dinner at Griff’s wine pub
Griff’s wine pub has been open for some time now and each time I walk past and read the menu through the window I vow to make a booking. I’ve finally done so and can report that Griff’s is a fantastic addition to the Fitzroy dining scene. The fine dining room is separate from the front bar and bistro area, where casual meals are served. The interior is warm and dark with a fine restoration emphasising its Victorian origins (there are no traces of the former Purple Turtle thankfully). The dining room features Victorian prints including a splendid one of a decorative pineapple, and large artichoke book ends feature on the open fire mantle piece.
We decided to have only a light entree to ensure we could have dessert, which was a wise decision. We started with the bruschetta, which came in two styles - ocean trout and eggplant with tomato. Both were absolutely delicious. I matched these with a glass of Gewurztraminer from the Barossa’s Magpie Estate. The dining room is not brightly lit, and like my review of Tom Phat in Brunswick, I did not want to interrupt the mood by using flash, so my photos do not do the food justice.
One of Griff’s points of difference is an emphasis on offal, which is not something I enjoy eating. It sounds hypocritical to claim that you only like some parts of the animal, when to some people eating animal at all is abhorrent, but these values are common nonetheless. We politely declined the offal of the day and another otherwise delicious sounding main that featured black pudding. I was not aware that Griff’s had made offal a feature of their menu, and they do seem to have made a deliberate emphasis on it, as it features far more significantly in the menu than any comparable place I can think of.
For mains I chose rabbit saddle with roasted tomato, my girlfriend chose the potato and porcini rotolo with tomato and basil and we got some green beans with capers and parmesan. All were excellent, and the rabbit in particular was wonderful.
The service throughout was friendly and helpful and the many wines by the glass were difficult to choose from. I chose an Australian blend to match my meal - a Tscharke tempranillo graciano that was wonderfully dark and from the Barossa again.
The waitress was not sure if one of the wines we selected was still available (some are being replaced as the wine list expands), but she offered a good alternative and my girlfriend got the last glass of that wine. The waitress then came back with the final half glass worth from the bottle and refilled her glass without extra charge, which was excellent service.
Griff’s has been reviewed by the Age and by MyTalk, but does not seem to have caught the attention of food bloggers. As I mentioned in my review of Alimentari that I want to review on some of the places in Fitzroy that deserve more attention than they are getting from either legacy or new media. While I am interested in the restaurants that are popular and fashionable (see the most reviewed restaurant in Fitzroy) I also want to draw attention to other places. As I explained in my recent post about hyperlocal media in Australia, I want to report on stories that other media are ignoring.
Griff’s may have taken some time to attract customers but when I ate there on a cold Wednesday night the dining room (heated by a lovely open fire) was full, mostly with couples but also a boisterous group of 10. They were enjoying themselves enormously and the only annoying one was the badly dressed middle aged man who talked on his mobile phone through half of dinner.
The desserts were a definite highlight of the meal. We chose the pineapple tart and the poached pears. The tart’s pastry was delicate and the pineapple tangy and delicious with orange syrup and cream, and the poached pears were amazing with marmalade and vanilla icecream. Griff’s is a good choice for most diners, will be appreciated by more adventurous eaters, and has at least one vegetarian selection in each course, so it should also suit vegetarians. With quality service and relaxing ambiance it should be on your list to visit soon.
Posts you may find relevant and interesting
- dinner at St Jude’s Cellar, Brunswick St, 28 October 2008
- build it and they will come, 9 April 2008
- dinner at Añada on Gertrude St, 2 September 2008
- a tale of two restaurants, 7 January 2007
- Alimentari on Brunswick St, 15 July 2008
