Persimmon - NGV - Melbourne - reivew

We find ourselves fluttering to Persimmon rather often due to the fabulous food, fantastic service and relaxing garden-setting. We thought it long overdue for a visit.

As usual the staff were attentive and friendly. Upon glancing at the menu we saw that the dishes had taken on a more Asian twist and that the regular chocolate fondant was no longer on the dessert menu. We asked the waiter whether Terry was trying some new things to be told that he was no longer working at Persimmon and that there was a new chef, Gabriel Martin at the helm. At the time the website still listed Terry as the chef (tsk,tsk NGV) but the menu suddenly made sense to us. And despite the fact that we would no longer be able to sample our favourite chef's food, we were excited to try the new menu.

Mr.M and Miss Dor elected to try the Market 4 course menu - $45 per person.
As usual, the meal began with the complimentary bread and butter, always a nice selection.

heirloom tomato salad, tomato beurre blanc, tomato dust

Both Mr.M and Miss Dor enjoyed this dish.

salmon vermincelli, prawn, carrot oil

This was Mr.M's favourite dish of the menu.

aged beef porterhouse, bean cassoulet, red wine jus

Miss Dor enjoyed this dish but Mr.M did found it too strong in taste.

chocolate and mint tart,chocolate sorbet

Both Mr.M and Miss Dor enjoyed this tart.

I had the following two dishes: Folded lasagna, purple artichoke,parmesan foam - $24

This was delicious. The pasta was well cooked and the parmesan foam added a delicious saltiness. I ate every morsel.

Chocolate waves, salted caramel, chocolate mousse, chocolate sorbet - $19

A really lovely and generous dessert. The salted caramel had the perfect amount of saltiness to compliment the rich sorbet and sweet mousse.

The chef may have changed, but the food is still lovely enough to warrant repeat returns. The prices, however, are more expensive then they were previously, for instance the desserts have gone from $14 up to $17-19. That being said it is still value for money.

Persimmon - Melbourne - review

Name: Persimmon at the National Gallery of Victoria

Address: Ground Level, NGV
180 St Kilda Road, Melbourne
8620 2434

Food: ModOz
Average price: Entrée - $14-16, Main - $23-35, Dessert - $14-16.

Complimentary: One pumpkin seed and one sourdough roll with butter. Warm and lovely.

We ordered: 150th NGV anniversary dinner - 5 courses for $85
 
Amuse
Mushrooms in soil

Possibly my favorite dish of the night; the medley of earthy mushrooms, herbs and spices was wonderful.

Cream of fennel  & Pernod soup, pickled fennel salad

Lovely, creamy soup with subtle hints of licorice.

Baked kingfish, white onion soubise, toasted almond gel, golden raisins & capers,
nastercians

Broccoli risotto, pine nuts, truffle, goats curd, grana padana

Just like my previous visit, the risotto was cooked wonderfully, with a little more goats curd this time around which I appreciated.

Roast Porterhouse of wagyu beef (marble score four), Chausson of roasted beetroot
marinated in aged balsamic & braised ox tail, smoked celeriac & apple cream, apple cider gastrique

Mr.M raved about this dish, from the flavour combinations to the extremely well cooked steak.

Mousse of Tarago triple cream brie, compressed pears, persimmons, toasted rye

Great take on the cheese course.

Bitter chocolate fondant, griottine cherries, malt ice cream, brown butter crumbs

I don't think this dessert will ever not be on the menu, especially when patrons, like Mr.M, continually choose it rather than trying something new. In this version it's subtly paired with the malt ice cream and the sharply rounded cherry. Like always, it was cooked to perfection with just the right amount of gooey ooze.

Tea, coffee, petite fours

The strawberry macaron was like full of childhood wonder with it's lolly-like flavour.
The mango macaron tasted as it should, like a tartly-sweet mango.
The chocolate ganache logs melted instantly on the tongue with their bittersweet liquor.


Drinks: Lemon, lime & bitters

Cost: $174 for two degustations.

