Shed 5

Disclosure: Alastair and I dined courtesy of Shed 5.

So. Fifty Shades of Grey. Unless you’ve just returned from a voyage from Mars (Curiosity!), you know what I’m talking about.

To be honest – I haven’t read it. I don’t have anything against it, I just haven’t read it. So I don’t know whether it’s good / bad / or worth two and a half spankings. However, I think I get the gist of what it’s about. And I love some of the parodies that have popped up (oh… pun so not intended…). One of my favourite parodies happens to be 50 Sheds of Grey, erotic tweets about sheds and other manly things.

Because there’s something about sheds that’s quite, erm, exciting, don’t you think? For example, I went to an exciting shed the other week – Shed 5 – and while it wasn’t exciting in *that* sense, there was definitely a happy ending.

Shed 5 is the latest restaurant addition to the South Wharf precinct, and while it IS in a renovated ex-cargo shed, there was no BDSM or power tools – just rather good food. The food is Greek / Mediterranean influenced, and there’s a wood fired oven behind the bar that gets used for a whole section of the menu.


It was a sign of things to come when we were provided with slices of excellent bread. It was really hard to limit myself to one piece and not fill up on it.

N’Duja and mozzarella croquettes, oregano and rosemary aioli ($4 each).

The meal started with a N’Duja (a type of pork sausage) and mozzarella croquettes. I really enjoyed these – they were lightly crunchy, spicy bites with a smooth cheesy interior.

Flatbread and fava puree, fried chickpeas, shallots, hazelnuts ($10)

No normal bean puree, the fava puree was excellent. It had lots of nutty, garlic flavour and was topped with crunchy pickled shallots and super duper crunchy chickpeas and hazelnuts. They all combined to make a very moreish dish..


Saganaki cheese, grilled onions, roasted peppers, barberry ($15)

Well, you can see just how stretchy the cheese was. It was cooked in the wood oven and tasted just like pizza (without the dough). It was a bit salty eaten on its own, but we worked through it. Because warm pizza flavoured cheese? Hell yes.

Smoked eel, ocean trout, capers, sherry rillettes ($15)

Cutely presented in a jar, the smoked eel and ocean trout rillette retained quite a bit of texture and was topped with a disc of golden butter. It was served with crunchy toasts.

Cyprian lamb and pork meatballs, tomato and cinnamon sauce, truffled pecorino ($15)

It’s hard to go wrong with a meatball and these were great. So much meaty flavour and a rich tomato sauce spiced with cinnamon.

Slow cooked WA octopus, saffront kipflers, capers, sorrel mayo ($17)

I was surprised at how tender the octopus was and how well it was complemented by the starchy potato. I did think it had a bit too much mayo, but that was a small complaint.

King Green prawns, barrel aged feta, tomatoes, sorrel ($31)

The prawns had been cooked in the wood oven, and they looked fantastic. The flavours weren’t quite for me though – I wasn’t into the feta and herbiness.

Slow roasted lamb neck, dates, pinenuts, capers ($32)

Also from the wood oven was the lamb. It was good, tender.

Bannockburn half chicken, green raisins, pinenuts, roasted chestnut dolmades ($29)

The chicken was the final dish cooked in the wood oven and was a highlight for most people. It was really good – very juicy and flavoursome.

Greek village salad, fennel, peppers, olives, barrel aged feta ($14)

Spiced halva semifreddo, quince sorbet, salted caramel, ricotta doughnut ($13)

This was a great dessert – crunchy and creamy, with a good salted caramel, and the doughnut was nice and fluffy.

Goats milk cream, walnut baklava, chocolate and coffee sorbet, metaxa jelly ($7)

The second dessert was just as good – I would be hard pressed to decide on which one was my favourite. I’m not really into goats milk / cheese, but fortunately it wasn’t very pungent. A smooth panna cotta-y layer, jelly, crunchy bits, chocolate and coffee sorbet… ahhhhhhh…

The food at Shed 5 was pretty damn good. I particularly liked the desserts (see? happy ending!) – they were different from the norm and not something you’d find in most restaurants.

Shed 5 is another good addition to the South Wharf precinct – solid, comfortable and likeable. I must say that I haven’t had a bad meal down there yet, and this was no exception.

For more on the dinner at Shed 5, check out:

  • Iron Chef Shellie
  • The Chronicles of Ms I-Hua
  • Let’s Get Fat Together
  • The Very Very Hungry Caterpillar
  • Popcorn and Toast
  • The World Loves Melbourne
  • Nouveau Potato



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    Shed 5
    37 Dukes Walk (37 South Wharf Promenade)
    South Wharf
    Phone: 03 9686 1122
    Web=”http://shed5.com.au”>shed5.com.au

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