Carlton Wine Room
9/10 on Wednesday 3 October 2018.
THE SCENE
The Walrus: After the re-fit, the Carlton Wine Room is quite a nice space. The second floor is well laid out with plenty of room. Good buzz downstairs and the food smells amazing. 8/10
The Carpenter: The CWR is a tastefully restored Carlton multi-storey. We were seated on the second floor in a cozy room with no more than 7 or 8 tables, at a well sized table for two in the center of the room. Perhaps by chance, but an ideal spot to enjoy the evening. As far as spaces go, nothing glamorous but it was a good atmosphere for enjoying the evening. 8/10
POTATIONS
W: Martinis to start and staff recommended a wet martini with citrus (rather than our usual dry/dirty). Good recommendation and a great start . 9/10
C: We went with Travis’ recommendation - a wet martini made with Red Hill gin and an orange twist. The first wet martini I’ve had (more vermouth). Really extremely good. 9.5/10
ENTREE
W: We fire off with four starters. The potato foccacia with stracciatella, mushrooms and rosemary. It was probably the nicest version of foccacia I have ever eaten and the the straciatella etc that came with it was perfect with the bread… delicious. Next was Duck & Potk croquettes with prune vinegar topping. Crispy without being oily and the mix of duck and pork (two of my favourite things!) was fantastic. The prune vinegar added sweetness and sharpness to cut through the rich flavours. Great dish. Then we had the Anchovy on fried bread with ricotta and red onion. Again, it was flavoursome and the textures were perfect, another great dish. Rounding it all out was a dish of grilled broccolini with smoked lardons, Parmesan cream and egg yolk. Rich, tasty and just pure decadence. Again another cracking dish.
Perfect. 10/10
C: A duck and pork croquette with prune vinegar. An outstanding combination that worked so well. The duck and the pork worked at different points in the flavor profile. Crisply fried and piping hot. A stand out dish.
An anchovy crisp that provided an extremely subtle flavour profile on a magnificently crisped piece of toast. Best anchovy dish I’ve ever had.
Potato facaccia with a dipping sauce with rosemary and a couple of other things in it. The focaccia was quite amazing.
Three stellar dishes with the croquette as a marginal standout.
10/10
MAIN
W: Mains consisted of sharing a salad (cuttlefish) and the fish of the day (a whole flathead). The salad was great with the unusual texture you expect from cuttlefish (think a crispier calamari). The fish was nice but effectively just a baked fish in lemon, butter and fennel etc. All perfectly nice but nothing innovative 7/10
C: A cuttlefish salad that was surprisingly eatable - not the sort of thing I’d order again but tasty.
Whole flathead (not flounder) beautifully cooked with a lemony crust. I’m not a fan of the whole fish concept - preferring to have the restaurant do the work of separating the eatable parts for me, so again a dish I wouldn’t particularly get again. 7.5/10
DESSERT
W: I had the specialty of the house - the rum baba. Hot, booze soaked and covered in the most delicious creme diplomat I have ever eaten. Absolutely smashed it out of the park with this one. 10/10
C: Sticky prune pudding - the syrup was a bit too heavy. The pudding a bit too big. I really missed a trick with the baba yaga!. 7.5/10
STICKY
W: No sticky on the night
C:. Nothing is coming to mind…. ?/10
SERVICE
W: Great service. Staff knowledgeable and attentive. You feel well looked after. 9/10
C: Excelent 9/10
OVERALL
W: Entrees are some of the most well thought out and executed dishes in Melbourne. Mains are a little more standard with dessert specialties being a real standout . 9/10
C: A couple of bad menu choices turned this from an outstanding meal into a pretty good one. Clearly there are spots of brilliance on the menu that could lead to a better overall selection. Worth a second try.. 9/10
THE CAP
W: No night cap.
C: Don’t recall one. ?/10
