Review - The Ivy

The Ivy

540 Mount Dandenong Tourist Road
Olinda
Victoria

Cuisine: Italian
Taste Rating: 7/10   Value Rating: 6.5/10

Sat, 4 May 2013

Another lovely spring day in the Dandenong Mountains. We went for a drive up the winding mountain road lined with autumn foliage of reds and yellows highlighting the green. Stopped for a late lunch at The Ivy, situated literally at the corner of Mount Dandenong Tourist Road and Olinda-Monbulk Road. First impression was good. A cottage style white and blue building. 

 Entrance facing Olinda-Monbulk Road.

 Entrance facing Mount Dandenong Tourist Road.

Walking in from the crisp air, we felt the warmth from the open fireplace on one side of the dining area. On the other side of the dining area were two rows of tables, with tables placed closed together within each row. The waitress seated us at one of these tables. I was wondering if the tables near the open fireplace were "closed" as only one table was occupied and the others stayed empty while we were dining there.  One waitress told us that these empty tables were reserved but we could sit on the couch area. Another waitress told us that the open fireplace area "is open all the time" but they fill up the rows of tables on the other side first as "it is easier for us to serve". It seems a pity to leave this cosy area empty while filling up the other half of the dining area, especially as both sections are right next to each other in the small dining area. Dining is about the ambiance as well as the food.

Cosy Fire on a Crisp Autumn Day. 

Other side of dining area.

View out the window of Olinda-Monbulk Road and shops

The menu looked good, especially the wood-fire terracotta pot dishes. However, these were only available after 6 pm. I was going to order the seafood pasta linguini, one of my  favourite pasta dishes. However, the waitress pointed out that this too was available after 6 pm. She suggested the Specials Board. So we ordered Pescatore pizza from the regular menu and Pappardelle from the Specials Board. 

It was a late lunch and the place was about one quarter full. Service was reasonably fast. It took about 15 mins for the pizza to arrive, followed by the pasta about 5 minutes later.

Pappardelle (top). Pescatore Pizza (bottom).

The Pescatore pizza is listed on the menu as "Seasonal Seafood, Garlic, Parmesan, Mozzarella, Parsley, Extra Virgin Olive Oil in bianco". Bianco in this context means 'no tomato'. The look of the pizza is tantalising - plump prawns, scallops, mussels, generous octopus chunks. All on a thin pizza base. The taste is not bad - a bit bland but then you want to be able to taste the seafood, not seasonings. The outside edge of the pizza base had the texture and taste of cracker biscuits - this bursts into messy crumbs with the lightest touch so it was not easy to pick up a pizza slice by the edge. Not a problem for me as I used the cutlery but it requires some dexterity if you are eating by hand. The cracker biscuit taste did not complement the overall pizza taste. 

Pescatore Pizza 

Thin Pizza Base with good-sized chunks of Seafood

Pizza Crust all around is crumbly when lightly touched

Pappardelle is listed on the menu as "Porcino Mushrooms, Pine Nuts in a creamy pesto sauce, topped with parmesan cheese". The serve was quite large with a good amount of pine nuts and reasonable amount of sliced mushrooms. The mushrooms did look more like button mushrooms than porcino mushrooms. The dish was fairly tasty and would have been bland without the salty lift provided by the cheese.  The table did have a small condiments dish but the little bit of leftover salt flakes and pepper didn't look appealing.

Pappadelle Pasta

It is interesting that water is served in plastic cups. Looking around, we saw that this is the same for the other tables. It feels strange to be sitting in a restaurant sipping from disposable cups. 

There are signs for live gigs on Fridays and Sundays. I believe this takes place in a separate part of the building called the Lounge Bar area.

Overall, we had a reasonable lunch here.  Prices are pitched at the higher end. The Ivy website  mentions that ingredients are sourced from Italy. It would be good if the menu or the staff could describe or promote the Italian ingredients in the dishes - this may allow the customers to better appreciate the quality or authenticity of the dishes. There are more menu choices in the evening than for lunch, with interesting sounding main dishes which are not available until 6 pm. The restaurant exterior is aesthetically pleasing and the interior is nice while not outstanding. The outside environment is great as can be expected in the Dandenong Mountains. 

