Persimmon - Melbourne - NGV

Name: Persimmon at the National Gallery of Victoria

Address: Ground Level, NGV
180 St Kilda Road, Melbourne
Call NGV and follow prompts - 8620 2222

Food: ModOz
Average price: Entree - $16, Main - $27, Dessert - $15.

Complimentary: We got absolutely spoiled rotten today - and we loved it!

2 pieces of bread with butter.

I really loved the hot buttery, sweet brioche. My favoruite for sure, whilst Ryan prefered the salty sour dough.

Mini Tart tatin of Jerusalem artichokes, beetroot bavarois, lentils, sherry vinegar caramel


Like last time this is bursting with different flavours and textures. The sweetness of the beetroot with the nutty Jerusalem artichokes, tangy and sweet sherry vinegar caramel and earthy lentils is a great combination. Lovely.

Salad of pumpkin ribbons, blue cheese, compressed pear, hazelnut dressing


This is for blue cheese lovers. The delicate sweet pumpkin gives way to juicy pear and creamy hazelnut before the creamy blue cheese comes through at the end.

Potato & herb gnocchi, Brussel sprouts, cauliflower & pecorino crumble


This was different to the last time. The gnocchi was even softer and there was a bigger crunch and cheesiness to the crumble which played well against the smooth, sweet brussel sprouts.

Chestnut cake, raspberry dust, cooked pear, pear & ginger sorbet


Huge flavour explosion here. This one evoked memories of cooking over a camp fire on a school trip for me, love when food triggers great memories. The charcoal warm pear gives a great smokiness to the dish which has a refreshing sorbet, moist and nutty cake with a zing from the raspberry dust.The lingering flavour is the battered(?) pear.

We ordered:

Entree: Croquettes of truffled macaroni & cheese with sherry vinegar aioli - $12


The aioli with shards of saffron helps to cut through the rich crumbed croquettes filled with creamy macaroni. Couldn't taste the truffle but that didn't really matter.

Baked scallops, fennel escabeche, mushroom cream, Gruyere - $15


Ryan protested that he didn't really like scallops but I convinced him to give this a try, and what do you know, he loved it. He also has an aversion to squeezing lemon (I don't know why) but when he tried it with the lemon he loved it even more, he said it needs the acidity to bring out the other flavours.

Mains: Tasmanian salmon, toasted cous cous, tomato jam, pickled cucumbers - $26


This was also a little different to the last variation I had. The salmon portion is much bigger and the cous cous crunchier. The cucumbers have turned from ribbons to cubes, which I prefer as they add a saltier juicer burst. The tomato jam wasn't smoky like last time, I think I missed the smokiness a bit. I'm glad the aubergine puree was still there as well as the basil oil, but I still couldn't really taste the red wine emulsion.

Braised veal shank, artichoke, radicchio - $27


Ryan loved this. This was his favourite 11hour braised meat dish. The meat was melt in the mouth with a texture he loved. He said the side vegetables help to cut through the richness of the succulent meat. Overall he thoroughly enjoyed it.

Desserts: Stewed quince, pan perdu, milk jam & cinnamon stick ice cream - $14


Once again this had Ryan singing gleefully, he's a fan of anything that resembles french toast. I also loved this.The pan perdu was gorgeously crunchy and buttery sweet on the outside with a fluffy centre. The poached, but firm spiced quince cuts through the bread before heady cinnamon spiked milk ice cream envelopes everything with its spicy coolness. It also had really yummy crunchy, crumbs.Yummier than the title sounded.

Pear tart tatin, turron ice cream - $15


This was also really yummy. The perfectly cooked pears and pastry gives way to the almondy ice cream before deep, caramel takes over your mouth. Sometimes I find caramel too bitter, this is my idea of a perfect caramel, it had me licking the plate.

Cost: $109ish (forgot the receipt) for 2 entrees, 2 mains, 2 desserts and 4 complimentary dishes.

Service: Perfect. The service is always flawless.

Atmosphere: Lively. The window seats are lovely as the booth seating is very comfy and the view of the gardens is really calming. It can get a little noisy when full but the tables are well spaced. The dark interior helps to frame the gorgeous outside surroundings.


Parking: Limited as car spots are generally taken - although a tram runs along St Kilda rd, and Flinders station is not far down the road. We managed to get a car park a block down the road and there are side streets you might get lucky with. There is also underground gallery parking which is $12 for non-members.

Website: http://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/ngvinternational/persimmon.html

Hours: Daily 11am to 4pm (except Tuesdays).

Would I return: Yes. No matter how many dishes we eat, we still want more.