The Pier - Port Melbourne

Name: The Pier

Address:
1 Bay St
Port Melbourne 3207 VIC
Phone: (03) 9646 3990

Food: ModOz,
Average price: $15-$35

Complimentary:  Nothing.

We ordered:

Pumpkin Gnocci - $24.90
with cream, cheese, oregano, roasted pumpkin, mushrooms, spinach, red onion & pine nuts

First off, the gnocci was well cooked and a wonderful texture. What I couldn't understand is how with all of these ingredients it wasn't extremely tasty. Overall it was a nice dish, but needed something to push it further.

Bruschetta - $13.90
wood fired ciabatta w extra virgin olive oil, garlic, roma tomatoes, red onion & marinated fetta

Ryan enjoyed this - good balance, perhaps some more fetta wouldn't have gone astray.


Bowl of fries - $8.90

HUGE serving with tomato sauce and watery aioli. For some reason they just weren't satisfying, too thin and crispy I think.


Brownie - $12.90

I freaking LOVED this. Ok, it wasn't so much a brownie as a soft but fudgy cake with a lovely chocolate ganache. Surprisingly, the ice cream was my favourite element - perfectly flecked with vanilla bean, perfect sweetness and the most perfect soft and creamy texture I have tasted in an ice cream - divine. Everything melded beautifully, although I would have loved some more strawberries to help cut through the heaviness, and I would have liked them topped as I don't eat the green hats.



Watermelon juice - $7

This was heavy on the watermelon with the other fruits (pineapple and something) barely noticeable.

Cost: $67.60 for 1 main, 2 entrees, 1 dessert and 1 juice.

Service: Great. Our food came out in no time at all.

Atmosphere: A room to suit each taste. The Pier has multiple public as well as function rooms each in a different style of decor. We were in the main room which has large windows with views of the beach and plenty of booth seating. The venue is filled with natural light and has a relaxed and inviting feel to it.

Parking: Ample - there's a decent amount of paid and free street parking.

Website: http://www.thepier.net.au/

Hours: Daily 10.30am-midnight

Would I return: Yes - great for brekky or a leisurely lunch.

Dalmatino - Port Melbourne

Name: Dalmatino

Address: 280 Bay St
Port Melbourne 3207 VIC
Phone: (03) 9645 6584

Food: Croatian, European, Mediterranean
Average price: Entree: $17, Mains: $32, Dessert: $14

Complimentary: Fresh bread with oil


The bread was crusty and super soft on the inside.


We ordered lunch:

Entree: Ciabatta with Tuna, Spanish onion, Olive Paste, Tomato - $10.50


The bread was gorgeously crusty with a warm, fluffy centre. The balance of tuna, onion, olive and tomato was perfect. Light but full of flavour.

Chicken vegetable soup on polenta - $14.50


Anthie loved this. The chicken was super soft.

Mains: Home made Potato Dumplings (gnocchi) with Traditional Beef Ragu - $22


My dad has ordered this many times before. The gnocci is absolutely perfect - soft and chewy and melt in your mouth. The beef was very tender and the ragu was flavoursome and had depth.

Home made Potato Dumplings (gnocchi) with Asparagus, Truffle Oil and Cream - $22.00


Absolutely divine. Once again the gnocci was made to perfection. The cream sauce was rich without being overly heavy. The truffle oil is the first taste you get followed by a hint of crunchy asparagus and then the cream sauce. The only thing I would change would be to add a little more of the crunchy asparagus.

Grilled Baby Chicken with Sautéed Spinach, Pine nuts, Sultanas and Grape Sauce - $21.00


Ryan cooed over this. The chicken was beautifully soft whilst the sultanas and sauce gave sweetness in contrast to the nutty pine nuts and perfectly sauteed spinach. The flavours went well together.

Dessert: Knedle – crumbed dumplings with plum and sour cream - $12.00.


The plum sauce was a great texture and added a lovely tartness to compliment the sweetness of the dumplings. Unfortunately the dumplings were undercooked and were doughy to the point that it stretched like a dough and clogged up your mouth suffocating the delicate sour cream and punchy plum. Had they been cooked more it would have been a lovely light dessert.

Cost: $124 - 2 entrees, 4 mains, 1 desserts.

Service: Good. We had our orders taken quickly and our entree came out quickly. There was a little bit of a wait for the main but other than that service was friendly and we only had to ask once to have our water and oil (for bread) refilled.

Atmosphere: Casual. The overall feel is rather industrial with exposed bricks, ducts and lighting cables, however one wall sports white plaster with wooden panelling which gives off a very traditional eastern European feel. The lighting is quite dark and tables are separated by lines of san pellegrino. There is a fireplace and some wine stockpiles as well.


Parking: Ample - the main street has 1 hour parking restrictions but I think Little Bay st has plenty of parking.

Website: http://www.dalmatino.com.au/

Hours: Mon-Fri 10am-11pm, Sat 8.30am-11pm, Sun 8.30am-4pm

Would I return: Yes. Good value for good food.