Fitzroyalty

Hyperlocal news about Melbourne's first suburb: Fitzroy 3065

Archive for the category: Restaurant dinners

dinner at the Town Hall hotel on Johnston St

8 December 2010 | 2 Comments

This cynical gen x (dressed entirely in black) met a similarly dressed peer and went to the pub, the new Town Hall hotel on Johnston St (formerly Griff’s wine pub and the Purple Turtle before that). I’d enjoyed several dinners at Griff’s, including these in 2008 and 2009, and was sad that it did not survive. But I was equally prepared to enjoy its replacement.

We had a show to go to and wanted a light meal, not an extended fine dining experience in the rear dining room, so we chose to sit in the front bar (which is not much changed from the Griff’s days) and order from the bar menu.…

dinner at Naked for Satan on Brunswick St

24 September 2010 | 4 Comments

Naked for Satan is a pintxos (similar to tapas, snack sized items usually served on a slice of bread and held together with a toothpick, which originates from the Basque area of northern Spain) and vodka bar that opened recently on Brunswick St in the Moran and Cato building where Filter cafe used to be (though it occupies much more space within the building than Filter did). The space offers different shaped rooms or zones, some open, some more secluded.…

Brown Brothers dinner at Griff’s wine pub

26 October 2009 | 2 Comments

On Thursday 15 October Griff’s wine pub held as special dinner for regulars and members of Brown Brothers winery’s Epicurian club. Present were several members of Brown Brothers staff and a full house of 30 keen diners and wine lovers seated at two communal tables in the rear dining room at Griffs’s. The conversation ranged from the marketing headache caused by the mistaken attribution of albariño of a grape variety increasingly being grown in Australia (it’s actually savagnin) to the future of the Australian wine industry in the context of climate change.…

lunch at Charcoal Lane on Gertrude St

28 September 2009 | 4 Comments

Having read Cindy and Michael’s review of Charcoal Lane restaurant on Gertrude St, I was determined to try their selections (spiced yam fritters served with bush tomato chutney and pumpkin gnocchi with sage, macadamia nut butter and saltbush) as soon as possible. Reading the review by That Jess Ho further tempted me, particularly her second review featuring the pumpkin gnocchi with sage again. A recent sunny Sunday provided the opportunity to invite a friend to share a relatively rare meal – a fine dining lunch.…

half price dinner at Griff’s wine pub

19 June 2009 | Comments Off

By the time I posted last week about the half price dinners at pubs like Griff’s and the Builder’s Arms, I had already had a delicious dinner at Griff’s wine pub. Between 6-9pm on Wednesday nights, items on the regular pub menu (not the fine dining back room menu) are half price (excluding the items on the specials list, desserts from the fine dining menu and drinks of course).

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dinner at Houndstooth on Johnston St

13 June 2009 | Comments Off

It’s been a long time since my last dinner at Houndstooth on Johnston St and I was pleased to return recently for dinner with a friend who had not been there before to find that it still serves fantastic food at implausibly low prices. My friend chose 3 courses for $20 and I chose all 4 for $25. How do they do it? I started with the appetiser of white anchovies with orange zest. What an amazing combination!…

dinner at Akari on Brunswick St

18 May 2009 | Comments Off

It’s surprising when you search the interwebs for reviews of a particular restaurant, because sometimes you find many and sometimes there’s none. It’s not clear why some places attract hungry bloggers while others seemingly do not. Apart from brief reviews by Where’s the beef and the Lab Goddess, the only people who know about the food at Akari Japanese restaurant on Brunswick St are those who have already dined there. I had dinner at Akari recently for the first time and it was good enough for me to want to let you know about it.…

dinner at Kanela on Johnston St

5 May 2009 | Comments Off

Kanela flamenco tapas bar on Johnston St has good tapas and reasonably priced drinks – a bottle of decent Rioja (tempranillo) is only $28. I’ve been there before but not reviewed it so on a recent visit with a new pescetarian friend I managed to take some photos of dinner (but I missed the sardines before they were devoured, and they are as good as the sardines at De Los Santos).

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Sunday roast at The Commoner

24 April 2009 | 5 Comments

The Easter long weekend was an extended food orgy for me as I took a visiting relative to some of the best restaurants in Fitzroy. I’ve already written about my adoration of The Commoner, and I finally got to try their regular Sunday roast. In honour of the occasion it was rabbit with prunes and bacon, and it was wonderful. Like my review of Good Friday dinner at St Jude’s Cellars, I’m going to tempt you first with dessert: beignets dipped in cinnamon sugar with caramalised apple and cream.…