Menu

A La Carte Menu

Specials Board

Review - Il Primo Posto

Wednesday, 30th May 2012

Il Primo Posto
2 Riverside Quay,
Southbank,
Melbourne

Cuisine: Italian

Taste Rating: 7.5/10   Value Rating: 7.5/10

Melbourne's skyscrapers were shrouded in fog as we walked along Riverside Quay towards Il Primo Posto.

Il Primo Posto has a good location on Southbank. It is on the ground floor on Riverside Quay, with its windows facing the Yarra River.  There is outdoor seating under a large verandah. Being a cold winter day, we opted for the indoor seating.

It was 12.30 when we arrived and the restaurant was not busy. The friendly staff were attentive. One of them even carried the specials board to us and leaned it on the floor near our table - thoughtful and cute.

We ordered two of the specials. Grilled Swordfish fillet on spinach, potato roesti, fried calamari and tomato salsa. Risotto with chicken, mushroom, zucchini and roast pumpkin. And one item from the regular menu. Seafood Linguini with seared prawns, scallops, calamari, black mussels in olive oil, garlic, chilli, tomato and parsley sauce.

The swordfish was juicy and delectable. The potato roesti was crunchy with a nice fried taste. I liked the spinach too, while the salsa was okay. My lunch companion who ordered this dish was quite happy with it.

I tried a bit of the risotto. It had a nice cheesy taste. I've never been able to get excited about risotto. My other lunch companion who ordered the risoto was pleased with it.

The seafood linguini had a generous amount of seafood. Scallops and prawns are two of my favourite seafoods. I liked the scallops with roe attached and the plump large prawns. The tender calamari was not bad either. There was too much linguini for me to finish!

Overall, we all enjoyed the meals. It was pleasant to look out at the view of the river. The foot traffic was interesting as well. This is one of the places I will visit again when I am at Southbank and wondering where to dine.

Eureka Tower at Southbank

Skydeck shrouded in fog

Fog covers tops of buildiings in Melbourne

Il Primo Posto entrrance

Outdoor Seating @ Il Primo Posto

Specials Board

- brought to our table

Menu - Seafood Linguini

Grilled Swordfish

 Grilled Swordfish

Chicken Risotto

Seafood Linguini

Seafood Linguini

 View out the Window

Review - Gods Kitchen

Sunday, 27th May 2012


Gods Kitchen
53 Barkly Street,
Mornington

Cuisine: Modern Australian, Italian


Taste Rating: 7.5/10   Value Rating: 7.5/10

It was a cold winter day on the Mornington peninsula. The wind was whipping my hair around. We decided to go to Gods Kitchen for a very early dinner. I was intrigued by the name, which incidentally has no apostrophe.

Gods Kitchen is a restaurant and pub with live music. It is in a small heritage-listed building which used to be a church dating from 1867. Is it called Gods Kitchen because of its church heritage? Or is it a reference to the UK superclub brand Godskitchen which owns a music label and runs dance music events?

We were seated in the dining room in the atrium, with natural light coming in through the large glass windows. The high domed ceiling had a pretty chandelier. A staff member flicked on the switch and the chandelier sprang to life with gorgeous colours. Being early evening, the atrium was empty except for us. The main church building adjoining the atrium has the small bar and live music area. There were more people in here having a few drinks and listening to a lone guitarist.

We ordered a couple of steaks. 300g Grain-fed Eye Fillet with mushroom sauce, garlic potato mash and vegetables. 450g Grain-fed Rib Eye Fillet with peppercorn sauce, beer battered chips and salad. We requested medium to well done for both.

The eye fillet steak was thick and seared black on the outside while still tender inside. The mushroom sauce was nice but too runny. The garlic mash was nice, not too salty. The veggies were a mix of carrot strips, green capsicum, red capsicum, couple of slices of sweet potatoes, an eggplant slice and a mysterious looking bottom slice of some veggie which could be radish. I liked the egg plant slice which was crispy on one side and a little bit salty.

The rib eye steak was on the bone. It was more fatty than the eye fillet so fortunately I wasn't the one who ordered this as I can't stand fatty meat. I did have a taste of this steak and it was tender and tasty. The thick chips were nice. The peppercorn sauce would have been nice if the liquid was reduced to make it less runny.