Service: Perfect. Food comes out at a great pace, waiters are knowledgeable, they happily cater to vegetarians and our water is always filled.

Atmosphere: Lively but very relaxed. The interior is a mixture of black, red and white with a modern minimal feel. There are textures of plastic, steel and leather with one slate wall surrounded by panoramic windows that allowed us to view landscaped Grollo Equiset gardens. There are leather and fabric booths with red leather chairs, or small black veneer tables with Perspex chairs. 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 so you never feel cramped or listened in on. The dark interior helps to frame the gorgeous outside surroundings.

Parking: Ample. Street parking is generally limited as car spots are generally taken - they are metered except for Sundays - although a tram runs along St Kilda rd, and Flinders station is not far down the road. 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/visit/places-to-eat/persimmon

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

Would I return: Yes - we can always rely on Persimmon to deliver on flavour, presentation and service.

Mr.M: Finally a dinner sitting!

Persimmon - NGV - Melbourne - review

Name: Persimmon at the National Gallery of Victoria

Address: Ground Level, NGV
180 St Kilda Road, Melbourne
8620 2434

Food: ModOz
Average price: Entrée - $14-16, Main - $23-35, Dessert - $14-16.

Complimentary: One brioche and one sourdough roll with butter. Warm and lovely.

We ordered:
Entree: Compression of rabbit and smoked ham hock, orange, soused carrots, medjool dates - $17

Mr.M liked this.

Salad of heirloom tomatoes, garlic croutes, buffalo mozzarella, basil - $15

Classic flavours. The only thing that detracted slightly was the basil which was ice cold, and I am not particularly partial to icy temperatures. But otherwise a nice dish.

Main: Broccoli risotto, pine nuts, truffle, goats curd, grana padana - $26

Perfectly cooked risotto. The flavours went well and I especially liked the addition of the crunchy pinenuts and cool goats curd.

John Dory, crab fritters, shredded lettuce, crushed peas, sauce vierge - $28

Mr.M thoroughly enjoyed the crab fritters.

Dessert: Strawberries and cream - $14

This is what I imagine a care bear would taste like, should you ever eat one; it's rainbows and ribbons and everything delightful. The gorgeous vanilla fluffiness of the cream was the perfect pillow for the macerated strawberries and candyfloss meringues. I truly enjoyed eating this dish. The only component that didn't float my boat was the dehydrated capsicum which I found was too peppery for the delicate, sweet dessert.

Peanut butter parfait, bananas, bitter chocolate - $14

Mr.M just can't help himself when he spies an old favourite, and this dessert is truly one of his favourites. This time around the previously singular present has been split into two fork-friendly parcels with that gorgeous chocolate sorbet in the centre. Lovely as always.

Cost: $114 for two entrees, two mains and two desserts.


Service: Perfect. Food comes out at a great pace, waiters are knowledgeable and our water always filled.

Atmosphere: Lively but very relaxed. The interior is a mixture of black, red and white with a modern minimal feel. There are textures of plastic, steel and leather with one slate wall surrounded by panoramic windows that allowed us to view landscaped Grollo Equiset gardens. There are leather and fabric booths with red leather chairs, or small black veneer tables with Perspex chairs. 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 so you never feel cramped or listened in on. The dark interior helps to frame the gorgeous outside surroundings.

Parking: Ample. Street parking is generally limited as car spots are generally taken - they are metered except for Sundays - although a tram runs along St Kilda rd, and Flinders station is not far down the road. 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/visit/places-to-eat/persimmon

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

Would I return: Yes - we can always rely on Persimmon to deliver on flavour, presentation and service.

Mr.M: Persimmon food is art on a plate. One of the hidden treasures of the CBD. We go there every time we pass through the city for lunch. I just wish they were open for dinner so that more reviewers could take notice and we could visit more often. After lunch you can take a lovely stroll through the adjoining gardens. I will be back soon!

