Press Club

With my brother back from Europe and in Melbourne for a few days, i decided to treat him to lunch at the Press Club as a very belated Christmas present. After entering a very cool space with an open kitchen allowing you to see the intricate preparation involved in each dish.

After being shown to our seats, we were asked whether we prefer wine, beer and soft drink and after selecting beer, our waiter asked our beer preference and selected an appropriate beer for us. Little touches like this occurred throughout the meal and added a little extra class to the service. We were then provided with some bread (unfortunately served cold), but was well matched with some black volcano salt and some exquisite olive oil.

We settled on the Kerasma, a four course sharing menu. Starting with both the tastes and entree courses. The first we tried was the shredded meat encased in pastry with a fig puree. Amazingly strong flavours and great taste. A great way to start the dish.

Following this was the ouzo cured fish. Whilst fish is not our favourite, we felt that it would be even bland for people who liked fish. Lacking any strong flavours, it was meant to seem even more bland after the flavourful previous dish.

For main course we had 2 different dishes with the first being a beautifully cooked portion of salmon with an amazingly crispy skin. Served on a bed of potato salad with grilled vegetables. The second dish was a beautifully seasoned chicken combined with a rich and flavoured ragu and covered in a tzatziki. Amazing combo and great flavours. It was the favourite dish of the meal.

Followed as a conclusion to the meal was desert which was a chocolate parfait, with a honeycomb mix and topped with a beetroot puree. Interesting combo but somehow it worked and was a very delicious desert but not as good as soon other desert at other restaurants.

Great comfort food with special service. A couple of dishes were slightly off the mark but others were pure perfection with a great mix of comfort home cooked Greek food with some modern touches. Very worthy of 2 hats.