Hello Yelponians!
It's been a while since I've written a review for somewhere new to me, and for that I apologise - there are only so many nights in a week and my wife and I tend to frequent our favourite haunts.
But all that changes on a long weekend like this; where Thursday is Virtual Friday, and we have several more days of debauchery open in our calendar.
Now, Pastuso - it has been on my radar for a few months, largely because we see their business card frequently when we visit sister-restaurant San Telmo on Myers Place. We're regulars there, and it was our intention to get to Pastuso "one of these days" for quite a while.
Ceviche is something that I've always loved. Fond memories from years gone by going to a fresh seafood restaurant with a parental unit and obtaining a loaf of sourdough bread and a small bucket of fresh (as in, made minutes ago, fish caught that morning..) ceviche...
So whenever I find a spot that claims to have good ceviche, I'm always curious to try.
And Pastuso did not disappoint. We had two, the salmon (Amazonian) and the (recently changed from swordfish to) cod (Tiradito). Both were spectacular. I loved the celery in the Tiradito!
Sadly, Pastuso was out of alpaca when we visited, which is a real shame, as I was very eager to try. I asked if they served guinea pig, another staple in Peru, but was told that wasn't on the menu. I didn't ask if they served bears transplanted to England. Probably wouldn't have gone over well as a suggestion.
Pastuso is also joining the "street food" trend and has a selection of options available which are inspired by, if not literal translations from, Peruvian street food.
The cassava chips were spectacular in this category, as was the Rollo de Cerdo - best way to describe that is a spring roll which is filled with some of the best smoked and marinated pork you'll have. Indeed, best to think of the roll as a pork delivery vehicle, there wasn't much flavour to the pastry, but I'm fine with that, as I wanted the deliciously melty porcine goodness contained within.
Rounding it all off we went with a special - an OUTSTANDING Wagyu brisket that was served in a Malbec jus; so tender it fell apart with a strong stare. My wife and I didn't speak much during this part of our meal, we just nodded and made that "OMG" look to each other. Delicious.
For desert we went with the Huevo de Pascua, a half-sphere of a chocolate shell filled with Yuca cream, cherry, crumbly chocolatey cake and other delicious things I honestly don't recall right now.
I should note that the desert was a special as well, and I have no idea how long it will be on the menu.
So, what else - it's clear we loved the food, what about the service?
Fantastic! Our server was incredibly friendly, talked us through the menu, being the Pastuso virgins that we were, and put up with my teasing her about not having been to San Telmo yet and having been a vegetarian in her past (horrible condition, tragic, really, but thankfully, there's a cure: meat).
Our table wasn't quite ideal, right next to the door, which made it a bit noisy and filled with the occasional gust of autumn night air, but we were lucky to get a table without a reservation and we really didn't mind.
It's absolutely certain that going back is on our list of things to do. Just need more long weekends to fit in all the outstanding dining spots Melbourne has to offer!