Estivo - Kew

Name: Estivo

Address:
330 High St
Kew 3101 VIC
Phone: (03) 9853 1727

Food: ModOz
Average price: appetiser - $9, entree - $18, main - $30, dessert - $13.
Complimentary: 2 slices of bread each with oil and balsamic and sea salt. The balsamic was really lovely and sweet.


We ordered:

Entrees: Citrus ceviche of Tuna, shaved fennel, dill & pomegranate - $10


This was actually an appetiser but was decently portioned. The citrus was a little too strong and overpowered the palate making the tuna and dill taste a little bitter. The pomegranate added lovely bursts of tart sweetness, I wish there had been a few more gems scattered. The fennel unfortunately didn't come through at all.

Crispy skin pork belly, quince jelly with apple, endive & raisin salad, sherry vinegar - $18


Ryan could not keep his praises in with this dish - there were oohs and ahhs galore. This was his favourite dish.

Mains: Porcini risotto - $24


There were no vegetarian options on the menu, this dish was a side with a main so they increased the portions for me. I'm not sure why they covered it with endive as it was extremely bitter and did not work with the mushrooms. The rice and texture was perfect however I did feel it was slightly bland.

Yearling with porcini risotto, parmesan wafer, truffle jus - $36


Ryan liked this also, he found the meat really tender.

Desserts: Chocolate creme brulee, fresh fig tart, Valrhona sorbet, vincotto syrup - $13


You know it's good when Ryan, who is not a dessert person, is eating it up. The creme brulee was perfect, crisp sweet topping with a luscious creamy chocolate custard underneath. The Valrhona was also divine, rich, deep and velvety. The fig tart was lovely, although I am not a big fig eater, Ryan on the other hand was licking his fingers after shoving it into his mouth. An absolutely lovely dessert, best I have had in a while. Divine!

Cost: $112. 1 appetiser, 1 entree, 2 mains, 1 dessert and 1 beer.

Service: Ok. There was a long wait in between meals. In 1hour we only received our entrees and once we ordered dessert there was a 30min wait for that also. The staff were perfectly polite and accommodating when I asked for a vegetarian option as there were none on the menu.

Atmosphere: Good. The interior was a cool brown with neutral tones and artwork on the walls. There was a staircase but I am not sure if this lead up to more tables as there were only around 30 seats downstairs. There wasn't much noise at all considering the tables were almost full. The lighting was low but not too low.


Parking: Moderate. There is street parking along High St - there wasn't much at 7pm on a Friday night.

Website: None.

Hours: Tue-Fri noon-3.30pm, Tue-Sat 6pm-10.30pm

Would I return: Yes. The food was lovely and it is just down the road for me. I shall definitely be returning.