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 shape seemed to be the hub, with seating along its edge, good for individual diners or couples. Table seating around the room comprised tall, bar-style, wooden tables with stools - not overly comfortable, but funky and space-saving. The hard floor and white/black design base made for some strange acoustics, and overall I'd say the design favoured aesthetics and impact over comfort and practicality. They did have business cards printed with glow-in-the-dark lettering though (apparently by Press Print), which were pretty cool. (And memorable!)
A helpful, friendly Kiwi lady helped me decipher the solid wine list. I was interested to try what was termed an "orange" wine (and not from
the locale, either): it was actually orange in colour, or close to it - more like a soft salmon hue. Like pink sparkling or moscato, the skins of the grapes are left on for a time during the fermentation process, colouring the wine and sometimes adding further sweetness. This one was not overly sweet though, and was utterly delicious (I think it was the Italian one by the glass on their
wine list). It was also
biodynamically produced, something I'd like to learn more about with respect to
my problem with sulfites. One glass turned into two, which turned into a bottle to share. Magic! I also very much liked the mouse printed on the glasses as a measurement marker.
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| Better representation of the wine's actual colour |
When my friend arrived, we ordered, and thus began a journey through some aesthetically amazing and technically impressive dishes. They all tasted excellent and were perfectly cooked, so I won't bore you with detailed descriptions, but the captions identify them by how they're listed on
the menu. Oh - except for the roast cabbage, which is their signature dish and TOTALLY DELICIOUS. It's surprisingly filling and oddly diverse in flavour, which I wouldn't normally expect from a dish based mainly on one, traditionally 'samey' tasting item.
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| The Town Mouse menu, as nicked from their website on 2/09/2013 |
THE FOOD...
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| (My description) DELICIOUS crusty bread with DELICIOUS seaweed butter |
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| Goat's cheese profiterole, caraway, thyme & [house-made] honey |
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| Oysters served with chardonnay vinegar sorbet & lemon |
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| Venison tartare, pickled radish, nashi pear, ginger & wasabi |
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| Pork jowl, charred octopus, ink, turnip, kohlrabi & chickweed |
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| Slow roast red cabbage, prune, parmesan & red apple |
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Smoked hapuka, salt baked celeriac, lemon verbena, matcha & lime
(I'd actually made a note that this was Barramundi, hmm) |
All of these dishes were fantastic, however, of a much higher standard than I'd expected for a little local wine bar. By extension, this also meant dinner was a more pricey affair than I'd expected. But I didn't mind - it was worth it! I would recommend The Town Mouse for more of a weekend event or dinner though, rather than popping in for a few tidbits on the way home.
Having said that, we quite happily finished up with a drink or three for the road. Behold, the martini:
The Town Mouse is absolutely worth checking out.
