Sunday 25 September 2011

St Katherine's - Melbourne - 26 Cotham Road, Kew

This was my second visit to St Katherine's.

I wanted to love it but didn't the first time and the second, liked it even less.

There are too many cuisines going on and little is executed well.

The first time, the best dish was a ricotta tiropita with had an impeccably cooked pastry which felt like it had a hint of orange in it, even if it didn't. The meat was succulent but the chicken was not.  And the snapper which I find is easy to cook with some juiciness, unless you leave it on the BBQ for hours, was dry.

The food came out too fast and at the end there was no - "Did you like your meal?" I felt like George Calombaris holding up his first three fingers together saying "You need to do better than this".

Now for the second time round.  The Turkish lamb dumplings sounded and looked interesting but there was too much dough and the flavours just did not work.  The stuffed calamari was cooked well but was rather bland.

The pide was soggy in the centre, the chicken was dry again and the cous cous lacked salt or something.

The highlights were the delicate swordfish, the sweet/tart beetroot which had a lovely hint of fennel seeds and the salted caramel chocolate with a loukmade.

The other highlight was the conversation. My friend had a side of salt and chilli for each dish. I said that I get offended when people add salt to the food I cook. But he said that it should be an absolute delight when somebody adds salt to suit their palate, anybody who gets offended lacks confidence. Thank goodness the brains behind this place don't lack confidence.

I feel that this is a restaurant that has butts on seats because of the celebrity factor,  And I am being harsh because that factor raises expectations. So be it! If you open a restaurant and don't take the care where care is what you publicise to be all about, then for one to be more critical is warranted. I am just worried that people think this is really great food.

Overall my friend described St Katherine's very well -  Uneventful really!

5.51/0
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