Watercress

Rustica Canteen

Free range roasted cayenne spiced chicken, kale, corn, lime aioli, pumpkin sourdough

★★★★☆

Grilled brisket, house pickles, gruyere, Russian dressing, watercress, light rye

★★★★☆

Poached eggs, smashed avo, rustica sourdough

★★★★☆

Crispy skin vodka cured ocean trout, smoked sea salt, radish green salad, poached eggs, citrus yogurt, light rye toast

★★★★☆

Overall:

Friendly service, great music (classic 80’s and 90’s), delicious food. The bread here is fantastic, making the sandwiches amazing! I also wanted to try their Ispahan croissant except they had unfortunately sold out. My next choice (the Chocolate and Peanut Butter croissant) was also sold out and I wasn’t particularly keen on the almond or the plain, so I must return here soon for the croissants!

Rustica Canteen

33 Guildford Lane, Melbourne, VIC

(03) 9642 2203

http://www.rusticacanteen.com/

Woodland House

Purple congo potato crisps

House-cured Atlantic salmon, avocado, radish

Goats cheese bavarois, watercress, spring greens

Rockling, black barley, fenugreek

Poached and roasted spatchcock, nicola potato, asparagus

Tête de Moine cheese

So this particular cheese was prepared at the table using a girolle (cheese curler) which produced thin shavings that resembled rosettes. By creating a larger surface area, more oxygen was able to come into contact with the cheese and enhance its odour and flavour. Out of all the cheeses we sampled, this one was undoubtedly my favourite.

Farmhouse cheeses

Vanilla parfait, Yarra Valley berries, wild fennel

Cocoa covered mixed nuts, yuzu jelly

Herb and vegetable garden

Overall:

Established in an old Victorian mansion that was previously Jacques Reymond, Woodland House is a place of class and elegance. The decor is refined and the staff are extremely polite and attentive. The food is of a high standard as the kitchen is run by two of Jacques Reymond’s former chefs Thomas Woods and Hayden McFarland. We sampled the House Lunch menu and found every single dish to be fresh and enjoyable. The rockling and the spatchcock in particular were cooked to perfection, and the flavours of the vanilla parfait dessert were amazing. Note that this place is closed on Mondays.

Woodland House

78 Williams Rd, Prahran, VIC

(03) 9525 2178

http://www.woodlandhouse.com.au/

O.My

23 Woods St, Beaconsfield 9769 9000

House-made bread with cultured butter

Fabulously soft bread, and the cultured butter was absolutely delicious as it had a noticeably fresh, tangy and of course buttery flavour

= Good

Pastrami cured salmon in pork broth with radish and watercress

Fresh salmon, fantastic pork broth

= Good

2.5 hour roasted cauliflower, leek, red wine gel, fresh grapes

Cauliflower is one of my least favourite vegetables but this dish was seriously amazing.

= Excellent

Homegrown leaves, King Prawns, King Prawn powder

The King Prawn powder was rather salty and overpowering so only a tiny bit was needed and the rest just got pushed to the side

= Good

Dehydrated and powdered mushrooms, dehydrated jerusalem artichoke

= Excellent

Pork, dehydrated carrot, parsnip puree, oats, jam

= Not bad

Honeycomb, caramel, Italian merigue, crème fraîche, sticky date

= Not bad

Buttermilk gel, buttermilk foam, coffee gel, honeycomb, chocolate mousse tart, chocolate sorbet, sweet potato gel, dehydrated sweet potato, fresh grape

An odd assortment of items that tasted fine on their own but not so fine once they were combined together

= Not bad

Overall:

Three brothers (Tyson, Blayne and Chayse Bertoncello) own and run this family business, and it is a business that they should definitely be proud of. The food here was innovating (we noticed that the chef had a fondness for food that was dehydrated, in powder form and in gel form) and was genuinely fresh. The menu here constantly changes according to produce that is in season and the produce that they use is locally grown. They even use herbs and vegetables that they grow organically themselves! After our meal one of the Bertoncello brothers (not sure which) enthusiastically showed us the beautiful garden that they have out the back. He informed us that this was one of many gardens that they owned and that the plan is to get a beehive and possibly some chickens (for fresh eggs) some time in the future. He also mentioned that during the warmer seasons they have a few tables available in the garden so that diners are able to enjoy their meal amongst the greenery.

Throughout the night service was fantastic however the ambience was somewhat dark and moody. The intimate dining area (which seats no more than 30 people) was predominately black, and the artwork here can best be described as eccentric (particularly this one painting of a pig that had bright red blood seeping from its gouged eye). Note that O.My also have a private dining room at the back that can seat 10 or so people, and that they are closed on Mondays and Tuesdays.