Lollo

9/10 on Thursday April 22, 2021. 

THE SCENE

The Walrus:  Brand new restaurant (when we dined there) as part of the set up of the new W Hotel in Melbourne. Great layout inside and we managed to get seated in a booth which was nicely private. You also get a full view of the goings on in the kitchen which is good theater. 8.5/10

The Carpenter: Brand new restaurant in the W hotel as part of the very new Collins Arch - I arrived at the Flinders Lane entrance, which left me very confused. That’d be the heritage entrance to the place, and the signage is pretty non-existent. I had to call the Walrus to guide me in. It wasn’t until after we left that I realised we’d be in the Collins Arch - a spectacular new Covid entrant to the CBD sky line and a fantastically scaped forecourt to the building. Multitiered, interesting, elegant. Extremely well done. And that Arch - well, it’s impressive. Once inside the restaurant has a definite “hotel lobby restaurant “ feel to it. Sitting in a “room” with 10m ceilings and enough space to drive some cars through. We sat in the very private wrap around 1500mm high circular love seat booth. An interesting experience - intimate. Also removes you from the theater of eating out. Comfy though. 8/10

POTATIONS

W: Martini to start. Really well made using an Aussie gin - Balcombe - from Mornington. Excellent start. 10/10

C: A great all Australian gin list - we went with a Balcombe gin martini - Balcombe from the Mornington Peninsula. A great gin. A great martini . 10/10

ENTREE

W: For starters we opted for the Duck liver pate which was topped with madeira jelly, with pickled berries and sweet brioche. Very generous serving size and absolutely outstanding taste combination. Excellent. 10/10.

C:  Duck pate topped with madeira jelly. served with blueberries and brioche. A very thoughtful offer of more brioche. Excellent serving size and flavours. The jelly was an exceptional little flavour add. 9.5/10

MAIN

W: To continue on with the duck theme, I went for the duck lasagna. Served like a deep dish pizza in an iron pan, it was delicious. Rich, creamy and meltingly tasty duck meat throughout. Its a big serve as well, which meant there was a lot of wood for me to chop….but chopped it was, with some level of glee as well. We grabbed a bottle of Savaterre Chardonnay to wash it all down with, and it paired exceptionally we.. 10/10

C: Adams special duck curry - tempted because its the chef’s special. I’m not entirely sure why it’s special. The curry overwhelmed any sense of duck and it just turned out as a pretty spicy curry. Disappointing. The Walrus picked a lovely Savaterre Chardonnay to go with it though - and that was very nice. . 5/10

DESSERT

W: A version of a Bombe Alaska was our selection to finish off. It was nice, but not up to the levels of the entree and main (which is a high bar!) 7/10

C:  Bombe with meringue sheets. On the menu it seemed extremely tempting. But the icecream was dense and uninspired. there was no real bombe, just a light meringue layer. This was a massive disappointment.. 4/10

STICKY

W: A glass of very tasty botrytis Semillon was taken with dessert. A cracker. 9/10

C:. Elderton Botrytis Semillon. Lovely 9/10

SERVICE

W: Couldnt really fault the service. They made sure we were looked after and made some good food/bevvy selections.   9/10

C: Greeter was awesome. Sommelier was very good. Waitress was engaging but more like a hotel restaurant waitress than a fine dining waitress.. 7.5/10

OVERALL

W: A really good entrant into the Melbourne dining scene. Make sure you can get seated in a booth, its nice a private with a good view of goings on. The food is very good (if you don’t like duck though, your selection decreases dramatically - but hey, who doesn’t like duck). 9/10

C: On first sitting I wouldn’t really go back here - but the site is outstanding, and I can’t really resist an incredible pate. So about two weeks after the first visit (May 5) I returned to the scene of the crime. I swapped out the curry for the duck lasagne (amazing). Still went for the pate. Add some brassolo, mustard cauliflower pickle (both outstanding) and the tiramisu dessert (absolute standout). Just getting the order right made this an outstanding dinner. 9.0/10

THE CAP

W: No cap tonight.

C: No cap tonight but we walked right past a new “secret” bar tucked under the wing of the Collins Arch - it’s unsigned and only stands out because there’s a doorman. Appointment only. If you’re booking ahead, go ahead and book an after dinner drink there (you’ll have to check the W site for the name and booking).