Estivo - Kew - Review

Name: Estivo

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

Food: ModOz, Italian
Average price: appetiser - $9, entrée - $18, main - $30, dessert - $13.

Complimentary: 2 slices bread with olive oil and balsamic.

We ordered:

Entrees: Fried goat's cheese, caramelised shallots, endive, truffled honey - $12

I rather enjoyed this. The cheese was crunchy on the outside and wonderfully soft and oozy within. There was a great balance of salty, sweet, and  bitter tastes.

Tapas plate - $20

R enjoyed everything except the brains. And he learnt something new, that tempura oysters are delicious.

Seared scallops, skordalia, air dried Spanish Jamon, mache leaves & sherry vinegar dressing - $19

S said this was a very good dish.

Mushroom risotto - $26

This was well cooked with tasty mixture of mushrooms, but perhaps just need an extra dash of salt to enliven flavours would benefit it.

Wild barramundi & mussels  - $34

S said this was rather boring.

Duck  - $35

R said this was fine. 

Watermelon jelly, berries, Frangelico infused yoghurt - $13

S wasn't sold on this, he said the flavours tasted weird together.

Honey roasted pears, sweet raisin brioche with cardamom spiced Sangria & clotted cream- $13

R said this was far too sweet, even for him - complete sugar overload.

Chocolate creme brulee, fresh fig tart, pear sorbet, Vincotto syrup - $13

Brulee had great crust with a wonderfully silky chocolate custard beneath that was lovely. The fig was lovely but the pastry was a touch undercooked. The sorbet tasted like pear juce rather than fresh pear, it was quite sweet. Overall the brulee made this a nice dessert.

Cost: $212 for three entrees, three mains, two beers and three desserts.

Service: Ok.  The food came out at a decent rate and our water was topped up. The staff were perfectly polite and accommodating when I asked for a vegetarian option as there were none on the menu.

Atmosphere: Smart neutral. The interior was a cool brown with neutral tones and artwork on the walls. There is downstairs and upstairs seating. There wasn't much noise at all considering the tables were almost full. The lighting was low but not too low.

Parking: Good. There is street parking along High St although it can get a little scarce on a Friday or Saturday night, but there are side streets.

Website: None.

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

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