Home Dining Room - Hawthorn - review

Name: Home Dining Room

Address: 601 Burwood Rd

Hawthorn 3122 VIC

9819 5555

Food: English

Average price: Entree: $6-$15, Mains: $23-$33, Dessert: $12

Complimentary: Nothing.

We ordered:

Entrée: Zucchini and feta fritters ŵ cumin and honey yoghurt - $14

Quite a generous entrée serving.

Crunchy exterior but very wet and almost raw on the inside. The cumin yoghurt was gorgeous but there was not nearly enough of it to go around. The fritters were very salty - had Mr.M try one to see if it was just me but he found them even saltier than I did. Due to the saltiness I couldn't finish the dish despite being hungry.

Pork belly with gribiche and apple - $14

Mr.M says: the entrée was great.

Baked ricotta ŵ stuffed onion, tomato and citrus marmalade - $28

This was like two starters shoved together on a plate. The onion was stuffed with plain white rice and peas - it reminded me of nursing home food. The baked ricotta was nice and the citrus marmalade added an interesting contrast but at the end of the day, it wasn't good enough to be called a main meal.

Confit duck ŵ butternut soufflé cake, shallot puree, cherry confit - $30

Mr.M: Main was OK but it felt like the duck was not proportional to the gunk below...either needed more duck, or less gunk. The duck was nice but the duck skin was overcooked.

Eton mess: white chocolate mousse ŵ berry coulis & crushed meringue - $12

It didn't taste any better than it looked. The mousse was grainy and tasted more of cream than white chocolate yet it was very sweet. The fruit is the most shocking part, the berries were defrosted and not fresh. The blueberries' skin was wrinkled and deflated and the insides completely tasteless mush. Mr.M had a blackberry that still had icicles on it. We tried to eat a few mouthfuls out of politeness but it was not nice at all.

Mr.M: dessert was so bad it made me throw up.

Cost: $98 for two entrees, two mains & 1 dessert.

Service: OK, mains took a little long to come out otherwise the service was fine.

Atmosphere: Like an English Nanna's house. It certainly felt like an English grandmother's dining room with mismatched crockery, red and gold wallpapered walls and wooden furniture along with old-school stereos and even a record player. They served us the bill wedged in between pages of Enid Blyton's Enchanted Wood, which I thought was a cute touch. I didn't mind the quirky quaintness, except I felt the music was completely out of place, changing from gangsta rap to reggae to pop, which was bizarre. 

Parking: There is decent street parking.

Website: www.homediningroom.com.au

Hours:  Tue-Sat 7.30am-10.30pm

Sun-Mon 7.30am-3pm

Would I return: No. The food left us feeling unsatisfied to the point we almost went to have ourselves a second dinner.

Replete Providore - Hawthorn

Name: Replete Providore

Address:
302 Barkers Road,
Hawthorn, 3122

03 9818 4448

Food: ModOz, Cafe,
Average price: $7.50 - $17.80

Complimentary:  Nothing.

We ordered:

Bruschetta - $10.50 (we ordered a half portion -$3.60 less )
of vine ripened tomato with bocconcini and basil drizzled with extra virgin olive oil.

I prefer small tomatoes, such as cherry, or diced larger tomatoes on my bruschetta, therefore I didn't enjoy the awkward-to-eat quartered tomatoes which tasted bland and had a little too much pepper. The bocconcini tasted bitter (perhaps from the oil?) but the bread was nice. Overall though, it was a pretty bland bruschetta.

Ricotta hotcakes - $14.50
with Replete lemon curd and fresh strawberries.

This is a huge serving. It looks great but stumbles on taste. The pancakes had a small patch of cooked, dry ricotta in the middle which I found weird. The texture was akin to a damper, but stickier. They are very heavy and floury which I didn't like. The lemon curd was fairly weak in terms of lemon flavour and that buttery creaminess I was expecting. The strawberries were fine and the sauce was a touch bitter. Overall I didn't even find this sweet, just bitter and doughy.

Replete Breakfast - $17.80
Poached eggs, spanish sausage, Istra bacon, hash brown, roasted tomato & field mushroom with toasted sourdough bread.

The best part of this was the poached egg, the worst was the mushroom which was tasteless. Average, but not special.

Wicked chocolate fudge brownie - $4.20

I prefer my brownies closer to fudge than to cake - but for hubby these were pretty good. Unfortunately, we ate only half of the hot brownie and took it home to eat later, which by then it had turned solid as a rock - and after going into the microwave, it just wasn't that nice.

Phoenix Pear and Apple Juice -$4.80

R was a litle sad to see it was made 'from concentrate'. Other than that it was OK.

Cost: $51.80 for 3 meals, a drink and a snack. Doesn't seem to add up to the website prices, the instore prices seem to have gone up.

Service: Fantastic. We were acknowledged as soon as we walked in and given water and a menu as soon as we sat down. The waiter also recommended we at least order a half portion of one of the dishes instead as all of their dishes have large portions.
 
Atmosphere: Foodstore chic. Typical cafe style with bookshelves stacked with purchasable goods. The vibe was relaxed but spiritedly energetic. Everyone, including four-legged creatures, are welcome.

Parking: Ample - large amount of street parking, although the side streets are largely permit-only.

Website: http://www.repleteprovidore.com/


Hours: Mon-Fri 8am-4pm, Sat-Sun 8am-5pm

Would I return: No - still on the hunt for a better-than-average breakfast place.

