Weekend review: Woolshed in Docklands is reborn with a new modern dining room and rejuvenated menu
WHAT a difference five months makes. That’s how long it has taken Woolshed at Docklands to recover from a devastating fire and re-emerge with a new look and new menu.
Weekend
Don't miss out on the headlines from Weekend. Followed categories will be added to My News.
What a difference five months makes. That’s how long it has taken Woolshed at Docklands to recover from a devastating fire and re-emerge with a new look and new menu.
The waterside pub of old — sprawling at the front end of Central Pier near Etihad Stadium — is now billed as a “hospitality destination’’, combining restaurant, bar and event spaces.
The spiffy restaurant part of Woolshed is the Harbour View Room and the name fits: this has got to be one of Melbourne’s grander vistas.
But saying you are a restaurant is not necessarily the same as being one.
FOOD
Open your Woolshed account in the front bar where — warmed by a fire — you can gulp oysters ($4 each) with a Furphy ale or pair peppered prawns ($22) with a Yarra Valley chardonnay before the first bounce at Etihad.
Staying on? Then sidle into the Harbour View Room where head chef Catherine Kalka has crafted a big multicultural menu founded on aged meats and fresh seafood.
Chilli salted squid and salsa romesco ($16) calls in on Spain; seared sea scallops with five spice cauliflower relish ($20) hint at the Levant ... and lack firepower.
Much better is the whole flounder ($38), its pearly gelatinous flesh mingling with sea succulents and a ginger-scented green papaya salad. Well executed.
Woolshed’s beef is dry-aged on the premises and cooked on a charcoal grill. Why, then, was our top-quality Sher wagyu from Ballan ($43) so lacklustre? Rested too long, I suspect. And cooked beyond our medium rare request.
The kitchen got back on track with salt and pepper crispy duck ($39), dark and tarry with Sichuan pickled cucumber and a stinging hoisin sauce. Steamed buns would elevate this dish even more. Meanwhile, order the sensational hand-cut (Dobson’s) chips.
Sticky date pudding ($15) for dessert? Probably a better bet than the quince, pear and hazelnut oat crumble ($14). Ours arrived with a side of quince custard but the crumble itself was lukewarm on the outside … and cool within.
DRINK
You have got to like a place that puts Australian and New Zealand wines front and centre. Woolshed’s cellar “references’’ 150 of our best local producers while the spirits slate goes hard on tequila, rum and bourbon. Good Grinders coffee and Temple Tea.
SERVICE
Our servers were keen and eager but wines by the glass should have been poured at the table and plates cleared promptly.
X FACTOR
Finding a silver lining in disaster, owners of the Woolshed have sought to “modernise, refine and upgrade’’ their historic port building with recycled timber, polished concrete and twinkling glass. The Harbour View Room is especially classy.
BANG FOR YOUR BUCK
Competitive. Share dishes are the way to go if you’re dining with friends.
VERDICT
Right now, Woolshed’s Harbour View Room is caught betwixt and between. Aiming high but not quite shaking off its pub origins, it still has a lot going for it.
WOOLSHED
Central Pier, Shed 9, 161 Harbour Esplanade, Docklands. Ph: 8623 9640
FOOD
Australasian
HOURS
Daily 11.30am till late
CHEF
Catherine Kalka
BOOKINGS
Yes
TIME BETWEEN ORDERING AND EATING
Six minutes
PERFECT FOR
Before and after the footy
DESTINATION DISH
Whole flounder, green papya salad and sea succulents
NOISE LEVEL
Pleasing
ONLINE
IF YOU LIKED THIS, YOU’LL LIKE THESE
WEST
Plough Hotel
333 Barkly St, Footscray
Destination dish: Gippsland lamb rump and crumbed shank
EAST
Carne Grill
1 East Ridge Dve, Chirnside Park
Destination dish: Pork ribs and apple slaw
NORTH
Mr Beebe’s Eating House and Bar
17 View Point, Bendigo
Destination dish: Roasted lamb loin, pan-fried gnocchi
The Mexican bites you won’t want to share
The dishes at Windsor’s newest mod-Mex restaurant are designed for sharing, but diners may not necessarily want to share off the small bites menu, which includes heavenly croquettes and fabulous tacos. Here’s where you can dig in.
The Murrumbeena cafe that will remember your coffee order
If Cheers was the bar where everyone knows your name, Murrumbeena’s Citizen is the cafe where they know your coffee order. And they have some delicious new renditions on your brunch favourites too.