New! Jacqui Felgate joins 3AW Breakfast with a review of one of her favourite Melbourne institutions
- NEW! Jacqui Felgate will join Ross and Russel with a food review every Friday at 8:15am.
Cicciolina
130 Acland St, St Kilda
cicciolina.com.au
Press PLAY below to hear Jacqui’s first 3AW Breakfast food review
What makes a restaurant a Melbourne institution?
Of course it’s the food. But is it also a specific dish you just have to try? Is it the venue or the atmosphere? Or is it a feeling you just can’t put into words? Is it, as they say in the classics, “the vibe?”
St Kilda’s Cicciolina ticks all those boxes — there’s something almost a bit retro about it, which I love!
It’s dark and it’s moody. On a crisp midweek night the grungy back bar was turning people away at 6.30.
For me, the dish of the day was the signature blue swimmer crab soufflé, it’s rich and decadent and utterly delicious. I wish I could bottle the sauce!
The squid ink spaghetti came with two plump scampi sitting proudly on top of perfect homemade pasta coated in a glossy tomato and fennel based sauce.
The eye fillet was huge, perfectly cooked (my dining companion always orders steak medium, whereas I prefer medium rare). It was served with a red wine jus and hasselback potato.
We had a side of beans dressed with buttered shallots, smoked almonds and a ricotta salata. This was a standout. When you pay for a side you want it to be memorable and something you couldn’t make at home, and this certainly isn’t something I could whip up on a weeknight!
For dessert we shared a sticky date pudding. Again, comforting, rich and retro. A meal like this brings back wonderful memories.
They also surprised me with a box of my favourites… Cheds!
Cicciolina is not trendy but it’s cool. It’s understated and it’s delicious.
It is so very, very Melbourne.
Cicciolina’s menu is updated with specials daily.
Pro tip: if going with your partner sit them facing away from the wall. It’s covered in beautiful sketches of nude women. My husband didn’t look me in the face all night.