Ides

Ides opened up officially earlier in the year in the old Lee Ho Fook space after various pop ups. There was a bit of hype surrounding Peter Gunn and his ex Attica pedigree and fuel was added to the fire when Dan Stock wrote a scathing review in The Age, when Ides was three weeks old.

Steve and I had followed the tale of Ides from its beginnings and finally got round to writing our own tale of experience following our own visit.

We were a little early for our table but it was available and we soon settled into the calming slate grey tones of restaurant minimalism. It feels neutral and discreet but with a definite male influence - no soft tones or bright splashes of colour, it's all very muted and understated.

There's also a sense of serious industriousness as some of the dishes are plated up at the bar by Peter and one of his sous chefs. No kitchen histrionics though - it's all very zen and precise.

Some of the earlier concepts of not receiving a menu until after the event and receiving emails with video attachments pre and post meal seem to have fallen by the wayside. I agree with taking the direction away from that sort of novelty gesture and letting it be about the food.

So we are shown drinks menus and a food menu and my aversion to blue cheese which I provided with the booking is raised and acknowledged by the FOH Manager who is clearly a professional and an old hand at this hospitality game.

Sesame Roll with Peanut Butter comes first and that salty butter flavoured with peanut butter is deliciously moreish and goes so well with the warm seeded roll. We are offered bread throughout the meal which can be a sign that quantities of food will be small as was the case with our recent Automata experience in Sydney but not here. It is genuine generosity and I'm glad we declined because it meant we had more room for what was to come.

• Sweet Potato Soup with Spring Onion and Celery

Expecting a traditional, thick orange soup perhaps served in a small espresso cup as an amuse bouche, we were totally played! And looking at our dining neighbours' reactions we weren't the only ones. A clear, amber broth is poured into our bowls by Peter and his sous chef and we're advised to give it a stir to mix the celery and spring onion before eating. It's a delicious broth - very savoury and reminiscent of an Asian broth. It's pretty salty and probably just at the edge of being over seasoned but undeniably tasty.

• Crumbed Avocado - Prawn Tails with Avocado, Finger Lime and Fried Bread Covered in Brazil Nuts and Dried Currants with a Red Capsicum Syrup

This next course looks like a dessert or perhaps even a muesli bar and there's a fun throwback to the 70s feel about it with it being a cold prawn cocktail like dish. The capsicum syrup is almost sweet chilli sauce like and the avocado and prawn is a classic and delicious combo with the nut crumb adding some much needed texture. And Steve and I agree that it's a generous serve and they could get away with a 3/4 size but I like the generosity and welcome it.
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• Rainbow Trout and Zucchini Rings - Roasted Rainbow Trout Stuffed with Chorizo and Seasoned with Rosemary, Raw Zucchini and a Blood Orange Sauce

The rainbow trout is perfectly cooked so it's still rare in the middle giving way silky flakes of fish that are seasoned with a subtle chorizo that doesn't overpower but does make its presence know. There's some spicing that's tongue tingling - sancho pepper we are told and the blood orange sauce gives it an intense citrus zing to cut through the richness of the fish. I enjoy this dish; Steve's not a huge trout fan and feels it all tastes quite "muddy" but I think that's more to do with his tastebuds reacting to pink fish rather than this dish itself.

• Lamb Wrapped in Parsley - Lamb Neck Cooked in Wax Flower Oil, Glazed with Mint and Wrapped in Roasted Parsley with Pumpkin, Peas and Mustard Seeds

The lamb is sweet in flavour partly due to it being a naturally sweet meat but also the cooking of it with the wax flower oil which enhances that flavour note. The meat is tender and the fat is rendered out of it so there's no unpleasant jelly bits or gristle.

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• Rouge River Smokey Blue - Blue Cheese Cold Smoked over Hazelnut Shells with Pear Custard, Candied Hazelnuts and Maple Syrup Jelly

Steve goes for the cheese dish and announces it his favourite. Pear and blue cheese is classic but this is a clever and creative way of harnessing those flavours with custard and some sweet maple syrup.

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• Blueberries Macerated in Rose with Cinnamon, Honey and Coconut

The first dessert is one we have watched Peter plate up during our time at our table and there's some dramatic blow torching and setting fire to cinammon sticks before a pretty wreath of berries and what looks like granola is presented to us. The wreath and the waft of cinammon is so Christmassy and who doesn't enjoy a reminder of that most wonderful time of the year? Flavour wise it's like granola and berries and it's light and refreshing so it also cleanses the palatte.

• Brown Sugar or Banana Ice Cream with Fried Basil and Matcha Sherbet

Final course is a scoop of each of the two ice cream flavours. Apparently the kitchen team liked both and couldn't choose so didn't and we get the two! Steve has the brown sugar ice cream and I have the banana both liberally sprinkled with fried basil leaves. It's very playful as the brown sugar ice cream has some sneaky pieces of banana in it confusing us and the banana ice cream has some sharp kiwi in it when we expected it to have banana! 

In spite of the grown up decor of the restaurant there are hidden jokes / plays on the mind that are evident and that is an unexpected delight. I love the flashback to the 70s and Christmas and the soup that is a broth and the ice cream switch. It's classic cooking, classic flavours but creativity abounds.

We ask about how often the menu changes and apparently dishes do rotate off every two weeks or so and records are kept of diners so repeat visits are not repeated adventures. There's a lot of care and consideration taken at Ides and I respect that. 

We can't help but compare Ides to a recent dining experience at Automata in Sydney which has two hats to Ides one. It's a similar concept in that it's a fixed 5 - 6 course menu and Ides is more expensive by about $25 but it's so much more satisfying both emotionally and in generosity.