I walked from Crown Metropol to the European this evening based on reviews I'd read.
Even though I rated it 3 stars, I still think the walk was worth it. It is a mixed bag result though. Some of the dishes (or elements) were perfect. Others were a miss.
Starting with the non food components - the staff are extremely friendly, in that straight up friendly way. They weren't over the top polite and they weren't so friendly that it seemed over bearing. The exact mix that you want (well, I do). The staff are a highlight and made the experience.
The decor was nice - felt very "old Melbourne". I was a single diner in a busy night and got out at the bar. I probably looked out of place but I was perfectly happy up there.
The Campari and orange juice was delicious. I would have liked an option for blood orange juice, but the fresh orange was good enough. I could drink those forever.
My entree was the special. I was going to have the pork belly parcels but decided to take the leek and mozzarella and walnut dish - I forget the name of it. It was nice, maybe a little too sweet and not promptly balanced. Also, the leek probably needed to lose the outer later which is hard to cut and not as tender as the rest.
The main was the gnocchi - which had a hint of mint. When the mint aroma came through, it lifted this dish tremendously. However, it was barely a hint - and overall the dish wasn't seasoned anywhere near enough. More pepper - more salt. It was too bland and needed something else. The colours were great and the textures very good. Just needed a heavier hand on the S&P.
The side salad of witlof, Pecorino and pear was delicious. Probably the best of this type of salad I have ever had. It was perfect and I could have eaten a whole bowl of just the salad. It was crisp and light and everything was perfectly balanced. Surprisingly for a side - it was the highlight.
The dessert was a salted caramel and peanut chocolate ball with yoghurt gelato. Standalone every element was very good. Especially the salted caramel ball. However, the gelato for this dessert was too sharp and didn't go well with the salted caramel. I see why you would want to cut through the caramel and chocolate - but this was too much cutting! I would have wound it down a notch.
Overall - still a very good experience, but really the food should speak the loudest and a couple of items didn't hit the mark. I'd go back again though. read more