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Tuesday May 22, 2012

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Ela reviews Hare and Grace

Posted by: Ela Carte, 3AW Breakfast | 17 February, 2011 - 12:22 PM
Hare and Grace

Hare & Grace Eatery and Minibar – 525 Collins St, Melbourne www.hareandgrace.com

After all those gorgeous getaways over Summer, it’s probably time to look after the work crowd who’ve been slaving away in town while the rest relax. Down the bottom end of Collins St, another eatery has opened offering the work crowd an impressive dining space to wine and dine clients, and a bar area to have a casual bite with colleagues.

Located in the old New York Tavern building on the King St side of the Rialto, Hare and Grace has undergone a stunning interior re-design – to me, it felt all Nordic beach house – pale timber stools (great looking, not so comfortable), dry branches hanging from the ceiling, baskets of wood, and tables and bar made of recycled pallets.

Being a local work-wise, I decided a relaxed bar meal was in order, and was happy to hear that bookings are actually available. Diners in the bar will generally have a couple of options – a minibar “bites” menu; and a more substantial lunch and dinner menu. Some unexpected staffing changes meant the bites were off the cards on this Wednesday.

The lunch menu features dishes priced from $15 to $29, ranging from beetroot salad, to braised lamb neck and porterhouse steak. We started with by sharing a plate of 5 scallops in the half shell, topped with garlic aioli and sprinkled with crunchy herbed breadcrumbs. The aioli and breadcrumbs were so tasty that they did overshadow the scallops to a degree, but then the combination was of the former was so lovely and power-packed, and the textures worked well enough that I really didn’t mind.

The Calamari Panini really came on a bread roll, but regardless, it was full of nice big pieces of soft, crumbed, fried calamari accompanied by lemon mayonnaise, tomato and cos; with chips on the side – and it was huge! The Breaded Veal Schnitzel was simple but well cooked, and again came with a big serve of fries. The Ham Hock Finger was more round than rectangular, but it featured good amounts of cooked, shredded meat in a perfectly crunchy crumb. It was salty, but that was countered well by a sauce gribiche (egg yolk mayo, mustard, capers, hard boiled egg whites, and herbs). To a degree all three meals could pretty well be described as fancy pub grub, which is apt given they were on the bar list in a venue that boasts a gorgeous looking (and reasonably pricey) restaurant menu.

No real vegetable content in any of the meals, which made it a shame that the otherwise nice tasting waldorf salad was seriously lacking in the lettuce stakes. Would be good to see some more salads or vegies (or any type of greens) among the sides.

Enjoyed the Crittenden (Mornington Peninsula) Rosato by the glass at $10, and a Mud House (Central Otago, NZ) Pinot Gris at $9. Bottles range from $37 to upwards of $100 for the top stuff.

Definitely worth a try, and if you’ve got clients or otherwise to impress, the restaurant itself looking stunning,  with a menu to match – I’d certainly like to go back and give it a go.

3AW Food - Eating Melbourne

3AW Food 3AW is Food: Melburnians love to eat so it's fortunate we live in the culinary capital of Australia. On this dedicated food page you will find the latest recipes by Bob Hart as well as Tony Leonard's Pub of the Week reviews. La Luna head chef Adrian Richardson also serves up a dish from his own cook book and food reviewer Ela Carte visits one of Melbourne's hottest eateries weekly.

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