Overall, a good meal in an attractive setting, with the option of popping into the bar area and enjoying some life music after your meal. Staff are friendly, including the helpful security guard/bouncer at the gate when we left. Will visit again.

Entry to Gods Kitchen

The Church Plaque

Atrium Dining

with Colourful Chandelier

Menu

Menu - Steaks

Eye Fillet Steak

 Rib Eye Steak

Peppercorn Sauce

- Nice flavour but runny

Grain Fed Eye Fillet

Medium to Well Done

- tender on the inside

Rib Eye Fillet Medium to Well Done

- tender on the inside

Print of Jesus

Print of Buddha

The Bar

Early Evening Live Music

Review - The Imperial Hotel

Friday, 25th May 2012


The Imperial Hotel
8 Bourke Street,
Melbourne

Cuisine: Modern Australian, Italian


Taste Rating: 7.5/10   Value Rating: 7.5/10

It was the wettest May day in Melbourne since 1995. We battled the rain and the wind to arrive for lunch at The Imperial Hotel.

The Imperial Hotel sits across the road from Parliament House in Melbourne. It is one of Melbourne's oldest pubs and the building retains the traditional look inside and out.

We walked in about 12.15pm. I had made a booking JIC as this place is normally busy and especially if it is a Friday. When I rang up, the guy said they had a booking for a table of 40 and advised us to get in early so we would not be caught up in the meal ordering of the large group. Good advice and all went well with our order.

I ordered the Lamb Rump ($26.90) with potato gratin, beans, baby carrots and rosemary jus. One of my lunch companions ordered the Gourmet Wood Fired Mediterranean Pizza ($16.90)  with mushrooms, baby spinach, sweet potatoes, bocconcini, semi-sundried tomatoes, Italian herbs and napoli sauce. The other lunch companion ordered Caesar Salad (18.90) with grilled chicken, a poached egg, baby cos lettuce, crispy bacon, parmesan shavings, croutons and anchovies.

The lamb rump and potato gratin looked great on the plate.  However, I didn't like the lamb because of the thick layer of fat on top. It was made to look nice with criss-cross cuts but it was still fat. My two lunch companions tried the lamb and liked it. So it comes down to personal preference! I asked for Medium Well Done but the lamb was more Medium Rare with very pink meat. I did like the potato gratin - finely sliced potatoes with a grilled  slightly crusty top. 

I had a couple of slices of the Pizza and it was great. I especially liked the spinach and sweet potatoes baked into the pizza. Again, as with my review of the pizza at The Metropolitan Hotel, the bocconcini was melted and cooked, rather than fresh mozzarella bites - it must be a pub thing! The person who ordered this declared 'Good Pizza'! It was indeed very nice with lots of delicious ingredients.

I also liked the grilled chicken in the Caesar salad. The poached or coddled egg was nicely done. It was a well presented salad and looked like a bird's nest with an egg in the middle! Anchovies were included in this Caesar salad but were not listed on the menu.

To finish off, we had a yummy Sticky Date Pudding with butterscotch sauce and vanilla ice cream. The sauce tasted like maple-flavoured syrup with butter rather than butterscotch. Just worth mentioning, this dessert is a decent sized serve. We wanted to order the Lemon Tart as well but the waitress said they had run out. They had also run out of Rice Pudding. A dearth of desserts today!

Overall, I enjoyed the meal at The Imperial Hotel. Aside from the fatty lamb rump, the dishes were tasty, with good sized servings and of reasonably good quality. I would come back and try the other mains.

 Wet & Windy Melbourne

Crossing the road to The Imperial



 Menu

Menu - Lamb Rump

 Menu - Chicken Caesar Salad

Menu - Mediterranean Pizza

Lamb Rump

Potato Gratin

Baby Carrots, Green Beans

 

Fatty Lamb Rump

'Medium Rare' rather than 'Medium Well Done'

Mediterranean Pizza

 Chicken Caesar Salad

Looking like a bird's nest with an egg!

 Grilled Chicken in the Caesar Salad

 Sticky Date Pudding

with butterscotch sauce and vanilla ice cream

Looking out at the Rain

Parliament House across the street