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Address: 80 Bourke Street,Melbourne 3000, Victoria, Australia
Telephone number: +61 3 9662 1811
Website: www.grossi.com.au
Date of visit: 13 July 2010
Approximate cost per head: N/A
Comments on wine list/beer: N/A
Summary:
Whilst on business in Melbourne I was fortunate enough to be taken to lunch at what is widely considered by the local food afficionados as the city’s quintessential Italian restaurant.
Located in the Central Business District (CBD), in the vibrant Bourke Hill Precinct, close to Chinatown, the restaurant endures an iconic local and country-wide reputation. Followers of the Australian food scene together with celebrities, captains of business and visiting dignitaries jostle for a table in order to enjoy the fabulous food and enduring Italian Hospitality served up by celebrity chef Guy Grossi and his expertly organised team.
The service is slick yet unhurried, conscious that some business diners do have to return to their desks in the afternoon, although there were plenty of diners around us who clearly had no such intention. The menu offers a broad range of options across as many courses as you have time, appetite or budget for. For us it was just entrees and mains, which was plenty for a business lunch.
The homebaked grissini and breads, served with beautifully aromatic olive oil soon got the tastebuds worked up in anticipation for my starter of oxtail risotto. The portion was a decent size – it could have easily satisfied many people as a main course, however it set me up perfectly for my main of grilled crispy-skin hapuka with braised shallots and salsa, served with a side of steamed spinach. Hapuka is a member of the grouper family and is common to the waters of New Zealand. It has beautiful white flesh and a flavour not too dissimilar to sea bass, although the cut is slightly thicker. The skin was delightfully crispy, almost a fishy equivalent of pork crackling, and the salsa accompaniment really worked well.
We accompanied the meal with a deliciously refreshing South Australian Riesling (sorry, but the name escapes me), deliciously dry yet with plenty of depth and nice, clean fruit.
I wasn’t paying the bill, yet from a glance at the menu the prices, whilst not extortionate, suggest that this is somewhere you come to celebrate, to reward yourself, to impress, or just to pay homage to a chef with an obvious passion for excellence. The restaurant prides itself on its sustainability philosophy, together with a commitment to source best ingredients produced by like-minded local suppliers. There was plenty of Italian flair and technique on show, accompanied with some nice innovative touches.
Definitely a place to return to, only next time I fear I might be the one who’s paying!
Paul Plant
PS The restaurant is open from 7.30 till late
Address: 3 Queens Walk, Reading, RG1 7QF (Queens Walk is next to the Penta Hotel)
Telephone number: 0118 959 7700
Website: www.pepesale.co.uk
Date of visit: 10 March 2010
Approximate cost per head for 2 courses: £20
Comments on wine list/beer: Peroni on tap. Very good value Italian list with a good selection of Sicilian/Sardinian wines. The manager, Marco, is a real foodie ad he knows his wines. Ask him for a recommendation. He usually offers something around £20.
Summary:
Pepe Salle has been around for near 10 years. Its previous incarnations (different owners) were French and Portuguese. Both lasted only a couple of years.
I used to come here a lot when I was working across the road. This is my first visit in nearly 12 months.
The first impression is that there is no change. It is still brightly lit with the restaurant on 2 levels – separated by 4 feet of stairs. The “downstairs” dining room is bigger and tends to be noisier as the sound bounces off the walls and the tiled floor.
For starters, we had gamberoni arrabbiata, avacardo e fungi and the special of the day, oyster mushrooms cooked in garlic butter and served on crisp thin bread (carta de piano)
The mushroom was cooked just right – still el dente and juicy not shrivelled up or chewy.
For main course, we had ravioli ricotta, mallorreddo (small spiral pasta served in a sausage meat and spicy tomato sauce) fegato al balsamico (calves’ liver) and spaghetti bottarga (spaghetti with shaven mullet roe cooked in garlic butter).
Pepe Salle is a Sardinian Italian restaurant; their best dishes are mushrooms and pasta. When in season, Marco regularly forages for wild mushrooms. I have had great English porcini mushrooms here. Their pasta is always cooked right and comes with great sauces. My regular dishes are the ravioli and spaghetti bottarga.
The whole lot was washed down with two bottles of vermentino di gall – crisp and fresh at £18.90 a bottle.
The bill for 4 including bread and side salads came to £126.60 (excluding service). The food here is still as good as ever. They remain my favourite Italian.
Eddie
Location: First Floor, The Walk, 19-23 Kings Road, Reading, RG1 2HG
Web site: http://www.mariemontirestaurant.co.uk/Home.php
Telephone number: 0118 950 0070
Date of visit: 30 January 2010
Approx. cost per head: £20
Comments on wine list/beer: A reasonable selection of mid priced red and white wines, alongside several more expensive vintages.
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Review:
Reading and the surrounding area is home to a selection of forgettable Italian restaurants. Mari e Monti is thankfully not one of these.
Ideally located in Kings Walk, just a minute’s walk from the Oracle Riverside, the restaurant enjoys a secluded and relaxing setting – ideal for a quiet or romantic meal.
The service, unlike many Italian restaurants in particular, offers the perfect combination of attentiveness and charm. And the restaurant itself is traditionally but very tastefully designed and decorated.
The a la carte menu offers a wide range of delights, and one of the best vegetarian selections in the town. The rigatoni is perhaps the pick of the pasta dishes whilst the pan-fried wild boar is arguably the best option meat-wise. A main course is priced between £7-£22, with starters averaging £6-7.
The only slight criticism one might level at Mari e Monti is the limited and slightly unadventurous desert menu. That said deserts are delicious and well priced (average £4-5).
If you’re looking for a mid priced meal, probably for two, good service and good food then you’d be hard pushed to find better.
Dave Lamont
Address: Old Mill Lane, Bray SL6 2BG
Telephone number: 01628 788500
Website: http://www.caldesi.com/
Date of visit: 28 November 2009
Approximate cost per head: From £15.50 but think in terms of £50 for the a la carte
Comments on wine list/beer: Excellent list. Some very good Italian by region
Summary:
Nearly every restaurant guide and review starts by asking why Giancarlo Caldesi opened a restaurant here when The Fat Duck, Hind Head and The Waterside Inn dominate the landscape. Ok we also have the Riverside Brassiere (Bray Marina) and The Royal Oak (Paley St). And they could be right.
On the day we went, it was quite empty with about 4 tables being occupied.
They have a set lunch at £15.50 for 2 courses. We ended up having 4 courses off the set lunch, had two bottles of Santa Maria (Veneto) @ £31 / bottle, drinks before the meal and coffee. The bill came to £210 for 4 including 12.5% service. Not bad at all.
To start with, we had the antipasti which was essentially slices of bresaola with a salad. For secondi, we had pasta in a cunky tomato sauce and for the main dish, a chicken leg in a chilli gravy. All dishes were well presented and very nice. With the main dish, they offered spinach and sauté potatoes on the side. For desert, we had the tiramisu and pannacotta. This is good basic Italian Food. I like it.
The restaurant is bright and tables are set apart with proper linen. We didn’t get a table cloth at The Walnut Tree, Hope and Anchor etc and they were about the same price.
One minor note: The second bottle of Santa Maria was corked. As the waiter poured it straight into our existing glass (had wine in it) without offering a tasting, the aroma was diluted but then, I have been drinking wine for close to 40 years. The waiter could not detect the problem but the manager did.
Eddie