Lord Cardigan

This week's Friday feed took place in Albert Park and Steve selected Lord Cardigan. I thought it was going to be a pub but was pleasantly surprised when it appeared as a cute and cosy little neighbourhood bistro that was intimate and buzzy.

We had a table towards the back of the dining room and had a good view of everyone else. Everyone seemed to be having a good time which lifted the atmosphere.

Our choice of starter were the:

• Blue swimmer crab with asparagus, corn and caper, poached quail egg and dill pollen
• Mushroom ravioli served on sauteed mushrooms with truffle butter
  

I had the crab and I liked the sweetness of the crab and corn, the touch of zestiness from some citrus, the iron flavour of the asparagus and then some herbaceous notes from the dill and other greenery. Light and appetite inducing it was a good starter.

Steve's pasta was also a solid performer, Thin pasta and a rich filling with a buttery sauce. Delicious.

And then we had waited and it was a good hour before our main courses arrived. I think that's a bit too long really especially on a Friday night when a hard day of toil has taken place.

• Hickory-smoked duck breast served with house gnocchi, chorizo and fresh peas
• Prime aged Gippsland Black Angus beef sirloin served with a gruyere cheese and onion tart, red wine jus
• House chips with rosemary salt
• Roasted beetroot, orange, walnut, cherry tomato, witlof and Yarra Valley fetta salad

This was a our feast for our main course. Dishes were attractively presented and appetisingly so. The steak was soft especially for a sirloin and the meat tasty. The gruyere and onion tart was extremely delicious and I loved the jus absorbing pastry. The house chips were lovely and golden with a crispy outer and the salad was just so fresh and delicious with the creamy decadence of feta.eg

I have to begrudgingly admit that the wait was worth it. It was good food. And that meant I willingly waited for dessert...

We shared the terrine of ices – mascarpone, passionfruit and berry, topped with Italian meringue, finished with a strawberry and orange salad.

Pretty colours - creamy marscapone on the bottom, sweet foamy meringue on the top and then jaw zappingly, sharp but in a good way raspberry and passionfruit notes screaming of their fruitiness.

Lord Cardigan is a lovely neighbourhood restaurant that is producing great food. My only quibble was the delay in our main course and not much of an acknowledgement of this lengthy wait but the good cooking outweighed the inconvenience of waiting.

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