Fitzrovia: 155 Fitzroy Street, St Kilda, 9537 0001
My score: 3.5/5
The words ‘comfort food’ call up images of slow-braised meat and robust soups. Winter food, in summary. But we need comforting in summer too, especially at the end of January when it’s apparent that the holidays are really over and those New Year’s resolutions aren’t going to keep themselves. Fitzrovia understands the need for a little salving so it’s serving up comfort food that’s suitable for warm weather.
Take the asparagus. Pin-up-perfect green spears are steamed, drizzled with deluxe anchovy butter and scattered with shavings of pecorino. Like many items on this menu the cheese is name-checked (it’s from Red Hill) but the efforts to source local produce feel like honest effort not hollow greenwashing. The dish is balanced and soothing. For octopus carpaccio, plump legs of a Port Fairy cephalopod are gently poached, sliced and laid prettily in delicate, transculent tiles. The seafood is dressed with orange and thyme and served cool. It’s outstanding. Lamb rack is roasted pink and served with a tiny jug of gravy: the sauce is dark, sharp and rich, very proper, very good. Some dishes have less flounce, as with a simple seafood pasta with great shellfish and just-so house-made spaghetti. Desserts are unashamed button-pushers: chocolate tart, baked cheesecake and a buttery apple and cinnamon cake.
Fitzrovia opened in September 2011 with Paul Jewson cooking and Marco Pugnaloni overseeing front of house. The pair worked together most recently at South Yarra cafe Outpost but also did the rounds in the UK where Jewson cooked at the River Cafe and was kitchen manager for A-list caterer The Admirable Crichton where his clients included Elton John and David Furnish, Karl Lagerfeld and Nigella. The new crew make better use of the tiered restaurant than previous occupant Waldorf Diner, though some tables are more comfy than others. The open kitchen is framed by a hanging display of saucepans, and crates of produce are dotted around the restaurant, underlining a ‘real food happens here’ ethic.
Service can be a little haphazard. We waited ages for cocktails then they arrived in a staggered fashion that made toasting one another difficult. I also thought it odd that both fish dishes were unavailable and annoying that we only learned this after we’d ordered them. A glance at the prices on the menu restored my mood. This place is cheap both for the quality of produce and the cooking, which delivers supreme summer comfort.
See their website.
More summer comfort:
St Katherine’s, 26 Cotham Road, Kew, 9207 7477
Whatever else you eat here, make sure you finish with Mr Whippy soft serve icecreams with crazy additions like chocolate pomegranate sauce.
D.O.C. Mornington, 22 Main Street, Mornington, 5977 0988
If, like me, you find even the word ‘cheese’ comforting, you’ll love the mozzarella tasting plate here. The pizza is good too.
First published in The Age, January 29, 2012
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