Celebrating the day after the birthday with a lunch and we chose to venture out to Fitzroy on this sunny Sunday and try out Anada.
After our positive experience at The Aylesbury we thought we'd follow it right up with Anada.
We liked the decor and the light and airy space. We had a little table near the bar and sat atop the high stools. We were almost the first to arrive for lunch service but the place filled up pretty quickly.
The tasting menu was explained to us - 10 tapas and / or raciones and a dessert plate. The only thing on the menu I didn't want was the heirloom carrots with ajo blanco as I don't like carrots and when the waitress talked us through the dishes, there was no mention of the carrots so we decided to go with it.
Drinks wise, Steve tried a few different Spanish beers and we also enjoyed a couple of glasses of a Spanish Albarino which was pretty tasty.
After our positive experience at The Aylesbury we thought we'd follow it right up with Anada.
We liked the decor and the light and airy space. We had a little table near the bar and sat atop the high stools. We were almost the first to arrive for lunch service but the place filled up pretty quickly.
The tasting menu was explained to us - 10 tapas and / or raciones and a dessert plate. The only thing on the menu I didn't want was the heirloom carrots with ajo blanco as I don't like carrots and when the waitress talked us through the dishes, there was no mention of the carrots so we decided to go with it.
Drinks wise, Steve tried a few different Spanish beers and we also enjoyed a couple of glasses of a Spanish Albarino which was pretty tasty.
First to arrive were the oysters and Serrano Reserva Jamon 14 months La Barrica from Toledo, Spain. The oysters were creamy and plump and were pleasant enough. Having been privileged enough to sample Lease 65 shucked straight from the bay so nothing really lives up to those standards!
Having said that the Serrana jamon was just simply amazing. Served at room temperature so the fat is just beginning to soften round the ages, the shards of meat are deliciously salty and a long and lingering finish. Totally yum.
We then have to wait a while for our next sampling of food. In fact the whole meal is drawn out and our lunch didn't finish until 3:30pm when we started at 1pm. I know good food takes time to cook but this did make the whole thing a touch tedious and those high stools aren't the comfiest for 2 and a half hours. I think if we'd known how long this lunch would take we'd have opted for somewhere else just because we were in the mood for something a little faster. Don't get me wrong; long lunches have their place but this sunny Sunday we wanted to be back outside.
Whilst I'm griping away I should also mention the restaurant got very hot as lunch progressed so that coupled with uncomfy chairs didn't make it the most comfortable of environments for such a long lunch...maybe it would have been better if we were at a table rather than bar table.
Anyway let's get back to the food. Next came the green gazpacho with olive oil and black salt and it came out at the same time as suffed calamari with sumac. Both Steve and I found the green gazpacho too sharp and yoghurty and didn't really enjoy it too much. The stuffed calamari fared slightly better and was tender enough but wasn't quite stellar.
Having said that the Serrana jamon was just simply amazing. Served at room temperature so the fat is just beginning to soften round the ages, the shards of meat are deliciously salty and a long and lingering finish. Totally yum.
We then have to wait a while for our next sampling of food. In fact the whole meal is drawn out and our lunch didn't finish until 3:30pm when we started at 1pm. I know good food takes time to cook but this did make the whole thing a touch tedious and those high stools aren't the comfiest for 2 and a half hours. I think if we'd known how long this lunch would take we'd have opted for somewhere else just because we were in the mood for something a little faster. Don't get me wrong; long lunches have their place but this sunny Sunday we wanted to be back outside.
Whilst I'm griping away I should also mention the restaurant got very hot as lunch progressed so that coupled with uncomfy chairs didn't make it the most comfortable of environments for such a long lunch...maybe it would have been better if we were at a table rather than bar table.
Anyway let's get back to the food. Next came the green gazpacho with olive oil and black salt and it came out at the same time as suffed calamari with sumac. Both Steve and I found the green gazpacho too sharp and yoghurty and didn't really enjoy it too much. The stuffed calamari fared slightly better and was tender enough but wasn't quite stellar.
Another long wait ensued before two little rabbit empanadillas arrived. Reminiscent of a pasty or a curry puff these were delicious. Crunch on the outside with a tender paprika sweetened rabbit filling with a slight chilli heat running through. Faith restored following the not so great gazpacho and not that exciting calamari.
Charcoal grilled Shark Bay (WA) king prawns with salmorejo & crispy pancetta arrived shortly and we enjoyed the sweet prawns with a tomatoey and creamy sauce and chunks of softly boiled egg. Unusual combination we thought but the egg seemed to ground the dish.
One of the dishes I really wanted to try this visit was the charcoal grilled quail with freekeh and pomegranate. Absoluely divine flavours intermingled with the ocasional sharp hit from the pomegranate.
Charcoal grilled Shark Bay (WA) king prawns with salmorejo & crispy pancetta arrived shortly and we enjoyed the sweet prawns with a tomatoey and creamy sauce and chunks of softly boiled egg. Unusual combination we thought but the egg seemed to ground the dish.
One of the dishes I really wanted to try this visit was the charcoal grilled quail with freekeh and pomegranate. Absoluely divine flavours intermingled with the ocasional sharp hit from the pomegranate.
The Otway Rangers (Vic) pork belly with fennel seed & smoky aubergine was a great piece of meat. The fat had rendered right down to add juiciness to the meat with no great big globules of fat. The crackling skin deserves a welcome having the best snap to crackling we've ever had. The smoky aubergine had a sharp tone to it which wasn't our favourite but the pork made up for this.
The slow roasted beef cheeks in Oloroso with fava bean puree was a lighter dish than it looked and the beef cheeks were tender and so soft.
Sadly the carrots we'd wanted to avoid arrived in spite of the fact that the waitress did not mention this dish when giving us a run down of the menu. However the place was now so busy and the food had taken that long that we didn't flag this to anyone and Steve had this dish to himself.
The slow roasted beef cheeks in Oloroso with fava bean puree was a lighter dish than it looked and the beef cheeks were tender and so soft.
Sadly the carrots we'd wanted to avoid arrived in spite of the fact that the waitress did not mention this dish when giving us a run down of the menu. However the place was now so busy and the food had taken that long that we didn't flag this to anyone and Steve had this dish to himself.
For dessert we had a sharing plate consisting churros with chocolate, pomegranate & orange blossom sorbet with sugared pistachios, Pedro Ximenez & muscatel ice cream, lemon & yoghurt cake with pistachio crumb.
The churros came out hot and fluffy and the chocolate dip had hints os cinammon. I als enjoyed the orange blossom sobet which was light and refreshing. The lemon yoghurt cake was zingy and fresh. The Pedro Ximenez & muscatel ice cream was a little too rum and raisin for my tastes but interestingly enough, Steve and I cleaned this plate up pretty quickly.
Quality of the food here is certainly high bit watch out for the lenth of time it can take to fill the belly.
The churros came out hot and fluffy and the chocolate dip had hints os cinammon. I als enjoyed the orange blossom sobet which was light and refreshing. The lemon yoghurt cake was zingy and fresh. The Pedro Ximenez & muscatel ice cream was a little too rum and raisin for my tastes but interestingly enough, Steve and I cleaned this plate up pretty quickly.
Quality of the food here is certainly high bit watch out for the lenth of time it can take to fill the belly.
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