Comme Kitchen
Recently I went on a girls’ night out with friends, Emily and Jo. Nothing dodgy of course, just a nice dinner at a semi-flashy restaurant. 🙂 We went to Comme Kitchen (a 1-hat restaurant in the Good Food Guide, if you’re into that sort of thing), which is located in a beautiful, historical building down a cobblestone laneway. As you walk in, you’re greeted by a grand staircase, and to the right is a large bar area with soaring high ceilings. The dining room, adjacent to the bar and tucked under the staircase, is much smaller and more intimate, only seating about 40 people.
We skipped entrees, and just nibbled on bread to start with so we’d have space for dessert!
For my main, I had the Plains Paddock lamb (loin, ossobucco, sweetbread), with Dutch carrots, black olive & lamb jus ($39 I think?). With the different parts, it was like a celebration of lamb, and I loved it. The meat was tender and flavoursome, and look at perfectly cooked the lamb loin is! I was also pretty excited to see the sweetbread (way down the far end of the plate). I know lots of people have major problems with offal, but imho it doesn’t get enough exposure on menus. Perhaps if it was more common, more people would eat it?
For dessert, I had the Valrhona white chocolate mousse, cherry sorbet, blackberries and vanilla macaroons ($17). How gorgeous does this look?? I’m not normally a white chocolate kinda gal, but I loved all the different flavours and textures in this dessert, and the white chocolate mousse was perfect with all the sour elements of the dessert.
It was a very nice evening catching up with my friends and having some girl time. As a bonus, I liked Comme Kitchen and enjoyed my meal. The prices are on the expensive side, but the food was interesting, well cooked and gorgeously presented. I also loved the fit out of the building, though I did find that the dining room got a bit noisy when it was full.
We have another night out planned for May – any restaurant suggestions for our next girls’ night out?
For more opinions on Comme Kitchen, check out these blogs:
[googleMap name=”Comme Kitchen” width=”600″ height=”300″ directions_to=”false”]7 Alfred Place, Melbourne VIC Australia[/googleMap]
Comme Kitchen
7 Alfred Place
Melbourne
Phone: (03) 9631 4000
Web: comme.com.au
Conor @ Hold the Beef
April 11, 2011 @ 12:21 am
I’m not a fan of offal in general, but I’ve never tried sweetbread and I’m curious about it, given how it’s often spoken of in deliciously hushed tones. Perhaps I should gather some girlfriends together in a sweetbread hunt!
Agnes
April 13, 2011 @ 5:44 pm
Yes, come to the offal side, Conor! Perhaps sweetbreads will be your gateway offal, and eventually you’ll get to the hardcore stuff like hearts, liver and tripe. 😉
GourmetGetaways
April 11, 2011 @ 9:41 am
The photos look absolutely delicious… although I am not an offal girls.
The name “sweetbreads” is tempting although it still makes me a little nervous 😉
Agnes
April 13, 2011 @ 5:49 pm
Aww, just think of it as a sweet bread, not as anything else! 😉
Adrian in Food Rehab
April 11, 2011 @ 2:27 pm
Ha! Love the way you think. Scuff down the good bread and save the dosh for dessert. And by the looks of it, it was sure worth it.
Been pass this place plenty, cheers for the rec.
Agnes
April 13, 2011 @ 5:50 pm
I’m glad we ordered dessert – it was great!
Ani @GloriousFood
April 11, 2011 @ 5:27 pm
Gosh, I haven’t been to Comme in so long! I wonder if they still have the rabbit on the menu – it was soooooo good!
Agnes
April 13, 2011 @ 5:52 pm
Not sure if there was rabbit on the menu – I’m sure I would have ordered it if I had seen it! 🙂
Fiona
April 11, 2011 @ 8:57 pm
That dessert looks a lot of fun!
Agnes
April 13, 2011 @ 5:54 pm
It was great! 🙂
Hannah
April 11, 2011 @ 10:19 pm
Oooh me! Me! Pick me! I like offal!
(I know you think I’m joking right now, but I’m really not. I loves me some liver, and want to try tripe again after hating it at age 11.)
Also, I’m super offended you didn’t invite me to your girl’s night. What, I’m not worth your private jet?
Agnes
April 13, 2011 @ 5:55 pm
Oh, I know, what kind of BFF am I?!?
Ooh, tripe is awesome! You should definitely try it again.
penny aka jeroxie
April 11, 2011 @ 10:51 pm
Those are really pretty plates of food. I agree… offals should be showcased more often and imo, a different way.
Agnes
April 13, 2011 @ 5:57 pm
Yes, more offal please! It’s a shame that it’s not seen much nowadays.
Susan
April 13, 2011 @ 9:54 am
Just a quiet night, paying 39 bucks for a main! My quiet nights are a lot less expensive than that. The places looks great though and the dessert looks amazing!
Agnes
April 13, 2011 @ 6:00 pm
I’m always happy to splurge on good food! Fortunately I’m more budget conscious in other areas of my life. 🙂
Annette
April 15, 2011 @ 3:01 am
Looks lovely –especially the offal; as you know, I am a big fan of all that sort of thing!
Agnes
April 21, 2011 @ 9:55 pm
Haha, yes I know how much you love offal – and fish!
mademoiselle délicieuse
April 18, 2011 @ 6:49 pm
I agree, not enough exposure or creativity with offal. It used to be such commonplace, then fell by the wayside and was used as more of a filler to bulk up ground up, unrecognisable stuff. At least tongue is more popular nowadays!