Attica
Many many MANY months ago, I had the pleasure of dining with @g_melbs @bookshopaddict @injerarufus and @annetreasure at Attica. (I have just checked the dates on my photos and it was September 2010 that we visited. FOR SHAME LAZY BLOGGER. FOR SHAME!) We dined on a Tuesday night which meant that we were able to sample the Chef’s Table: a five course experimental degustation for $95. Matched wines were also available for an extra $55 but being a school night, we were good little children and ordered two bottles for the table.
As I have left this post to grow mouldy in my drafts folder for almost a year, I’m afraid that my descriptions of the dishes will not do them justice. But, the pictures are very pretty.
First course of the night was a colourful mixture of local grains, parsley & blue cheese:
This dish was a textural delight, with little pockets of dusty blue cheese goodness.
The second dish was a pretty arrangement of marron, prosciutto & onion weed:
Soft, delicate and lovely. My favourite dish of the night. Although considering marron is hands down my most beloved seafood, not surprising really..
The third dish of the night was john dory with indian spices:
Sadly I am allergic to fish and wasn’t able to eat this dish. One of the downsides to the Chef’s Table degustation is that they don’t allow for changes to the menu for dietary requirements. However, I knew this before we dined and had already told Mr that he could have any fish that was served. Which he was pretty chuffed about.
Luckily the next dish wasn’t a problem at all: beef bavette, beetroot and dune spinach:
To be honest I can’t remember much about this dish. But it looks good right? Here is a close up of the pretty beetroot to make up for my memory lapse:
The final dish of the night was entitled ‘strawberries and custard’. Imagine our surprise when this arrived:
Just like the first dish of the evening, the unexpected contrast in textures within the dish was incredible. In fact, when I look back at these pictures it is the textures of the food that I remember more than the flavours.
As we were expecting, it was a lovely evening of surprising and unique food. You will have noticed that the portions aren’t exactly generous, but there was so much depth and detail on each plate that I found that the serving sizes were ample. Although I think that Mr was still a bit hungry.
Would I go back? Um… YES. But next time I think I would like to try the eight course degustation (which allows for dietary requirements) with the matched wines. I mean if you’re going to splurge, you need to go all out right?!
So if you are looking for generous serves and simple cooking, well…. don’t go to Attica. But if you want to experience unique and modern fine dining, definitely pay a visit.
Food gobbler. Wine lover. Kitteh keeper. Gen-Y. Fiancée. Twitter addict.
Fighting the war against Leggings As Pants one fashion victim at a time... 
I’ve been wanting to go for a while but keep forgetting about it! I guess that’s a good thing with Melbourne having so many great choices huh?! The beef does look melt in your mouth good.
I keep forgetting that I want to go back and try the full degustation! Spoilt for choice.