The Boathouse on the Maribyrnong

(Degusted 16^th July, 2011)

We've degusted out in the West a little more than usual lately, and we were impressed with some of the offerings out this way. The food at the Boathouse in Moonee Ponds is one such example. Only a few kilometers out of the CBD, this is another of Gary Mehigan's restaurants –  a sister to Fenix in Richmond. Apart from the pop-cultural link to the owner, The Boathouse has a lot of things going for it – prime placement on the banks of the Maribyrnong river which affords it some pleasant views – and a welcoming, open-plan space inside supplemented by a nice outdoor deck space, which one could imagine would be delightful in summer.

Fish Pie. Served on a thick, chunky wooden board.
This was 'food presentation 101'

The lunch menu has a predominance of pizza options – and these are some serious contenders. The pizzas are the thin-crust, sparse topping type – the authentic kind of pizzas one would expect in Italy.. There are a number of other cafe-style meals to choose from, and you can be pretty sure that with Gary calling the shots, these are not going to be your ordinary “run of the mill” bar snacks.

Service... or lack of.

The service to our table was pretty slack – we were offered water and glasses to start with, but that aquatic refreshment was never topped up, despite draining the reservoir after one round... In addition to this, we had to flag down the waiter every time we wanted anything – there was never any pro-active offers of assistance from them. Disappointing to say the least - and the place was not even full.

Eggplant chips are a must-try.

Food... Excuse me while I stuff my face...

We started off with the famed Eggplant chips- (they looked more like croquettes)- and they were a great balance of crispy fried exterior and that slightly gooey cooked eggplant texture inside. Yum.

When the mains came out, the first impression was that the presentation of the food was terrific. The fish pie looked beautiful and tasted every bit as good as it looked, and most importantly, not too “fishy”. 

The burger and chips – ordered by a friend – was a stand-out for presentation; oozing an old-world rustic charm.  The pizzas looked good – yet they were oozing as well (perhaps a little bit too liberal with the olive oil?). We had the pizza with lamb, mint and and mushy peas – and were more than pleased with it. The pictures speak for themselves, but suffice it to say that the promise of thin, traditional-style pizzas was upheld with aplomb.

How is this for presentation - Burger and chips
- food envy much?

Lamb, Pea and Mint pizza. A little oily perhaps,
but otherwise an unexpected triumph.

Drinks.. stay true to the bean

Hot chocolate looked good, but tasted, ummm.....
a bit like muddy water drawn from the Maribyrnong.

The Soy hot chocolate was – in a word -  a failure. Served in a low-slung “cappucino cup” it looked the part, but really didn't come through with the goods in terms of flavour.

The espresso was, on the other hand, an absolute delight. This shorty was obviously made with good coffee, by a barista who knew what they were doing – the right grind, the right temperature water -  it was all over “just right”. Stick to coffees here we reckon.

An excellent little shorty. Not good, GREAT.

Views of the river from the dining area.

One can imagine that The Boathouse would make a great function venue – especially during summer – when you can take advantage of the outdoor decking to soak up the rays and the views..

There's plenty of parking around the football oval – just bear in mind that the area can be crowded by footy families if there is a game on... then again, why not park your car around the nearby Aberfeldie or Fairbain parks and stroll to The Boathouse along the banks of the river. Very pleasant.

To sum up:

The food was great, as was the coffee. Our hot chocolate was average, and the service was a bit slow (especially considering the dining room was only about 60% full). Location and setting is as good or better than you can expect for a quiet cafe/ restaurant. 

Child-friendly, but no "play area" inside, but a really good playground right outside though - with slides, shade sails etc !

             Out this side of town? you might also like Nosh @ Newport

Rating:  Nom (x1) 
out of the ranking:
Meh                      It’ll Do                   Nom(x3)                              Must go back!

Done and Degusted @ The Boathouse (in Moonee Ponds)

Eggplant chips

Lamb, mushy pea and mint leaf Pizza

Fish pie

Espresso

Soy hot chocolate

The Boathouse
3 The Boulevard,
Moonee Ponds

(03) 9375 2456

PS:

home-made cupcakes,
not actually available at the boathouse...

If we may say so ourselves, the stand-out were the cup cakes... Actually, the Degusters baked themselves and brought along for our friend's birthday, for which the waiter was happy enough to provide a plate for us to serve them on.. 

Cheers, A.M.   :-) 

Fenix restaurant - functioning great

(Degusted 22^nd July, 2011)

When it was discovered that one of The Degusters was heading off to Fenix for a function, it was with some excitement... There are mixed reviews about Fenix on the internet - some seem to love, and others to loathe - the sometimes 'arty' way that food is plated, or has been re-interpreted.
This riverside eatery on Melbourne's outskirts seems to have become more and more popular for people to try – presumably for the pop cultural value – as many will have watched Fenix owner Gary Mehigan as he judges, comments and gives “master classes” on the TV show MasterChef. For The Degusters, this was the second Mehigan restaurant in as many weeks – having degusted at The Boathouse on the Maribyrnong river out in Moonee Ponds the week before. Unlike the Boathouse with lovely views over the Maribyrnong, the promise of views over the Yarra River were unfortunately not met on our visit to Fenix –  but such is often the case with fading light when dining on a cold and dark winter's evening...

Scallops with leek and bacon.

A good dish with delicate flavours

The Harvey Bay half-shell scallops w/ leek and bacon were – as you would expect – perfectly cooked, and most importantly, tasted good. The flavour of the leek and bacon was quite mild, and the bacon was not overly salty – together they were probably just right to accompany the delicate flavours of the scallops.  If we (as kitchen hacks) were going to make the dish ourselves we'd probably have gone for a more of a salty bacon flavour, rather than the mild 'ham' flavour– but then you'd probably risk losing the flavour of the scallops, which ultimately is what this dish is all about.

The main was a Lamb done two ways (shank and rack), with moroccan spices (or 'ras el hanout' according to the menu), baby carrots and artichoke puree. The lamb was simply delicious, the jus gras was perfect, linking all plated elements together with the meat. The artichoke puree seemed to be a little too sweet, but that -like our bacon preferences - was personal taste and the sweetness in no way detracted from the enjoyment of the dish overall.

Lamb two ways, with artichoke puree

Raspberry soufflé with rosewater coulis

Last up was the Raspberry soufflé with rosewater coulis – the soufflé itself was so very light and fluffy – with a strong tartiness of raspberry that really packed a punch. The coulis helped to balance it out though, and overall this dessert left us with a smile on our face.

Though it was cold and dark outside, the quality of the food shone through. Overall, to put out dishes of this quality for a catered event is impressive, and on this basis we would have to give it a “highly recommended” for anyone considering this place for a function or a wedding. We will still need to get back and test out the a la carte dining to see what the sit-down service is like for the punters off the street - or perhaps we'll even manage to do a Sunday lunchtime degustation to take advantage of the view... We just need a good excuse to get out there and no other concurrent better offers to get in the way. Stay tuned!

Rating:  Nom(x3)

 Out of the ranking:
Meh                      It’ll Do                   Nom(x3)                              Must go back!

Done and Degusted @ Fenix

Harvey Bay half-shell scallops w/ leek and bacon

Lamb two ways, ras el hanout, baby carrots and artichoke puree

Raspberry souffle with rosewater coulis.