The Grace Darling, not to be confused with the Grey Starling, has served up pretty good pub grub for some time. It’s only recently however, with some new faces behind the scenes, that the quality of the food has translated into bums on seats.
The hipster crowd has flocked to it, like seagulls to a hot chip. On the Saturday night that we visited, it was particularly noisy, even for a pub.
I order the seared yellowfin tuna with anchoiade (caper, mustard sauce) and baby potatoes, which also arrived with a nice unadvertised addition of asparagus. A generous slab of fish was cooked to perfection, coloured on the outside, and nice and pink in the centre. The not-too-salty anchioade was a perfect complement, and butter potatoes provided some welcome carbs. Fantastic.
My girlfriend, who is a fairly harsh critic when it comes to meat dishes, ordered the burger, and could barely stop talking about how good it was for the next hour. Most dishes sit around the $20 mark, which is very reasonably for food of this quality.
Drinks aren’t quite so cheap, with the good range of beers let down a bit by some fairly hefty pricing. That’s a minor issue though, for the Grace Darling has gone from good to very good.
Archive for the ‘Collingwood’ Category
Grace Darling Hotel
Sunday, September 27th, 2009Bluebird Espresso
Saturday, August 8th, 2009Prompted by a couple of very positive reviews, or more specifically the photographs of the dishes, we ventured down the Bluebird Espresso.
I certainly agree with the comments in the reviews. The food, although there are not a lot of options, is excellent. My ham, cheese and tomato pide was superb, and by all reports, the spinach, prosciutto and egg pide is equally good. And as, Peta points out, the staff are very friendly, as is the dog outside the back door leading to the bathroom.
Gigi Baba
Tuesday, April 21st, 2009If ever a restaurant should be called ‘hot’, Gigi Baba (102 Smith St, Collingwood) is it. When we arrived right at opening time, on a Tuesday night, there were already about 3 groups, totaling about 10 people, waiting at the door. This is largely due to the no-bookings policy, which encourages diners to arrive early to ensure a seat.
Once we were seated at the bar, we ordered a couple of beers from the small, well chosen selection. I tried one I’d never heard of, the very tasty Schmucker Bio-Pils. Every wine on the list is available as a glass, a 300ml carafe, 500ml carafe, or a bottle. This is a great idea.
The menu is relatively brief, and very economical with words. Some dishes are not described at all, despite not necessarily being well known. For instance, no information is given about the Sultan’s Delight. When I inquired, I was told it was slow cooked lamb. I asked how it was different to a dish called something like ‘Slow cooked lamb’. The answer was that it was cooked longer, and spiced differently, but that’s about as much information as I could extract.
Small dishes tried included the Esme, a fantastically flavoursome tomato and capsicum-based dip, served with delicious bread. Though I’m probably being generous when I say the serving (for 2) comprised 3 tablespoons of dip. Slightly more substantial was the minced lamb in vine leaves, although curiously, the serving for 2 came with 5 pieces. A serving of runner beans were nice, as was the lamb kofta. The latter started off tasting like run-of-the-mill kofta, but finished with a fantastic lemon flavour.
We ordered two ‘large dishes’, the aforementioned Sultan’s Delight, which was a couple of large chunks of lamb, sitting in rich sauce with some sort of cheese over the top. The meat came apart using just a fork, although it was a little drier and fattier than I had expected.
The other ‘large’ tried was blue eye with potatoes and beetroot. This arrived as a small fillet with a few pieces of boiled or steamed potato, along with some baby beets. Again, as with all the dishes, this very well done.
With the suspicion that bill was already quite high, and with very little information about what was on offer proffered, we decided against dessert.
In the end it only worked out to around $110 (including 2 beers and a glass of wine), but that’s about the minimum 2 people would get away with ordering.
Koliba Czech & Slovak Restaurant
Monday, March 30th, 2009I’ve noticed Koliba many times, but it had sat ‘idle’ for so long I assumed that it was never opening. So, I was more than a little surprised to see it bustling with activity one day, and immediately began planning a trip there.
When we finally made it there, it was a coolish autumn day, perfect for hearty middle European cuisine. Based on this review I was going to order goulash, and looking at the other items on the menu, this indeed seemed like the best option.
After a couple of Czech beers, served a little warm for my liking, it arrived, together with side of shopska salad. It seemed like an authentic goulash in that it didn’t include any tomato, just a rich brown ‘gravy’ over beautifully tender beef. It’s served with bread dumplings, which are like a thick, spongy white bread, and at less than $20 is good value and filling.
The shopska salad was a slight letdown compared to those I’ve had in Europe, with average tomatoes and an overly mild cheese.
There are a few desserts on the menu, but with the size of mains, I think a lot of people would have trouble fitting them in.
Koliba is a worthy addition to the Collingwood restaurant scene, and I’m sure I’ll be back, particularly as the weather cools down.
Provenance Food & Wine
Wednesday, March 18th, 2009Another day, another review of somewhere recommended by Fitzroyalty. And another place I can recommend with qualifiers. Provence Food & Wine (288 Smith St, Collingwood) is a newish cafe occupying the former home of Delish, on the Collingwood side of Smith Street.
The decor is neither particularly modern or particularly traditional, with a beautiful pressed metal ceiling, and the same could be said of the food. Fitzroyalty praised the French Toast, and it is very good, topped with hazelnuts for beautiful texture. The Eggs Benedict were of an equally high standard, with the free range eggs cooked to perfection, and sitting atop spinach and crispy bacon, on a single piece of bread (two would have been better). The hollandaise was a little unusual, but not unpleasant. And the coffee is well made.
Now to the qualifier. The service is extremely slow. Maybe we just caught them on a bad day, but we had to wait too long for our coffees, and it didn’t seem to be for a lack of staff. Still, I’d certainly go back.
MamaNee Thai Restaurant
Thursday, January 29th, 2009I’m always on the lookout for good, cheap Thai that’s closer to home than Thaila Thai, so the arrival of Mamanee (324 Smith St, Collingwood) definitely peaked my interest. It’s got a fresh-looking shopfront, and the food is prepared up the front, which is generally a good sign.
A quick glance at the menu, and I could see it ticked another box on price, with most curries and stir fries at $13.50. This is a little pricier than Thaila Thai, but rice comes free with these dishes at Mamanee. Vegetarian dishes are
With the food prepared up the front, I could see the raw ingredients were on display, which gave me further confidence. Everything looked good quality, including the meat. Tick.
I ordered a green chicken curry and a chili basil beef stir fry, and I’m pleased to say that both were great. The curry had a bit of filler vegetable in the form of large chunks of carrot and potato, but was well cooked and there was a bit of fire to the rich green sauce. Likewise, the stir fry was equally good, with the vegetables quite crisp, not having been overcooked or fished out of a freezer as is the case at some Thai restaurants. Tick.
Servings are generous, both the main dishes and the ‘complimentary’ rice. Tick.
Recommended.