Picknics Cafe - Rye - review

Name: Picknics Cafe

Address: 2285 Point Nepean Hwy
Rye, VIC 3941
03 5985 6025

Food: Cafe,

Average price: Under $15

Complimentary:  Nothing.

We ordered: Homemade blend of dried fruits and nuts, oats and puffed corn which was oven toasted with maple and vanilla. Served with milk, natural yoghurt and cinnamon rhubarb

This was a really lovely cereal blend and the compote was also well spiced and delicious. I also appreciated the large serving size.

Porridge with rhubarb and sweet dukkah. 

This was OK, but once the topping ran out it was a little bland.

Burger

Mr.M said this was OK but rather hard to fit in one mouthful.


Eggs with bacon

Mr.M said  the eggs were cooked well but wouldn't order it again.


Orange juice

Mocha

Service: OK. The waiters were friendly but the food took a long time to come out on both days.

Atmosphere: Beachy casual. Lots of fishing nets, oars, harpoons and empty bottles line the walls. The atmosphere is your standard bustling cafe, this place fills up quick. It is dog friendly so if you sit outside you will be sitting amongst the pooches, which normally I would love, however on our visit we sat beside a very gassy Jack Russell...

Website: None.

Hours: Daily 6am-4pm

Would I return: Yes - as there isn't much else around.

Scorched - Torquay - review

Name: Scorched
Address: 17 The Esplanade
Torquay, VIC 3228 
03 5261 6142

Food: Middle Eastern, International

Average price: $4-$34

Complimentary:  Zeally Bay Sourdough sticks,    dukkah    spice    &    “Camilo”    extra    virgin    olive    oil   

We ordered:
Salt cod fritter and aioli - $4 each

Mr.M: These were not the best salt cold fritters I have had. They were OK.

Fried school prawns, chilli salt and lemon - $12

Mr.M: These were delicious and quite a generous serve.


Baked haloumi, spiced baby figs, walnuts and mint - $12

This had all the components to guarantee a delicious dish and as I expected the combination of salty, sweet and crunchy was a winner for me.

Roasted cauliflower, currants, almonds and tahini - $16

We were told this was one of their most popular dishes. Unfortunately this suffered from excessive salting. Before the salt burned my tastebuds to oblivion I could detect a possibly lovely flavour profile, but I cannot be sure. Even after copious amounts of water whenever I went back for another mouthful I was hit with another wave of salt. Shame.

Fresh fig, cracked wheat, pomegranate and Persian feta - $16

This should have been grand with the classic flavour pairing but despite the heavy flavour hitters I felt it was slightly dull, nothing really 'popped'. Maybe some seasoning or some more acid was needed?


Fattoush salad with crisp pita, tomato, cucumber and  mint - $16

Another dish lost to the overzealous salting. This was even saltier than the seawater in front of us. Couldn't eat it.


Lamb kofta, hummus, tabbouleh - $18

Mr.M: Kind of boring and oversalted.

Dessert platter: (from memory) Persian fairy floss, rosewater turkish delight, strawberry ice cream, berry trifle, baklava

I cannot remember exactly what everything was but I can remember the impression they made.

We will start with the bad - the baklava. Very dry and personally hsould have been left off the platter.

I'm not a fan of fairy floss (no substance) but Mr.M ate it all.

Neither of us had the turkish delight (I love it, but as a vegetarian I no longer eat gelatin).

The ice cream was AMAZING - and I say amazing because I really am not a fan of ice cream (the cold temperature makes it less appetising for me). This was creamy and full of flavour with a lovely softness. Mr.M enjoyed it as well.

Saved the best for last, the berry trifle. I can't quite remember the flavour combination but it was a great dish and Mr.M and I devoured it in seconds.

Service: Good. The food came out quickly and the waitress was very nice.

Atmosphere: Beach casual. The decor is accented with bright orange and the outdoor seating is a typical wooden picnic table and bench, communal style. The noise level can get quite loud at night. There is a lovely view to the beach during the day.

Website: http://www.scorched.com.au/index.php

Hours: Wed-Sun 11.30am-5pm
Wed-Sat 5.30pm-late

Would I return: Yes, I think it was just an off 'seasoning' night and the food has potential to be great.

Loquat - Sorrento - review

Name: Loquat

Address: 3183 Point Nepean Road Sorrento, VIC 3943
03 5984 4444

Food: ModOz, Mediterranean

Average price: Entree: $8-$15, Mains: $19-$32, Dessert: $8-$14

Complimentary:  bread with olives and butter.

