Best things to eat in Melbourne in November 2023: Reine wagyu steak, Puttanesca’s fried polenta
Whether you like your chicken roasted, toasted or fried with an icy cold beer — we’ve tried them all and highly recommend you do too.
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These are the best things to eat in Melbourne this month.
Blackmore wagyu +9 scotch steak
Reine, 380 Collins St, City
This dish was responsible for my out of body ‘how can a steak be this good’ experience.
Yes, there’s mustards and horseradish to seal the deal tableside but you can’t ignore the ultimate indulgence that is the pomme puree with bone marrow. Think buttery potato, a heady jus and bone marrow, pushing indulgence into overdrive.
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Charcoal chicken
Henrietta, 75 Chapel St, Windsor
What’s being spun on Henrietta’s rotisserie is an elite take on the Bachelor’s Handbag. And the process of getting it from kitchen to plate takes up to three days of prep. The chicken’s ruffled with spices, thrust over flame until blistered and crisp yet juicy within, before being drawn and quartered into shareable hunks. It comes flatbread, with pickles, chilli and a fierce toum for dippings for your DIY souva. If the flatbread was housemade it’d take this dish to glorious heights. Sumac ticked hot chippies ($13) and lively fattoush salad ($18) make colourful allies too.
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Pork and fennel sausages
The Courthouse, 86-90 Errol St, North Melbourne
The Courthouse is behind Euro comfort food with an Aussie twist. Take the pork and fennel sausages, buoyantly floating on a fluffy polenta pool, spiked with chilli and fennel. A comfort dish in all its glory. We love they mince and stuff those snags in-house.
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Chicken liver parfait cannoli
Bar Bellamy, 164 Rathdowne St, Carlton
Crisp cannoli cigars, piped with a velvety chicken parfait and stamped either end with pistachio, enter elite snack territory. What a dangerous time to be a cold glass of pinot.
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Cutler and Co Burger
Cutler and Co Bar, 55/57 Gertrude St, Fitzroy
And dare I say it, but this one of this city’s most pleasurable cheeseburger moments.
A thick O’Connor patty blushing pink and bleeding gloriously meaty juices, slotted between two seeded brioche buns and melty comte. A vegetarian’s worst nightmare and a big F-Yes for carnivores everywhere. DIY extras are served on a silver platter; so pimp your burger with as many dill pickles, rings of white onion, butter lettuce, tomato and secret sauce to your choosing. Extra points for those lattice potato crisps on the side.
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Tuna Carpaccio
Studio Amaro, 168 Chapel St, Windsor
Gelatinous rosy, tomato-like slips are slicked in a smoky-sweet heirloom oil joined by punchy Italian faves basil, fried capers and black olive. It’s singing a powerful anthem of Italian goodness with passion and creativity to be rivalled.
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Arroz caldoso
MoVida Aqui, Level 1, Rear of 500 Bourke St, Melbourne (via Little Bourke St)
Arroz Caldoso dials up the wholesomeness on chilly nights. Think “wet style” paella punctuated with fried pancetta, white beans, rich with tomato and saffron and a confit duck leg drumstick — or seafood. Hot in temperature, not spice, but as someone who enjoys scalding showers this warms the body and soul.
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Tuna crudo, roast half chicken with charred lemon
Julie Restaurant, 1-4 St Heliers St, Abbotsford
If you ever cross tuna crudo on the menu at Julie’s — order it immediately. It’s undoubtedly among the best and freshest snacks I’ve had this year, thanks to its superior quality and sharp black pepper hit.
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Polenta fritta
Puttanesca Osteria, 99 High St, Kew
The fried polenta is more cake than chip, the square mound is flash fried, honey soaked and finished with a shaving cream squirt of whipped ricotta. Unreal. Give me more.
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Golden Salted Egg Yolk Chicken Wings
Tian 38, 350 Flinders Ln, Melbourne
Juicy, fried and dusted in elusive fairy dust crack. Tian’s hot wings are best paired with a Sapporo schooner foaming with on-tap, chilled superiority. The ultimate after work snack.
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Chicken on toast
Antara 128, 128 Exhibition St, Melbourne
This half a chook, with blistered skin and perky flesh, roosts on a slab of Antara’s heady sourdough toast which sucks in those juices to glorious gooey perfection.
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Mozzarella in carrozza
Mortadeli Pasta Bar, 4-6 Gilbert St, Torquay
Bite through the rubbly golden-crumbed armour for a molten mozzarella and smoked scamorza with stretch for days. Its sweet and salty pops of anchovy, tomato and cima shine through like a glorious beacon of hope. This is how you jaffle.
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