Eagar to try Matt Wilkinson’s food before he leaves Circa for his own restaurant Pope Joan in East Brunswick. We made a last minute booking to celebrate a friend’s birthday before her and her boyfriend leave on a holiday for two weeks.
I haven’t been back since they had their renovation, earlier this year. But I’m glad I came back to see what they have achieved, the restaurant is now a sexy dark chic, with a few carefully placed eccentric pieces of modern art. The glass roof and open herb garden give it a modern industrial look of what any new age bachelor would be proud to have in their pad.
I haven’t been back since they had their renovation, earlier this year. But I’m glad I came back to see what they have achieved, the restaurant is now a sexy dark chic, with a few carefully placed eccentric pieces of modern art. The glass roof and open herb garden give it a modern industrial look of what any new age bachelor would be proud to have in their pad.
Apparently the menu has been expanded by the new head chef Jake Nicolson to include some share plates as well. The dishes claim to feature ‘hard-to-find high quality produce, beautiful rare breeds and organic heirlooms – the best of the season’s bounty’
We started the night with a nice bottle of 2004 Torbreck ‘The Steading’. After admiring the dinning room we ordered entrees.
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| Duck & pork terrine, pumpkin, mandarin puree |
The pork taste overwhelmed the subtly of the duck in this, the puree was a joy to eat, making the whole dish very refreshing, even though terrines are usually heavy.
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| Yellow fin tuna tartare, crispy oysters, radish |
Perfectly cooked oysters, fresh tuna. with a few textures of radish on the plate make for beautiful presentation.
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| Warm sugar cured NZ King salmon, squid ink linguini |
Nice pasta and well cooked pieces of squid as a garnish but all abit plain for me.
Satisfied after another top up our mains came, we noticed they were a bit short on floor staff even for a Tuesday night.
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| Wagyu rump, baked potato, mushrooms, smoked bone marrow |
I found this to be a little chewy but, great produce still, wholesome wagyu with a real taste of meat.
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| Confit duck cassoulet, braised white beans, Lyonnaise sausage, gremolata (for two) |
This was definite highlight of a cold winter night, I could eat this everyday. This rich duck cassoulet just oozed comfort, a mix between all good things we all love, crispy croutons, beautifully cooked duck, oily sausage and baked beans!
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| Quack-a-Lackin` |
Lemony gremolata helped cut through the richness of the dish. After we finished we asked for more bread just to mop up the sauce and beans left in the pot.
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| Suckling pig, sweetbreads, tamarind glazed shallot, celeriac, apple |
Very underwhelmed, nowhere near as good as Cutler and Co's suckling, but a nice mix of traditional and modern garnishes which compliment the pork well.
We were a bit full and the others wern't a fan of the desserts so we all shared one, whilst we downed the rest of the wine.
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| Broken honey panna cotta, pear, almond crumble |
Plating was kinda strange, breaking up a perfectly good panna-cotta to make it look like tofu, but the taste was definitely there. wonderfully prepared pears, perfectly matched the subtle taste of honey from the panna-cotta, only to be made better by the texture of a warm almond crumble.
Would I come back? Probably not, I don't think the lure of just an amazing cassoulet is enough for me to return unless I just returned from a exhausting trip in the snow and craved a winter warmer.
Thier description perfectly describes the style of food, the focus is definitely on great produce. Price isn't too bad for what you get but, I don't think this is for me.
Address: 2 Acland St. St Kilda, Vic 3182
Reservation: 03 - 9536 1122
Reservation: 03 - 9536 1122
Hours: 7AM-11AM Lunch 6PM-10PM Dinner
Website: http://www.circa.com.au/
Website: http://www.circa.com.au/
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