Estelle Bistro: Sunday roast lunch
I haven’t visited Estelle in a while, and since our last visit it has had a make over and become Estelle Bistro. The bistro is more casual than the original and the fine dining has been moved next door to ESP.
I noticed on their website recently (long story as to why I was on their website, but it involved a not very good truffle dinner at a completely different and unrelated restaurant) that Estelle Bistro were holding Sunday roast lunches (3 courses for $50 with a glass of wine). Well. I like Sundays and I like roasts, and I like them even more when someone else is cooking, so roped our friends Maz and Daz for a catch up lunch, deliberately selecting the pork themed lunch.
We were seated in their outdoor dining area, which is completely enclosed and has a wall of edible plants in pots. It was also a sunny day and very pleasant out there.
For the first course, we had a pigs head croquette, which was served with pickled vegetables and gribiche sauce, which is a mayo style sauce mixed with chopped and pickled cucumbers, capers and herbs. The croquette was a perfect rectangle, very crispy with a breaded crumb, and the meat inside was well seasoned and delicious.
The next course was – as mentioned – roast pork. There was pork loin, pork belly, and a big chunk of boiled/steamed broccoli. The pork was cooked really well – the loin was tender and juicy, and the pork belly had its strip of crunchy crackling.
Served on the side were some really good roast vegetables – carrot, pumpkin, potatoes and parsnips. The onions were a bit burnt but the rest of the vegies were great, particularly the potatoes that were very crispy.
In addition there was also a green salad.
Finally, there was dessert, which wasn’t pork themed. 🙂 Instead we were served apple tarte tatin – thinly sliced apples on a crispy buttery pastry, and ice cream. Such a classic dessert and a very pleasant way to end our lunch.
Lunch was excellent and really enjoyable. $50 for 3 courses and wine is a good deal for food of this quality.
Estelle have two more Sunday lunches listed on their website – roast chicken on Sunday 30 August and a Father’s Day on Sunday 6 September. You will want to book.
Estelle Bistro
243 High Street
Northcote
Phone: 03 9489 4609
estellebistro.com
Annette
September 4, 2015 @ 8:00 pm
Hmmm….that certainly looks like a lovely meal. And very good value. And the thought of a nice sunny day to go with it strikes a nerve here, as we labour through yet another cold, grey week of English summer!!!
Gourmet Getaways
September 9, 2015 @ 2:14 pm
What a delicious looking meal.
Thanks for sharing
Julie
Gourmet Getaways
Gourmet Getaways
September 16, 2015 @ 1:05 pm
Yum, I will be adding this to my list of restaurants to visit.
Thanks for sharing.
Julie
Gourmet Getaways
Agnes
December 4, 2015 @ 12:29 pm
Excellent. It’s worth the visit 🙂