28th July 2012
In between looking for houses i decided to head out for lunch in St. Kilda. After thinking about heading back to some old favourites in St. Kilda (Circa, Golden Fields), i decided to head somewhere new and headed to Newmarket Hotel.
A mix of pub and fine dining with lots of glass, wood and high ceilings and open space and was a very excellent setting for both a fine lunch or a relaxing daytime drink with friends (potentially both). I decided on a selection of dishes.
First up was a special for the day which was a calamari and chorizo sopes. A crisp shelled taco bowl filled with tender pieces of calamari and rich, fatty chorizo and combined with some fresh salad ingredients it was a decent start.
Next up was a soft taco filled with beef cheek that was well counterbalanced with spicy jalapeno and fresh salad. Very decent food and good balance of flavours.
That was followed by a selection of dishes that came out together. The first was potato bravas - crisp potatoes topped with a chipotle sauce and an aioli. Potatoes were soft in the middle and a little crisp on the outside.
One of the other items to come out was corn on the cob smothered in chili flakes and a tarragon creme fraiche. A little spicy but offset by the cool creme fraiche and the corn was well cooked. This was my favourite dish.
The last of the savoury dishes was a flat bread topped with chorizo, calamari and padron peppers. Very good flavour combos and quality bread and substantial portions.
After the savoury courses, i went with a desert of a Latin style chocolate pot with Dulce de leche. Nice flavours and quality cooking but very simple and nothing outstanding.
Decent quality but nothing spectacular or noteworthy about any of the dishes. The service was very good and the atmosphere was very lively and fun. However with 2 drinks the above dishes ran up over $100 so decent but not great value and whilst an acceptable place to go for drink or lunch or dinner there are better restaurants serving better quality food for cheaper.