We ordered:
Entree: Red Hill 'goat cheese souffle, pear salad, beetroot and ginger puree 

This was really lovely. The flavours complimented each other and it was well executed.

Dill & vanilla cured king salmon with tangelo, nasturtium, red onion & crisp capers 

Main: Pork trio balsamic glazed pork belly, sous vide fillet, pork & sage sausage, red cabbage & cider braised apple 

Pasta with vegetables

I was quite surprised at how tasty this was, and then delighted at the generous serving size.


Dessert: callebaut chocolate fondant, honeycomb, orange ganache, blueberries w vanilla icecream

Pretty good fondant with a nice oozy center.

Yellow peach creme brulee, with yellow peach ice cream and honey snap wafer

This was the let down for me. The crust didn't have that wonderful crack and the brulee was rather tasteless, like a very plain flavourless custard.

Service: OK. 
Whilst the waiters were very friendly we resorted to getting up to refill our water and the food towards the end became slow to come out.

Atmosphere: Cosy with dark tones nestled amongst loquat trees. Fairly casual vibe.

Website: http://loquat.homestead.com/index.html

Hours: Winter Thu-Sun 6pm-10pm
summer Mon-Sun 6pm-10pm

Would I return: Yes.

Cafe Moby - Torquay - review

Name: Cafe Moby

Address: 41 The Esplanade
Torquay
03 5261 2339

Food: Cafe

Average price: $15

Complimentary:  Water.

We ordered: Triple chocolate muffin/cake

Out of all the impressive looking muffin/cakes I chose this based on the description - triple chocolate. Unfortunately it was only in reference to the extra chocolate drizzled on top as the base was just a standard chocolate cake. It was lovely, but not as rich and decadent as I was hoping.

Vegetarian wrap

 
Lovely mix of veggie antipasti in a fresh wrap. Simple but as expected. I liked that the side salad was also fresh and not the usual wilted afterthought.

BLT with chicken on Turkish bread

Mr.M thought this was nice and a rather generous serve.

Service: Good. Because you have to order and pay at the counter and get your own water I can't say the service is great, but when our food was brought out to us the waiter was really lovely and made us feel extremely welcome. It has a great 'family' vibe.

Atmosphere: Casual and fun for the kids. When I was looking for a place to grab lunch, kid-friendly was a must as I was toting my completely unpredictable 5month old with me. When I heard this place had a playground out back for the young ones I was sold. But don't be put off by the children factor as despite there being a bunch of kids the noise wasn't more than that of a regular cafe.
As others have recommended, leave one person at the table whilst the other lines up to order, or you may find yourself with nowhere to eat your meal.
The location is right opposite the beach so you also have a lovely view when you eat.

Website: None.

Hours: 7am-3pm Monday to Sunday.

Would I return: Yes, now I have a kid I am more prone to eat the the kid-friendly places.

Studley Park Boathouse - Kew - review

Name: Studley Park Boathouse

Address: 1 Boathouse Rd 
Kew, VIC 3101
03 9853 1828

Food: ModOz, European

Average price: Entree: $11-$19, Mains: $26-$35, Dessert: $14-$18.50

Complimentary:  Nothing.

We ordered: 
Main: Boathouse burger with bacon, cheese, BBQ sauce, fries and salad - $24

Mr.M: Not as good as the previous visit.


Housemade gnocchi with eggplant, wild rocket, and feta cheese - $23

Whilst it was OK, it wasn't as great as their previous flavour combination. The gnocchi was still quite well cooked though, but the dish was a little oily.

Salt and Pepper Calamari, with iceberg lettuce, cashews, lime and palm sugar dressing - $24

A thought this was nice.
Service: Not great. The food was slow in coming out, and after waiting 20mins for a slice of cake we cancelled the order. The waiters were also never around and our water was rarely refilled.

Atmosphere: Surrounded by nature. The river, trees and wildlife makes for a truly relaxing atmosphere, on a sunny day up on the balcony it is truly wonderful. Although if a swan squabble arises there will be some noise :). The restaurant itself is done in a neutral minimal decor.

Parking: Ample on site parking. Also nearby street parking.

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

Hours: Wed-Fri & Sun noon-3pm, Wed-Sat 6.30pm-10pm (cafe hours: Sat-Sun 9am-11am, daily noon-4pm)

Would I return: Yes, it's still a lovely local spot.