of julienned granny smith apple and (what I believed to be ) finely cut celeriac, a couple of pickled cherries, a flavoursome tight texture ballotine and a quenelle of rillette, soft and creamy just nice to spread on the bread. My partner had the souffle of blue and goat's cheese with a walnut and porcini vinaigrette with a glass of rousanne from Michelton, I had a spoonful of it, it was the popular twice baked version, nice and soft, just almost set in the middle, with pleasant goat's cheese and (I am sure ) parmasan with a hint of blue cheese.

We ordered a bottle of 2003 Kooyong 'Massale' pinor noir from from the Mornington Penisula for the main, I had the pork belly confit with a cocotte of vegetables including some morels, it was sublime, it was a square of pork belly, perfect crackling (not the hard as a rock and slight rubbery version) just slightly gelatinous on the underside, the belly itself has more fat to meat ratio, which I like, the fat itself is meltingly tender and lush (hope my doctor isn't reading this) with just enough jus not to make it cloyish. My partner had the saddle of rabbit and it was cooked just right, it wasn't gamey like some that I have in the past, I supposed it was a farmed rabbit . I am not sharing my pork ! we also ordered a side salad , which we didn't really tackle, as the healthy serving size and the richness of the food soon made us too full to eat any thing more, and beside I still have the dessert to go through.

Dessert - we ordered a share tasting plate, a degustation de desserts as they put it. it consisted of a chocolate tart, both sweet and bitter, 2 little shot glassses of panna cotta, citrus and berry, both of smooth thick rich luscious consistency and some pistachio ice cream and berry ice cream , and 2 mini rum babas in syrup and chantilly cream, I am sure there is somethng else on the plate too, oh I also had a glass of Punt Road late harvest semillon, Yarra Valley.

It was overall a nice dinner, simple non fussy food executed nicely, but each time I look out at the beautiful Yarra River and the cityscape, and those dam fire show every hour on the hour, and the ill behaved crowds from the Australian Open, I can't help but think I am at The Crown. but I am not going to let all that dampen my 40th birthday dinner, we walked out feeling happy and slightly

[ozmouse]

Happy birthday Dim Sum!

Yes the Crown does have that negative side to it. Have not been down that way in a long time. But it does sound like Mouchel is dragging some of us back there for good reason.

Glad to hear you enjoyed your evening out!

[Shinboners]

Thanks for the review Dim Sim.

I've been very keen to try The Brasserie, but like a few others here, I've been wary due to its proximity to the Krown Kasino. I think I may give it a try sooner rather than later.

May I ask how much the dinner cost (without wine)?

[Dim Sim]

May I ask how much the dinner cost (without wine)?

←

Sure, I am just reading from the cash register receipt( I like to keep the receipt to help me remember what I had), the GST thing is seperated, here we go,

Food 112.73

beverage 116.82 ( shit, that is shocking, it is more than the food, I just realize

that )

Now the dreaded GST 22.96

Total amount $252.50

well.......... I did forget that I had a martini to start before the meal, I am lush

you could go to www.crowncasino.com.au than follow the link till you reach The Brasserie, than click on the menu, lunch, pre- theatre, dinner and also the wine list, it should give you a good indication of the whole overall thing.

[Dim Sim]

That's reasonable if you had fun, and sounds like you did. I just need to find a suitable excuse to take some people down there for lunch!! Mrs PCL will have a fit if she ever finds out she's been excluded for economic reasons..

...the menu you had Dim, sounds very classical, which is a relief...

... but I can always say the she doesn't like Crown anyway. 

←

Yes, I did have a good night, I think you will find lunch is even better value for money, 2 courses for $35.90 and 3 courses for $41.90.The food is very classical, it is nice to see that it is done well though. I have never been to any eatery or any of the gaming area at 'The Clown' for obvious reasons,but I am willing to make an exception for Monchel. From my undrstanding, I don't think he is hand on though, he might constructs the menu and acts like somesort of qulity controller,sounds like he is on a good wicket.

