The Last Jar: 616 Elizabeth Street Melbourne

Going to the Last Jar is like stepping back in time. Walking through that door I had thoughts of Outlander and the inhabitants of Melbourne 100+ years ago. The venue really took me away from the present as the building is a simplistically beautiful relic of the past, with unadorned walls, hard wood floors and antique fittings.

The food matches the surroundings. The Irish-Gaelic menu requires a bit of google translate action but the unfamiliar titles contribute to the feeling that you are being transported to another era. It helps that they bake the bread, churn the butter, smoke the fish and make the sausages themselves.

A group of eight of us had a Wednesday night dinner at the Last Jar. We covered quite a bit of the menu and nearly all of it was top notch, humble, farm house style food.

According to my fellow diners, the steak was beautiful, very well cooked and able to be enjoyed without sauce or gravy. The fish and chips with mushy peas and home made tartare sauce was exactly what you would want. The pot of mussels with cider, cream, dill and parsley was a lovely soup that managed to be well balanced, not too creamy and quite flavoursome. The whiskey cured salmon, cream cheese and herb salad was disappointing as it was more like a plate of fixings for a sandwich than a salad (it was served with bread) but from the specials menu the croquettes were a standout and a highlight of the meal (apparently - with egg, dairy and seafood a plenty I did not try these dishes).

I ordered the pickled fennel, kale, heirloom tomato and black barley salad (without the yoghurt), along with the battered sausage (how could I not really?). The battered sausage was a little bit of a let down. It didn't taste like anything and on the last bite I noticed it was pink in the middle, which you really don't want from a sausage. The salad however was brilliant. With barley and kale I expected it to be heavy but it was surprisingly light and filling at the same time. I haven't had anything like it before and I would probably fail trying to recreate it at home (can the chef just move in with Senor Gringo and I?). Overall, the Last Jar is a lovely, homely Irish pub, with not a bogan or bar fight in sight ;) Two ticks. Well done folks.

Captain Melville: 34 Franklin Street Melbourne

Fabulous burgers, steak, chips and seemingly random entrees in a beautiful bar with a fabulous outdoor dining space.

Definitely thumbs up for this place. I went with a group of eight friend and not one person was unhappy with their meal. Bonus points, they have a vegan burger and a number of very tasty vegan entrees. I ordered two entrees - miso tofu with seaweed and enoki mushrooms (OMG yum) and a black bean soft taco. If you wanted to order entrees only, I would suggest you order three, as two was not quite enough.

My friends ordered the pork sliders (apparently very good), the vegan burger, with an added egg and therefore no longer vegan (enjoyed by a meat eater and vegetarian alike) and a steak (ordered rare and served evenly pink/red all the way through).

The staff were also really friendly, so overall I would return & recommend it.

Two/three ticks - can't decide ;)

Boney: 68 Little Collins Street Melbourne

Tasty food. Small portions. Too expensive for a weekday lunch, especially since if you order one of the entrees to go with your too small wrap you will be looking at $30 for one person, excluding drinks.

I would say this place would be better for groups, if you are having a drink and a bit of a snack. The food was really nice just not substantial. The drinks menu on the other hand is impressive, with some of my favourite whiskeys and they do have bands most night to add to the atmosphere.

One tick.

Kinfolk: 673 Bourke Street Melbourne

Kinfolk is a cafe that is run the way I think the world should be - it serves seasonal, local and organic produce and is staffed mostly by volunteers (there are some paid staff) with profits donated to local charities.

All of this means a happy and eclectic place to enjoy breakfast or lunch that benefits the community.

The food is good, the drinks are even better and the atmosphere is wonderful.

For lunch, there are a range of salads, soups, curries, risottos and sandwiches. Senor Gringo and I both ordered a sandwich. For Senor Gringo the meat toastie (with ham, salami, purple sauerkraut, homemade mustard and bechamel sauce). His sandwich looked so good, I really wanted it. Why does cheese have to make everything better when I can't have it? Sad face. For me - the BBQ pork neck ban mi. It was a little too sweet for me but that was likely because I removed the jalapeno mayo (damn egg intolerance). You could taste the quality though.

We followed up our sambos with a navel orange and passion fruit homemade soda (I'm picturing a soda stream out back, a couple of scoops of fresh passion fruit and a squeeze of orange juice). Bless their hearts, it was divine.

I recommend you support this fantastic local cafe. They even have sugar free chocolate and a range of pastries and muffins to snack on.

Hutong Dumpling Bar: 14-16 Market Lane Melbourne

One Friday I went to Hutong Dumpling Bar to fill the void left by my salad. Salad, I love you, you know I do but sometimes you leave me feeling unsatisfied. Today was one of those days.

I love dumplings. Pan fried pork are my favourite. So naturally, at a dumpling bar, that’s exactly what I ordered. Senor Gringo also ordered salt and pepper squid.

The dumplings that arrived did not look pan fried, although some frying had gone on as they came out attached to this weird pan shaped batter. The dumplings were much larger than normal, didn’t have that lovely crispy base and due to their size each and every one fell apart as soon as I picked it up. Disappointing. It wasn’t a total write off though as they did have a homemade casing – a big tick - and nicely balanced flavours but I don’t need to go back and I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone.

Senor Gringo advised his salt and pepper squid was not cooked enough and had too much batter making the batter, not the squid, the dominant flavour.

Overall, there were other things on the menu that I would have liked to have tried, if I had a bigger appetite, but they were the standard items you see at most Chinese restaurants and if I dumpling bar can’t excel at dumplings I’m happy to try those things elsewhere.

One tick - done, dusted, not going back.

Fob Rolls: Shop 15, Tivoli Arcade, 235-251 Bourke Street Melbourne

Until recently this place served freakin delicious banh mi with the dodgy pork slices replaced by roast duck, pork with crackling and crispy tofu. Their home made sauce was delicious, with the right level of richness and the veggies were plentiful and fresh. 

Sadly, the Fob Rolls boys have gone on to bigger and better things (Ho Chi Mama - worth checking out) and the new owners are dumping a tonne of hoisin sauce on the rolls which overpowers the other ingredients (I can't have the home made pate as it has either butter or egg in it so perhaps they thought this would be a suitable substitute??). Plus, the pork and duck are no longer as crispy. Sad. I shed a tear. 

I've written to the Fob Roll boys to ask them to help out the new owners. Fingers crossed they will, stranger things have happened, as the rolls were really good.  

Rating pending (previously three ticks) 

Pics from the old owners - Totally Roasted Roll