Lupo

8.5/10 on Tuesday 27 August 2019. 

THE SCENE

The Walrus:  I loved Saint Crispin when it first opened. I thought their food was at the top of the Melbourne game. For some reason, its just seems to never reach the heights of the first few visits upon subsequent meals. The refurb into an Italian themed local looks promising even if a little cluttered (not unlike your Italian nanna’s house would be - so its on point)…… 8/10

The Carpenter: A rebranded Saint Crispin site The bright lights and modern decor is dimmed down to homey italian feel. Open kitchen still there, but cane chairs, black and white photos of home and much less light. A good feel to the place but tough for old eyes to read small print!. Table was for two and pushed against the wall with an outset long wall mirror thing that created a sense of even less space. Not a huige fam of this layout and style. 6.5/10

POTATIONS

W: We went with the usual dirty Gin martini to start and decided to give the proprietors gin a go. Very lemony but made so using local botanicals. Not bad for a local-local blend (although I hope this is just a small side venture and not getting in the way of making good food)  8/10

C: Bought into the arrogance of having your own gin - a Picketts gin martini. Actually a surprisingly zesty taste without lemon. Brought on by finger lime and lemon myrtle apparently. In any case, a top performer. Only a single olive though, with the pip. 9/10

ENTREE

W: Lots of little things on the starting menu that look delicious. The anchovy on toast was a very refined version helped by a zingy tomato based paste underneath. Perfectly crisp toast underneath made for an all round winner on a starter and one I recommend all try. We also grabbed a fermented potato focaccia (seems to be the trendy dish over the last 12 months around Melbourne). It went well with the house made butter. It seems to have been cooked “high” rather than “flat” so the structure was a little odd.

We then got stuck into the baby octopus with macadamia , wild garlic and pickles. Very nicely cooked with a bit of crunch on the outside bits and nice and tasty in the middle. A really good octopus dish, for anyone into noshing on the eight-legged beasties!

Good bits and pieces. 8.5/10

C:  Anchovy on toast. Sounds ordinary, but this was extremely delicate. A little tang to the tomato base. A brilliant crunch to the toast that was about crispy structure rather than toasted faces if that makes sense. All melted in the mouth. outstanding. 10/10

Potato focaccio with butter (we had to ask for the butter) - the texture was great for the crust and the bread - but the ratio was wrong. To tall and narrow. Should have been flatter and wider. Bit of a miss for me. 6/10

Octopus - nicely crunched up. Like the classic escargot this one was rich in non-octopus elements. Very garlicy and saucy. The octopus was burnt crunchy so like a good bit of bacon crackling without the benefit of bacon flavour. i can do without it. Apparently a good effort for octopus though. 7/10

8/10

MAIN

W: I actually came to Lupo for one dish really….the crab lasagne. Correctly thin discs of pasta with beschemel curd mixed with crab meat in between all with a delicate crab foam splashed over everything to bring it all together in saucy-crabby goodness!. The depth of flavour in the foam was amazing. The crab meat was sweet and delicate and the pasta was there to do its job by providing some guiding structure and texture. The overall result is pure deliciousness. I could have eating another half a dozen of these ones. From memory, the dish was an homage to Phil Howard (the well known UK chef) and I think he would approve. Well done. 10/10

C: Crab lasagne. Fine sheets of green pasta sandwiching a beschemel curd and all sitting in a crab foam. Some very delicate crab meat in there too. Incredible flavor and texture this dish was a stand-out. I could have had alot more of this. . 10/10

DESSERT

W: Italian meringue, blood orange and Campari…..I really couldn’t go wrong, A great way to finish out the meal 9/10

C:  tiramisu. An interpretation of sorts but one of the best I’ve ever had. The cakey bits had a lattice of crunchy something through it that really took it all up a notch. Well done. 9.5/10

Couldn’t resist ordering the Meringue with blood orange as well, although compared to the tiramisu it seemed clumsy and a bit simple. A bit too sweet, a bit to overwhelmed by the honking big meringue. Lovely blood orange flavor and segments. 7/10

9/10

STICKY

W: A nice glass of dessert wine (recommended by the staff) that went down very well with the blood orange dessert. 9/10

C:. A nice muscat that went extremely well with the tiramisu and not at all with the meringue. 8/10

SERVICE

W: Really good service provided here. Nice and relaxed and in line with the new thematic they are aiming for.   9/10

C: Just the right blend of friendly and helpful to steer us along. Somehow completely missed that I wanted tiramisu so I had to wait an extra 5 minutes for mine. Great wine recommendations for me. 8/10

OVERALL

W: A good reinvention with great items and the menu to pick from and the service is very solid .  8.5/10

C: A welcome suprise after the disappointment of Matilda. The setting is a step down from Saint Crispin but a couple of the dishes were real standouts. Fairly new to open - a couple of tweaks would really lift the place.8.5/10

THE CAP

W: We were able to stay on at the restaurant for a night cap which consisted of a boulevadier but with a new addition - a marascino cherry! This worked extremely well (and I have since ordered boulevadire’s with the cherry addition). 9.5/10

C: A boulevadier with a marascino cherry. Surprising combo but worked very well. No silly chunky ice. delicate glass. great flavor. 9/10