Stokehouse

31st July 2011

On a surprisingly warm and sunny Sunday afternoon, i was in St Kilda having a walk along the beach and spotted one of the hat restaurants and decided to stop for lunch at Stokehouse. Right on the beach with a first floor location with big glass windows offering great views of the beach and sea. The room was recently renovated and had a more polished and clean feel than the previous look. It seemed very busy and reasonably noisy but warm inviting dining room and comfy leather coach to seat on.

With beautiful views i decided to relax and enjoy a full three course meal. The first course i chose was pepper seared veal tenderloin and quail eggs salad with pickles, pecorino cheese and flat crisp croutons. It was delicately and beautifully presented with a perfectly balanced flavours with a peppery after taste. Very, very good start to the meal.

Unsure of a choice between 2 main courses i asked the waiter and he was happy to provide his recommendation. On his recommendation i went with the Italian Seafood stew with a rich tomato sauce and beans. Razor clams, whole marron, prawns, mussels and crab - it was an amazing mix of fresh seafood and strong bold hearty tomato flavours. An amazing dish, very expensive but great flavours and worth it.

For desert i went with the ice cream bombe. Shaped like an Arctic log that had been sliced into slices featured a sponge base with a layer of strawberry sorbet, then a layer of white chocolate parfait and topped off with a ring of slightly toasted meringue. Delicious and perfectly balanced it was a great way to finish the meal and left a smile and a good feeling after it was finished.

Great bold flavours and good service, it was a great dinner. Not really very innovative cuisine but when it tastes like this it doesn't need to be.