Town Mouse |
The Town Mouse
312 Drummond St
Carlton VIC, 3053
Ph: (03) 9347-3312
Website
A couple of weeks ago, we treated my friend Adri to dinner at The Town Mouse for her birthday. This was actually my second visit to The Town Mouse. I never blogged the first visit - whoops - which was back in August 2014 with a group of fabulous food blogger friends. I remember liking it, but not being wowed by the meal. Indeed, my main memory was that we ordered the sharing menu, and that five of the dishes contained some sort of cabbage element. (Red cabbage green cabbage, kale, Brussels sprouts...) I love cabbage, but there was just so much of it!
So I thought that The Town Mouse was good, but it wasn't at the top of my "must visit again" list. However, when our friend Adri hinted that she was keen to try the restaurant, we were more than happy to organise a visit as a birthday gift for her! And I'm glad I had a chance to visit again, because I greatly enjoyed it the second time around. Hooray!
We were seated in the front section of the restaurant, at high tables on bar stools. Normally I don't like bar stools, but these were quite comfortable, and there were hooks provided for handbags and coats.
We started with warm bread, served with a gorgeous roast sesame butter.
House-baked bread with roast sesame butter |
Between the four of us, we ordered four snacky starters to share - some oysters and cured meats, as well as goats cheese profiteroles and a luscious beef tartare.
Oyster, chardonnay vinegar sorbet & lemon - $4.50 each |
Cured meat (coppa) - $16 |
Goat’s cheese profiterole, caraway, thyme & our honey - $4 each |
The goat's cheese profiteroles were a dish I'd previously tried, and they were just as nice this time around, with the honey adding a pleasant sweetness.
Beef tartare, cultured cream, saltbush & lemon myrtle - $14 |
The beef tartare was absolutely delicious. I loved the contrast of the herbal, crunchy saltbush leaves against the smooth cream and the soft chunks of beef.
We ordered five main dishes to share - one meat and four vegetables. Interestingly, the meat was the least impressive of the main dishes that we ordered, and looking back, we would have been more than happy with just the vegetable dishes making up our main meal. So basically, what I'm saying here is that The Town Mouse does vegetables really, really well.
We ordered five main dishes to share - one meat and four vegetables. Interestingly, the meat was the least impressive of the main dishes that we ordered, and looking back, we would have been more than happy with just the vegetable dishes making up our main meal. So basically, what I'm saying here is that The Town Mouse does vegetables really, really well.
Pork hock, charred carrots, shallots, yeast & yoghurt - $24 |
The pork hock was presented simply - a nice slab of juicy pork topped with thin slivers of charred carrots, sitting atop a yogurt sauce. It was tasty enough, and there certainly wasn't anything wrong with the dish; it just wasn't as exciting or tasty as the vegetable dishes.
And speaking of which...
Roast cauliflower, almond & broad bean miso - $12 |
I love cauliflower, especially fried or roasted, and the addition of crunchy almonds, chives and punchy broad bean miso took it to another level.
Slow roast red cabbage, prune, parmesan & red apple - $15 |
We had to do the famous red cabbage dish, which I think of as a fancy version of the German stewed red cabbage that Sandra and I love so much. Here, half a red cabbage is slowly cooked with buttermilk, prunes and red apple, before being placed under the grill with grated parmesan. This results in a soft, stewed, crunchy half-sphere of sweet and sour deliciousness.
Fried chat potatoes, yuzu mayonnaise - $10 |
Fried potatoes with yuzu mayonnaise. Simple and perfect.
Asparagus, comte & sesame - $11 |
The asparagus dish was another winner, with the just-cooked, sprightly asparagus balancing well against the rich Comté custard.
And now... dessert!
Yoghurt parfait, preserved kiwifruit, coffee & sorrel - $16 |
The yogurt parfait was light and refreshing, with a nice herbal flavour from the sorrel, and bitterness from crunchy coffee pieces cutting through the sweetness.
Goat's milk ice cream, lavender salted caramel - $6 |
The simplest of all the desserts was also our favourite. A scoop of smooth goat's milk ice-cream was topped with a really lovely lavender salted caramel. The salted caramel was rich and dark, with just a subtle hint of lavender. So delicious! Order one each and don't share!
Lime posset, green apple, dill & matcha - $16 |
I love how the famous lime posset dessert looks like a still life from under the sea. Surrounding the centre of lime posset is a green apple foam, with a small sprinkling of dill, and crunchy matcha pieces.
And that was our dinner at The Town Mouse! We had a great time and enjoyed the food. I'm very glad Adri wanted to come here for her birthday!
2 comments
Ahh I remember that meal. I did enjoy it but yes I do take your point that there was a lot of cabbage indeed! :D
ReplyDeleteThanks for taking me Sarah, Sandra and An! Great company and great food = exceptional night! Until our next catch up...yum!
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