Bomba

Bomba rooftop

Disclosure: I dined courtesy of Bomba.

Lots of things in life seem to be cyclical. Food wise, one of the trends lately is for more informal, cheaper dining, with most of the new restaurants opening lately being of a more casual nature. I’ve personally succumbed to this trend – you may have noticed a lack of fine dining on this blog this year.

In line with the more casual theme, The Aylesbury in Lonsdale Street recently closed and has been revamped as Bomba, a Spanish style bar and restaurant.


Bomba

Along with an entire restaurant of other people, I was invited to check out the revamped restaurant and menu before their official opening. After a quick drink on the rooftop bar, we headed downstairs and my fellow food bloggers (Shellie, Hazzie, Gaz, and Allan) and I perused the menu.

The menu is divided into different sections:

Aperitivo
Charcuterie
Montadidos (toppings on bread)
Tapas
Paella
Raciones
Verduras (vegetables)

Bomba

Between the seven of us, we managed to order and eat our way through a fair amount (most…) of the menu.

Jamon

Charcuterie: Blackmore’s 9+ score wagyu cecina ($12 for 20 grams).

Jamon

Charcuterie: Serrano Gran Reserva jamon ($9 for 20 grams).

Anchovies on toast

Montadidos: Tomato, burrata and aged sherry vinegar with hand filleted Nassari anchovy ($4.50 + $2.50 with the anchovy).

Jamon on toast

Montadidos: Tomato rubbed bread with Serrano jamon ($2 + $1.50 with jamon).

Scallops

Tapas: Hervey Bay scallop with Serrano, lemon and bread ($6).

The scallops were a highlight from the tapas section. They were sweet and fresh, and I really liked the crunchy, porky topping.

Croquettes

Tapas: Chicken, manchego and smoked paprika croqueta ($3.50).

These were also really good. Crunchy croquettes filled with an oozy chicken and cheese filling – delish.

Quail

Tapas: Quail with pistachio and buckwheat ($6.50).

Lamb chops

Tapas: Charcoal grilled lamb t-bone ($8).

The lamb chops, another highlight, were a thing of beauty. The chops were smokey and juicy, and we all sat there gnawing on the bones.

Tartare

Raciones: Tuna tartare with seaweed cracker ($16.50).

Prawns

Raciones: Shark Bay king prawn pil pil ($15.50).

Pork jowl

Raciones: Pedro Ximenez braised pork jowl with celeriac ($16.50).

The pork was fall apart tender in a sauce flavoured with Pedro Xiemenez. This was also one of my top dishes that night. My only criticism is that the celeriac was a bit too overpowering for the pork.

Waygu rump

Raciones: Charcoal grilled 6+ score wagyu rump cap with mojo verde and horseradish ($24).

The wagyu rump was another highlight (I know, there’s quite a few – I’m terrible at picking favourites). The beef had so much flavour and was complemented by the freshness of the mojo verde and horseradish.

Duck paella

Paella: braised duck and pork paella with peas ($36).

This paella was very rich, holding a large amount of braised duck and pork belly pieces.

Squid ink paella

Paella: Arroz negro with prawns, pippies, calamari, mussels ($36).

The black paella – coloured with squid ink – was a wet style paella. Which is fine, but I thought it was too wet. There was so much liquid it was a bit like a congee.

Potatoes

Verduras: Patatas bravas ($7).

It’s hard to go wrong with fried potatoes, but these would’ve benefited from being crunchier.

Cauliflower and frekeh salad

Verduras: Freekah and cauliflower salad with pinenuts, sumac, pomegranate and mint ($7).

Churros

Dessert was an easy choice. We ordered one of each!

Churros with chocolate ($8).

One of the desserts I was looking forward to the most was the churros (hey, what can I say? Donuts). Unfortunately they needed to be fried for longer – when they came to the table they were chewy and not that enjoyable.

Portuguese tarts

Portuguese tart ($4 each).

The other dessert I was really looking forward to was the Portuguese tarts. Unfortunately the pastry on these were also chewy. A bit of time in an oven could’ve improved them?

Chocolate croquettes

Chocolate croquetas with custard and hazelnuts ($10).

The other desserts were good though. In particular, I was surprised by the chocolate croquettes. They were the dessert of the night for me – deep fried, chocolate, surrounded by custard, yes.

Dessert

Turron parfait ($10).

Goat curd sorbet

Goat’s curd sorbet with rhubarb and pistachio ($8).

Sorbet

Orange and vermouth sorbet ($8).

Bomba

While there were some things that could’ve been improved (and remembering that they hadn’t even officially opened yet) on the whole I thought the food at Bomba was really good.

For more on our dinner at Bomba, check out Iron Chef Shellie and The Chronicles of I-Hua and the Boy.


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Bomba
103 Lonsdale St
Melbourne VIC
Phone: 03 9077 0451
Web: bombabar.com.au

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