Well-Comme!
We celebrated our fourth wedding anniversary yesterday with dinner at Comme Kitchen. Getting there 20 minutes early, we started off with drinks at the very noisy, echoey bar filled with snappily dressed young men. A sparkling and a cocktail in hand, we ordered the salt cod croquettes which only took 5 minutes before arriving. A squeeze of lemon and we cut into the crisp golden exterior to reveal the soft creamy cod and mash. Great to have with our drinks while chatting at the bar. Most groups ordered the french fries with aioli, which looked and smelled so tempting that we wanted to reach over to fork some up while heads had turned away.
Later, seated in the relaxed and smallish dining room (about 12 tables), we started with one of their specials and one off the a la carte. The vongole, crab broth, chorizo, sherry and parsley is a lovely, warming dish although I found it on the salty side (A. didn’t mind at all!). My entree however was one of the best dishes I’ve had in some time - roasted quail with 12 year old balsamic, grapes and steamed king edward potatoes. The waiter description was “…quail with 12 year old balsamic grapes…” but somehow I found it difficult to believe that the grapes were that old. Perfectly cooked quail and amazing flavour!
We selected both mains from the specials board - pan-roasted blue eye with artichoke veloute, broad beans and baby fennel and the wagyu rump with truffle mash, slippery jack & pine mushrooms - and a mixed leaf salad, apple cider dressing and toasted hazelnuts. The fish and its accompaniments were wonderful, as were the truffle mash and mushies. Would it be a terrible thing for me to admit that I’m not really into wagyu though? We’ve tried wagyu in a few different places and time and again have commented that it’s too rich and ‘meaty’ in flavour. i feel awful saying this seeing as wagyu is meant to be top of the range, but give us Black Angus anyday.
To finish, the warm quince and almond tart with vanilla ice cream. The pastry chef was kind enough to accommodate A’s request for ‘Happy Anniversary’ to be piped in chocolate across the edge, a much appreciated gesture. My spoon went to the icecream first and to my surprise, it wasn’t vanilla but honey! Did someone confuse one for the other or did they run out of the vanilla? Well, it didn’t matter to us because it was great and we were tempted to ask for more (cheeky grin!)
Highly recommended and I cannot wait to return!
Comme Kitchen 7 Alfred Place Melbourne 3000 +61 3 9631 4000
June 3rd, 2007 at 8:33 am
Happy Anniversary Cindy. Just because something is top of the range doesn’t mean everyone has to necessarily like it. So you keep eating your Black Angus steaks while I tuck into my Wagyu, mmmmmm.
June 3rd, 2007 at 9:09 am
Oh good, I’ve been wanting to know what this place is like! Happy Anniversary too!
June 3rd, 2007 at 9:10 pm
Thanh: Thanks for your wishes! No wagyu but bring on the truffles! Yum!
plum: Maybe you can get a babysitter and have a night out
June 4th, 2007 at 10:35 am
Happy Anniversary from us as well. I’ve never had wagyu and I am curious, but from the look of all the photos I’ve seen, it’s more fat than meat. I think I’m with you on this one. Your meal sounded and looked very tasty too!
June 4th, 2007 at 10:52 am
I’ve only been to Comme once, and it was to the bar late on a Friday night - it was tightly packed with cacophonous disheveled lecherous suits! But I’m glad to hear the food in the restaurant is good, look forward to trying it some day. Nice review, and happy anniversary!
June 4th, 2007 at 11:55 am
Happy Anniversary Cin, the meal looked fantastic, although I’m definitely in the pro-wagyu camp here… rich and meaty has to give way to melt in your mouth succulence when a great piece of wagyu is cooked to perfection… but each to their own indeed. The dessert plate is too cute
June 4th, 2007 at 6:33 pm
neil: Thanks for your wishes! I would have thought that wagyu would have passed by your adventurous palate by now. You’re right, it is quite ‘fatty’ and very meaty tasting which is why it’s not at the top of our list. Gotta try it once though!
mutemonkey: Yes, very noisy but don’t know about lecherous as I only had eyes for my babe! I would definitely recommend the restaurant.
Matt: Thanks, Matt! Too meaty and rich for me to each their own for sure. A. made the request for the dessert plate when booking and it was lovely of them to accommodate it.
June 5th, 2007 at 1:35 pm
Congratulations. As my experiments and research will soon show you don’t need wagyu to produce perfect succulent steaks. A lot of it is in the cooking - and a few truffles help!
June 9th, 2007 at 12:58 pm
Congratulations! The food at Comme sounds quite good & we will have to try it soon.
On the subject of Wagyu, we have had a few times & for me, served simply is the best way to enjoy it.