Melbourne Patron

In my initial Googling of this place, I had to specify "restaurant" in the search term, because it was still new and Google thought I was looking for a bowling joint. Tenpin (67 Beach Street, Port Melbourne) is actually named after a giant bowling pin - not really relevant to South-East Asian cuisine, I would have thought, but hey! why not. I do very much like the bowling alley style font used in their logo, however. Retro and with a swish! Port Melbourne is a bitch to get to. Seriously, if you don't have a car, Uber or a cab is your best bet. (Sort out your s*^t, PTV !) I got there in a very roundabout way via PT, getting into the city first to catch the 109 tram right to the end (near where the Spirit of Tasmania docks) and walked five minutes down the road. Although annoying to get to, no one can deny this restaurant's premium position: literally across the road from the beach, looking out to Port Phillip Bay. We were there on a February evening (only a f...

Collingwood's newest 'it' place is another one hidden in the guts of the suburb. No shiny Smith Street lights for this dark horse. Le Bon Ton  (51 Gipps Street, Collingwood), which takes its name from an old-time New Orleans phrase, laissez les bon temps rouler ('let the good times roll'), is a curiously appealing mixture of the moodily subtle and brightly obvious. Owned by two American brothers, Will and Mick Balleau (old hospitality hands, with their Richmond venture Chingon ), and assisted in the kitchen by another two American brothers, Jeremy and Christopher Sutphin (ex- Fog ), Le Bon Ton is a venture in Belle  Èpoque- e ra romanticism. The décor is impressive: exposed brick walls, polished cement floors, a bar overlaid and finished with bright copper and wood panelling, ornate touches in upholstery and lighting, and an astro-turfed courtyard with beautifully-strung fairy lights (and she's SOLD!), with the operational smoke pit to one side. ...

Ramen, udon, pho and all things Asian-noodley have been far less prominent in my life since I moved from Sydney to Melbourne. Finally, it seems the awesomeness of tasty, cheap Asian food is filtering more into Melbourne's foodie radar, and there's much more choice around town these days. Shop Ramen (329 Smith Street, Fitzroy) is tapping into the trend, with great ramen on offer, endorsed by the hordes of hungry punters at the door. Front door, punter-free... this changed within half an hour Shop Ramen's roots sprouted in February this year as Shophouse Ramen, a staggeringly popular, 10-day pop-up at  Storm in a Teacup . The brainchild of experimental foodie and blogger , Pat Breen, the pop-up's success led to its new, permanent residence up the road (just south of Johnston Street). Owners Breen and Lydia Wegner travelled to Japan to master the art of ramen, adapting its traditions into a compact yet flavour-filled menu. The three ramen dishes currently on...

Long overdue for a catch-up, my chef-ex-housemate and I met for dinner one cold evening in July. Naturally, being interested in food, he's a good one to take to new restaurants, and I'd heard The Town Mouse (312 Drummond Street, Carlton - in the old Embrasse site) described as a cool little local. Cool, indeed, it is - a far more modern, schmick affair than the comfy, chilled-out "local" I'd envisaged. It didn't match my expectations, but that's not to say it wasn't pretty excellent. I arrived early and waited for a bit under a heater out the front. The fairy lights overhead added a magical touch (but then, I'm a sucker for pretty lights) - as did the gold lettering of the restaurant's signage. Through the window, I could check out the goings-on inside: it seemed very clean, bright, and not overly busy, but it was early yet. By the time we left, it had filled up completely. A central bar in a strange, rounded, sort of kidney s...