[Shinboners]

Well, I don't suppose anyone would want to be accused of snobbery, but the Brasserie is a great restaurant in the wrong location. As I have posted above, I am not a fan of the Krown Kasino. There is something about the crowds that go there that makes me feel somewhat uncomfortable. Usually, at the end of any great dinner at a restuarant, you leave with a glow on the face and a lovely walk back to the car, you get lost in the fresh memories of the meal just enjoyed. But not at Krown - the crowds, the groups of bored teenagers, the members of the trakky dack army, and the gambling junkies who have that oddly blank, but focussed look about them. Leaving the carpark is not a delight as you warily watch out for those who are speeding around, looking for a park, whilst on their phones letting their friends know that they'll see them in a matter of minutes. We should have driven home talking about the food, but ended up talking about the countless reasons why we'd never return to the Krown Komplex.

Which is all a little bit unfair because the Brasserie is a very good restaurant.

We were presented with a couple of good bread rolls, with lemon scented olive oil and a dukkah, a nice way to ease in as we studied the menu.

Despite my best efforts to convince my better half to have a different entree, we enjoyed the same one. It was a gravalax wagyu beef carpaccio with ravigotte vinaigrette. The presentation was stunning, the beef hidden under a layer of finely chopped herbs, several thin slices of parmasen, and a little hill of pickled celariac. Flavours just jumped all over the tongue, each mouthful seemed to be different than the last. Sometimes it was a tang of lemon, another it was the bite of capers, and in another, the sweetness of the meat. It was a thoroughly enjoyable way to start the meal.

Both of us had a tricky time deciding what to have for our mains. After seriously contemplating one of the specials for the night....a cassoulet....I finally went for the duck breast with spicy figs and a confit of leg. A large meaty duck breast duly arrived, sliced in four sections, with a couple of the spiced figs. The breast was firm, juicy, and tender, but perhaps ever so slightly overdone. The figs had an interesting flavour. They weren't overly sweet, but that was a good thing. Nor were they overly spiced, it was just one of those situations were you knew the spices were there, but you couldn't quite pinpoint them. But as enjoyable as these two parts of the dish were, the confit duck leg was heavenly. Soft and stringy meat, with a slight hit of salt, and encased in a crispy shell, it was a joy and I was starting to have regrets on passing on the cassoulet.

On the other side of the table sat a duet of pan-fried tenderloin, burgandy beef, and confit potato. She received two pieces of the tenderloin, one of the burgandy beef, and three of the confit potatoes (kipflers). Each part of the dish was as good as anywhere else that we've enjoyed beef. The burgandy beef was extremely good with a blackened (without tasting burned) shell encasing pink and tasty meat, and all with and extraordinary combination of the taste of the beef and the wine. I did think that the potatoes seemed to be slightly powdery, but that's only a minor quibble.

As usual, we are fans of dessert, and the Brasserie is pretty handy in this department. I loved my almond and apricot clafoutis, served with pistachio ice-cream. The clafoutis was moist and the flavours of the fruit shone, and its buddy was probably the tastiest pistachio ice-cream that I've ever had. The missus was overjoyed with her slice of chocolate tart served with mango sorbet. The tart was rich in its dark chocolate flavour, but it was also surprisingly light. And like my ice cream, the flavour of the mango sorbet shone brightly.

I should also mention the coffee. It came in a very large cup (the last time I had coffee in a cup this large was in Los Angeles), and I was rather wary that I'd be let down with a rather weak coffee. But much to my surprise and pleasure, the coffee was rich and smooth. It was the best coffee that I've had in a restaurant since the Grossi Florentino.

The service was, well, interesting in that there didn't seem to be a unity of approach. The head staff were very formal, but the floor staff were very friendly.

If we ignore its location, I reckon the Brasserie is worth visiting. I don't think you'll be disappointed with the food.

[PCL]

It's weird, Dim quoted one of my posts above, but it ain't here on the thread... very strange.

Even weirder is that I was at the Brasserie on Sunday night with a relatively large group, and it wasn't even full, and I was going to write something, and then Shin pops up there and has a good time...

I am like, so confused...

Because, I didn't have a good time. For the following reasons:

Service was exceptionally incompetent. None of the servers pronounced Cassoulet properly. Each time they came by to perform some act of ineptitude, they seemed to bump someone with an elbow to the temple. The wine service was poor in that they brought out 2 bottles of the wrong plonk before getting it right. When we asked for share plates, they were unceremoniously dumped on the table in a stack. The maitre'd spent most of his time giggling and gossiping (a generous term really) about customers.