The Tower Hotel - Hawthorn

Name: Tower Hotel

Address:686 Burwood Rd,
Hawthorn VIC 3122

(03) 9882 2347 ‎

Food: Australian - Pub
Average price: Entree: $10, Mains: $20, Dessert: $6

Complimentary: Nothing.

We ordered dinner:

Mains: Eggplant Parmigiana - $18.90


This was warm at best, with cold rocket and baby spinach leaves throughout which I didn't like as it made it more like salad than a Parmigiana. The eggplant was fine, as was the sauce and cream. The bocconcini cheese was a little dry but the sliced tomatoes were fine. This would have been better with something like potatoes in place of the salad leaves in the layers.

Tower Burger - $21.90


This had a beef patty, bacon, fried egg and cheese.Ryan thought it was a bit boring - the meat was overcooked and therefore a bit dry. The egg was nice, the bun was was too stale. The chips were average.

Roast Turkey


This had sliced turkey breast, roast potatoes and pumpkin in a gravy sauce. Nanna enjoyed her dish.

Porterhouse Steak


The steak was well cooked and came with a tasty mushroom sauce and steamed vegetable sides. Mum liked it.

Tuscan Meat


This came with various meats on a skewer, gravy coated fries, fried egg and Greek salad. Dom thought this was fine.

Drinks: Lemon, lime & Bitters - $4?


A bit small, but typical of its type.

Iced chocolate - $6


This was ok, a bit sugary and cheap chocolate-y.

Cost: Around $142 for 5 mains and 5 drinks, everyone paid upfront separately.

Service: OK - food was brought out fairly quickly but obviously it's a pub not a restaurant so there's no other service than that.

Atmosphere: Casual/family friendly. The slot machines are completely separate from the dining area which has plenty of natural light and well spaced tables. There were lots of family's dining when we ate.

Parking: Ample - lots of street parking, on Sunday at 6pm it was almost empty.

Website: http://www.thehawthorn.com/

Hours: Mon 12am-4:30am, 8:30am-4:30am; Tue-Sat 8:30am-4:30am; Sun 10am-12am

Would I return: No. OK but I've been to pubs with nicer food.

Della Nonna

Name: Della Nonna

Address: 844 Glenferrie Road, Hawthorn
9819 6444

Food: Italian, Modern
Average Price: Starters - $7, Entree - $14, Main - $25.
Complimentary: 8 slices thick bread with fresh olive oil, salt and pepper.As a disclaimer, I forgot to take the pictures until after we had all devoured most of the dishes, or at least had a forkful, so you won't get the full picture of what the plates looked like.
I also did not jot down the orders or their prices so everything is a foggy guess. Sorry.

We ordered:
Starter: Bruschetta on pizza foccacia with grape/roma tomatoes, basil, oil and thyme(?) - $7.

There were four slices served on a bed of rocket tossed lemon. They were quite tasty, the tomatoes were full of flavour and the bread had the right amount of crispiness. Fresh, simple flavours.

Mains: Four cheese gnocchi with fig vincotto risotto - $24.50(?).

This was really yummy. I think the cheeses were gorgonzola, provolone, dolce latte and parmigiana. The rice was al dente and although the risotto was creamy, it wasn't super cheesy to my surprise. The blue cheese was the strongest taste, and the fig vincotto cut through the cheese well and offered a great sweet and tart taste contrast, otherwise it would have been a little boring after a while.

Chicken, chicory and Camembert risotto - $28(?).


Ryan enjoyed his dish, and as someone who doesn't really like risotto that's a compliment.

500g Eye fillet with roasted potatoes and peppers in a jus - $30.

The size of the steak was ENORMOUS. My dad struggled to eat it as he had been filling up on chips. It was cooked perfectly and the side potatoes and peppers were also delicious.

Sides: Shoe string fries with tomato sauce - $7(?).

These were a generous portion and typical of a shoe string fry. No complaints.

Dessert: Zabaglione with ice cream, peaches and toffee/praline.


The dish was brought out with the ice cream in the center. The waitress held the bowl of zabaglione and continued to whip it before pouring it into the bowl. The serving was enough for 3 people. The zabaglione was much lighter and airy then I have ever had before, whilst the icecream, peaches and parline really helped to add dimension to the dish.

Cost: $114 - 1 starter, 3 mains, 1 side, 1 dessert, 3 glasses of wine.

Service: Impeccable - The staff were extremely friendly and knowledgeable of the menu. We asked to change tables from indoors to the courtyard which they were extremely helpful with, and when my father misread the menu and ordered a dish in a tomato sugo (he doesn't like cooked tomatoes/tomato sauce), they readily allowed him to reorder and his meal which was on the table in less than 15mins. Our water was topped up frequently, and we were given an extra plate of bread when we asked for one. After we had finished the starter we were asked if we wanted our mains to be called, which I thought was fantastic as we don't really like wait that long between meals. The bill also came within a minute for asking for it. The service here really was fantastic.

Atmosphere: The restaurant has seating on the street, inside and also a private courtyard that has 6 two-seater tables. Inside they have red leather booth seating as well as dark wooden chairs. It was around 2/5 full when we went and the noise level was at a medium level. It is a small restaurant though so tables may fill up quick, especially the courtyard on warm sultry nights as it was when we went.

Parking: Plenty. There is street parking and carparks just off Glenferrie.

Website: None.

Hours: Wed-Sat 12pm -2.30pm; Sun-Thu, 6pm-10pm; Fri and Sat 6pm-10.30pm.

Would I return: Yes, definitely. Great local restaurant with nice food, service and not too expensive.