• Barley Background
  • Farewell UK
  • Melbourne Magic
  • Restaurant Reviews
  • Guestbook

Casa Ciuccio

21/9/2013

0 Comments

 
Picture
Our anniversary is on 25th September which falls between weekends and this means that we need to celebrate both sides of the occasion!

We'd had a drink at Cantina della Casa next door a couple of weeks ago and decided that we liked the look of Casa Ciuccio hence booked in. We were seated right next to the pass in the kitchen and enjoyed the theatre and the activity.

The kitchen is obviously a professional one but then there's this dresser on the wall full of knick knacks like painted plates and other crockery giving it a homely feel.

We found the welcome warm and friendly and felt really well looked after over the course of the night both by kitchen crew and wait staff. Louise, head chef and on her last day (sad face) ran a fun but effective service and she also spent some time discussing the menu with us too. We enjoyed her interaction with us and her way of team leading.

We start off ordering some of the small bites which are actually kept in a glass counter in the front bar except for the anchovy montadito which is made fresh in the kitchen.

Anchovy montadito - a finger sandwich of toasted bread soaked in olive oil with an anchovy filling. It was a salty, tasty opener and I can imagine great with a sherry or dry white wine. It's not the best anchovy morsel I've had but it was still pretty tasty.

Hervey Bay scallop with chorizo was a delicious plump scallop served cold with a warm chorizo relish that was sweet and with a hint of smoke. Yum!
Chorizo croquettes continued the chorizo rush and these little torpedos of crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside croquettes were a delight along with the pungent garlicky mayo they rested on. I thought they gave the Jalapeno and Cheese Croquettes from Huxtable a good run for their money but didn't quite take the crown. I think it's because the Huxtable ones leave this lingering heat so it's etched in the memory for longer.

We then share a bigger plate which was a special of Albacore tuna cured on a bed of Himalayan salt with apple, hazelnuts, chillies. Oh this was an explosion of all good things. Thick, meaty fish seasoned well with some chilli heat and a tang of apple and then a toastiness of nuts. Oh this was sensational. Bring me more please.
Pickled cauliflower with broccolini and chilli and garlic cut through the salty flavours of the previous dishes and lightened the tones of richness.

We also enjoyed the grilled snapper agro dolce. Beautifully cooked fillets of fish with a hint of char and then sweetened with the agro dolce which is this blend of currants and pine nuts and sweet spices that enhance the sweetness of the fresh fish. Light, bright and heartwarmingly good.
Our meat choice was the peppered Wagyu brisket and we did umm and aah between this and the peri peri baby chicken or the quail with pomegranate. The beef came with a generous serve of roasted chat potatoes.

The brisket was so tender it just flaked yet was still juicy and the peppery crust provided some texture contrast, It came with mustard but Louise also gave us a couple of bottle of housemade hot sauce which I loved with the beef. Steve loved the beef but then braised meat is really his thing. I liked it but I think I would have preferred the chicken or quail more. I did love the roasted chats too.
We took a break, carried on being entertained by the kitchen crew and watched them compile their order lists and job lists for the next people. Steve enjoyed another glass of wine as our shared bottle of 2008 Curly Flat pinot noir was empty. I went with a special digestif cocktail based on an Amaro Montenegro but with a raspberry twist. It was sharp and fruity with a creamy egg white top and was delicious.

Our choice of desserts were the dulce de leche cream pot and peanut praline and the
baked sour cherries, vanilla mascarpone and almonds. I had the dulce de leche which was basically a creamy, caramelly panna cotta topped with crunchy nutty praline and shards of amber like rock sugar. Surprisingly it wasn't cloyingly sweet which was great and whilst I thought I wouldn't get through it all, a break half way meant that it did eventually all disappear! Steve loved the cherry dessert with the cream - lots of sour cherries, almondy soft sponge and then creaminess from the mascarpone.

Casa Ciuccio was a hit for us. We loved being seated at table 29. Service was attentive and passionate and the food delicious and nourishing for the soul. I am looking forward to returning already.
Casa Ciuccio on Urbanspoon
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Fine Print

    For those that know us, this section will probably come with no surprise! Steve and I love eating out so this is our record of our time in Australia.

    This is a blog that is 100% written and edited by Steve and I. All opinions expressed are our own and are not influenced by any third party.

    Any sponsored posts are easily identified as such.

    Thanks for reading barleyblog.

    Follow @mindabarley
    View my food journey on Zomato!

    Archives

    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    December 2010
    November 2010
    October 2010

    Categories

    All
    Albert Park
    American
    Argentinian
    Armadale
    Armenian
    Beaconsfield
    Beechworth
    Birragurra
    Box Hill
    Breakfast
    Bright
    Brighton
    British
    Brunswick
    Buffet
    Burgers And Pub Grub
    Burmese
    Busselton
    Camberwell
    Canberra
    Carlton
    Cbd
    Chinese
    Collingwood
    Daylesford
    Dessert
    Docklands
    Doncaster
    Elsternwick
    Eltham
    Elwood
    Ethiopian
    European
    Filipino
    Fitzroy
    Flemington
    Flinders
    Footscray
    Fremantle
    French
    Fusion
    Geelong
    German
    Glen Waverley
    Greek
    Hawthorn
    Hobart
    Indian
    Indonesian
    Italian
    Japanese
    Kew
    Korean
    Kyneton
    Launceston
    Malaysian
    Margaret River
    Mexican
    Middle Eastern
    Mildura
    Modern Australian
    Mornington Peninsula
    Northcote
    North Melbourne
    Port Fairy
    Port Melbourne
    Prahran
    Richmond
    Ripponlea
    Rutherglen
    Southbank
    South Melbourne
    South Yarra
    Spanish
    Steakhouse
    St Kilda
    Sydney
    Thai
    Thornbury
    Toorak
    Torquay
    Vietnamese
    Werribee
    Williamstown
    Windsor
    Yarra Valley
    Yum Cha

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.