And the food? Well...

I ordered the terrine, standard procedure for myself if I'm first-timing in a French establishment. I find that it helps me gauge just how French they are. So the terrine arrived, and it looked good, felt good on the first prod, then things quickly avalanched from there. It was underseasoned... this is tantamount to a gross violation of all that should be good about a terrine... I mean, it can fall apart and look a mess, but if it's seasoned well, you can just mash it onto a chunk of bread and chew it up happily. There were pieces of liver and forcemeat that simply didn't combine on the palate, and texture was akin to sponges and grit.

And yes, being a sucker for it, I ordered the cassoulet. Thank god there was no parmesan in the crust. Beans were good, soft but still whole and totally flavoured. Sausages were garlicky and tender, and smoked belly pork added the right amount of unctuousness together with a true piece of confit and lamb shin meat. This one worked, but it didn't do enough to lift me out of the doldrums.

I didn't like the dining room, especially the faux crowdedness and tables hidden behind columns (architectural fault of the whole complex really) so you couldn't see the servers and they of course, didn't really want to see you so it seemed like.

Which brings me to the point: CONSISTENCY. Maybe it was a Sunday night, so people were tired, the chef not around, and the B-crew on duty, but like we've said time and time again, if you're charging those prices and touting BIG NAMES, then really, they can do better in terms of QUALITY CONTROL.

[Shinboners]

and then Shin pops up there and has a good time...

Well, anytime we can get away from the little one is bound to be a good time.

Service was exceptionally incompetent.

<snip>

The maitre'd spent most of his time giggling and gossiping (a generous term really) about customers.

If the head isn't screwed on properly, then the body won't function properly.

As I said in my review, I was not impressed by the head waitering staff, but they weren't as bad as you described them.

I didn't like the dining room, especially the faux crowdedness and tables hidden behind columns (architectural fault of the whole complex really) so you couldn't see the servers and they of course, didn't really want to see you so it seemed like.

←

I don't know if you read the preamble on the menu, but it spoke about what a brasserie was and how it was supposed to be friendly and informal (or something like that). It's ironic considering that the design of the room doesn't encourage informality (compare it to, say, France Soir or Libertine - both have different designs, but both have informal and friendly feels to them), and the senior staff don't seem to promote it.

[PCL]

All the shit on the menu, nah, never read that crap.

Wow, I'm really in a bad mood today!

edit to add: ...but i did read the crap, hence I said, 'faux crowdedness' they really tried too hard.

Edited April 28, 2006 by PCL (log)

[Chimney]

Thanks for the reviews, Dim Sim, Shinboners & PCL.

Is anyone going to Paul Bocuse event next month?

Given that I've given up consuming alcohols due to religious reasons, I don't think the Black Tie dinner on June 2nd is for me.

I think I'll give a casual lunch on June 7th a try though.

[PCL]

Ahem, what is this Paul Bocuse event???

Is it at ahem... Klown?

Is it ahem, being held at The Brasserie??

If the answer to any of the above is yes, I don't think I'll bother... I think I'd rather go get a plate of Nasi Lemak at Changi Nasi Lemak on Latrobe St instead, where the people are NICE, the food CONSISTENT, and CHEAP.

[Chimney]

Yes, it's at Clown (or Krown, or any variance thereof).

And yes, it's being held at the restaurant since Mouchel was Bocuse's apprentice.

I can't afford to fly to Paris, so I guess this would be as close as it gets for me to experience the skills of a Michelin-stars chef.

[PCL]

What's the deal for the lunch? Care to elaborate? 'cos i might just show up...

I remember the good old days of Paul Bocuse at Daimaru...

[Chimney]

I don't have much details other than that it would be a la carte menu from Bocuse's own selection, and Bocuse might drop by your table just to say Hi.

Unfortunately, the lunch menu hasn't been made available, though I guess it'd probably be similar to the banquest dinner on Friday June 2nd.

Alas, I don't have the banquest menu either since I didn't pay $450 to attend the dinner.