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Tuesday May 22, 2012

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Saint Peters

Posted by: Ela Carte | 27 December, 2010 - 12:08 PM
Saint Peters restaurant

Saint Peters
6 Melbourne Place, Melbourne
www.stpetersrestaurantandbar.com.au    

Relatively new, but very Melbourne – that is, it’s housed in a laneway, and has its own themed street art and a discreet entrance.

PLAY AUDIO: Ela Carte review Saint Peters on 3AW Breakfast

The former Canary Club is now all class – polished floors, white table cloths, long bar, and smart staff. Class is an apt word for this one. It’s equal parts business lunch in crisp suits, and elegant dinner before a night at the theatre.

St Peters of course is the patron saint of seafood, and this being Maurice Esposito’s new restaurant (he of Carlton’s Esposito’s fame) you can be assured there’s plenty of stuff from the sea on the menu. The menu’s split into tastes ($1-7), Entrees, Pastas, Mains and Sides.

From the tastes, we couldn’t go past the oysters, and so tried the natural Sydney rock (with a vinegar and shallot sauce on the side) and the Jumbo Oysters covered in a light and fluffy semolina batter. Fresh and tasty, as you’d rightly expect.

Dilemmas begin with entrees, where they all sound divine. The NT Mud Crab salad with green apple, avocado and garlic mayo was deceptively subtle - matchsticks of apple, silky avocado and generous serving of rich crab.

The other entrees on the table were Carpaccio of Yellowtail Kingfish, with thicker sashimi-like slices of fresh Kingfish and spring flavours of chervil and pomegranate; and seared Canadian Scallops – cooked to perfection topped with plump, salty salmon roe.

To the mains, and I’m afraid I must boast. It doesn’t happen that often, but … I WON! I was the subject of the food envy … for once! The potato gnocchi is apparently Maurice Esposito’s signature dish, tiny pillows of potato, chunky pieces of Southern Rock Lobster, roasted cherry tomato and a gloriously rich crustacean reduction. Gorgeous. Just gorgeous.

The Spaghettini with Bug Tails, garlic, chilli, white wine and home grown rocket was punctuated with well seasoned bug meat and plenty of it, not so much chilli and a bitterness to the rocket that almost shocked at first. Ocean trout was simple in taste, but cooked beautifully with a wickedly crispy skin – definitely needed the Fennel and Orange Salad that we ordered to go with it. You’re looking at around $20 per entrée, and $35 to $40 per main.

Saint Peters boats an impressive, varied wine list, with bottles going from around $40 to upwards of a hundred per bottle, worth noting that if you’re going to start with a bubbly the cheapest one is fifteen bucks a glass – other wines per glass priced from $11-15.

Serving sizes aren’t huge, but they’re presented beautifully and we didn’t walk out hungry. That might be because we indulged in a sharp Pecorino cheese and a French soft white cheese to finish, the warm fruit and fig bread to accompany was a lovely touch.

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