Persimmon - NGV - Melbourne - review

 Name: Persimmon at the National Gallery of Victoria

Address: Ground Level, NGV
180 St Kilda Road, Melbourne
8620 2434

Food: ModOz
Average price: Entrée - $14-16, Main - $23-32, Dessert - $14-16.

Complimentary: 2 rolls of bread with butter

Smoked tomato jam, fried cauliflower, leek

For me this dish was like a Clint Eastwood Western - ballsy and bad-ass. The smoked tomato jam gave everything a tough, complex edge. The mixture of herbs, sweetness, cool cucumber and meaty cauliflower was fantastic - I wanted more.

Citrus cured ocean trout, cauliflower picalli, dutch carrots, herb salad 

R liked this.

Pickled blueberries, short bread crumble, green apple bavarois, maple jelly, dehydrated blueberry

Now is that art on a plate or what? And it tasted as good as it looked. Eating this was like being a kid, but with a grown ups palette. It felt like a really posh Granola somehow to me. The dehydrated blueberry crisps were wonderful. Everything was clean, crisp and sweet, but in a refreshing way. I loved everything together but felt the blueberries still remained the headlining flavour.

Entrees: Butter poached prawns, toasted rye, avocado, heirlooms, smoked tomato jam - $18

Gazpacho, red onions, kumato, compressed cucumbers, capsicum, basil dust - $15

The best gazpacho I have had to date. The soup was extremely silky, slightly sweet with a sharp tang, that was tempered by the cool cucumber. I'm not sure what the yellow dust was (dehydrated basil) but it was delicious and picked the dish up.

Mains: Potato and herb gnocchi, broad beans, parsley, blue cheese, brown butter - $26

The gnocchi was pillow soft  with the perfect amount of 'bite' as I have come to expect here. Whilst I enjoyed the sweet and bitter herby tastes I felt the dish needed something fresh to elevate it and bring it some 'life'. Would have loved a touch more cheese as well.

Slow cooked pork belly, fennel escabeche, grapefruit, baby herbs, cinnamon and star anise broth - $26

R loved everything except the grapefruit which he felt was jarring and not harmonious with the other flavours.

Desserts: Bitter chocolate fondant, malt ice cream, honeycomb - $14

A dependable dessert - always the right amount of molten goodness within. I loved the pairing with the honeycomb, but found the malt ice-cream, whilst lovely, a touch dull.

Sticky date pudding, matcha green tea ice cream, milk jam - $14

I have to admit, this fell a little short for me, perhaps because I simply adore a traditional sticky date pudding, which this wasn't. The pudding, whilst nice and fairly moist, was not sticky and not drenched in some sweet, overindulgent sauce which left me unsatisfied. What let it down most, for me, was pairing it was the matcha tea and milk jam - there was an almost fruity acidic taste that was completely out of place when paired with the spicy, winter-esque pudding. It was average when compared to the other desserts.

Cost: $93 for two entrees, two mains and two desserts.


Service: Perfect. Food comes out at a great pace, waiters are knowledgeable and our water always filled.

Atmosphere: Lively but very relaxed. The interior is a mixture of black, red and white with a modern minimal feel. There are textures of plastic, steel and leather with one slate wall surrounded by panoramic windows that allowed us to view landscaped Grollo Equiset gardens. There are leather and fabric booths with red leather chairs, or small black veneer tables with Perspex chairs. 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 so you never feel cramped or listened in on. The dark interior helps to frame the gorgeous outside surroundings.

Parking: Limited as car spots are generally taken - they are metered except for Sundays - 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/visit/places-to-eat/persimmon

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

Would I return: Yes - food that not only looks spectacular but also tastes good too.

Persimmon - NGV - Melbourne

Name: Persimmon at the National Gallery of Victoria

Address: Ground Level, NGV
180 St Kilda Road, Melbourne
8620 2434

Food: ModOz
Average price: Entrée - $14-16, Main - $23-32, Dessert - $14-16.

Complimentary: 6 pieces of bread - brioche, sour dough and pumpkin seed - served warm with lovely salted butter.

Pumpkin soup, roast butternut, pumpkin seed biscotti, pumpernickel, micro herbs

Velvety smooth, like liquid silk. Everyone loved it, I found it a touch sweet but tasty nonetheless.

Entrees: Smoked ham hock terrine, kipfler potato salad, apples and chicory - $17

My mother was happy with this dish - full of flavour and fun to eat. As soon as it was set down I could smell a hint of liquorice, perhaps a dusting of fennel seed? Y, who also got a taste, said the meat was very tasty.

Salad of poached prawns, baby cos, watercress, garlic croutes, apple, creme fraiche - $18

Whilst cooked perfectly, those who had this dish said it needed a 'punch of flavour' to take it up a notch.

Vegetable terrine with poached egg, capsicum - $17

Vegetables were well cooked and the egg poached wonderfully. The capsicum paste tied everything together nicely.

Mains: Casserole of rabbit, winter vegetables, caraway seed dumplings, beer - $29

R thought the flavours were wonderul, but some of the pieces of rabbit were a little dry for him.

Grilled Scotch fillet of beef, fat chips, watercress, Dijon mustard mayonnaise - $35

Unfortunately most who had this dish said they thought the meat had a little too much gristle and was slightly 'soggy' - they wanted the outside to be a little more seared and less wet on the plate.

Jerusalem artichoke risotto, pickled trompettes, truffle oil, black cabbage - $26

Well cooked, strong acidic, salty and bitter flavours that give it a 'freshness' rather than sumptuousness. I didn't taste the truffle. I assume the artichokes were the 'chip-like discs' that gave the risotto some crunch, but I'm not sure if there were incorporated elsewhere in the dish. I also found the nettle leaves to be quite strong in flavour and am surprised they aren't mentioned in the dish's title.

Desserts: Microwave pistachio cake, chocolate sorbet, buttermilk, rhubarb - $15

Ryan went apeshit (sorry for the strong language, but its necessary to convey his reaction) for the sorbet - once he tasted the sorbet he forgot everything else. He even asked for a second quinelle and continued to talk about it on the way home -'I normally HATE chocolate sorbet but this was like perfect chocolate...' When I asked about the rest of the dish he commented that he remembered he liked it, but all he could think about was the sorbet...he really is so helpful with his opinions....

Bitter chocolate fondant, mint ice cream, pop rocks - $15

Mum went crazy for this - she absolutey adored it, she was also surprised that the violets tasted nice. Y also said it tasted great. P gave all the dishes 10/10 for presentation, he said they looked beautiful. Once again the pop rocks turned the adults into giggling children.

Vanilla cream, burnt citrus, blood orange, olive oil powder, lime vinaigrette - $15

Y had this but she didn't tell me whether she liked it.

Coffee cream, amaretto, sponge, bitter chocolate - $15

I would have loved some more moist cake to accompany the lusciously fluffy coffee cream and ice cream. With only a tiny portion of cake, which was soaked nicely, I felt like I had barely had dessert. Flavours worked well though and weren't overpowering both coffee and alcohol-wise.

Coffees: Cappucino - $4
Long Black - $4
Caffe Latte - $4

D thought this was a well made coffee.

Cost: $418 for 6 entrees, 6 mains, 4 desserts, 1 bottle of wine ($58 - Cullen Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot) and 3 coffees.


Service: Perfect. Must make a special mention of our waitress, Tess - because of her service my grandfather claimed that he had never had better service elsewhere.

Atmosphere: Lively but very relaxed. The interior is a mixture of black, red and white with a modern minimal feel. There are textures of plastic, steel and leather with one slate wall surrounded by panoramic windows that allowed us to view landscaped Grollo Equiset gardens. There are leather and fabric booths with red leather chairs, or small black veneer tables with Perspex chairs. 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 so you never feel cramped or listened in on. The dark interior helps to frame the gorgeous outside surroundings.

Parking: Limited as car spots are generally taken - they are metered except for Sundays - 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/visit/places-to-eat/persimmon

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

Would I return: Yes.