Apparently these days the hottest restaurants in Melbourne don’t take bookings. Which is great for the disorganised and spontaneous among us. A last minute decision to go to Izakaya Den, or Mama Sita, and if you’re patient and prepared to wait, you will get a table. And I understand the logic of this. Having worked in an extremely popular gastro pub in London, we often turned away a lot of people, only to have a couple of bookings not turn up. And empty tables don’t make money.
I suppose it just takes some getting used to. In the old days, you booked a table, had drinks around the corner and turned up just in time for your sitting. Now, things are a little different. You turn up, and have the drinks while you’re waiting for your table. But once you let yourself embrace the new system, and accept things, it can be a lot of fun – if you’re looked after.
Last Friday, Liam and I went to Bar Lourinha, in Little Collins St. After some pre-dinner drinks at the delightful Red Hummingbird in Russell St, I was starting to feel light headed with hunger. Perhaps the cocktails, and gin and sodas didn’t help either! But I knew I had to get food into me – fast. A quick dash (through the rain – again!) and we were at the door of Bar Lourinha – and the place was packed. I was suddenly very concerned I wouldn’t get food into me before I expired with hunger!
But we were met at the door by a lovely, and accommodating maitre d’ who assured us the wait wouldn’t be longer than half and hour, and promised to get us some drinks and nibbles – stat! We were ushered to the back of the packed restaurant, where we were placed in a queue in what is essentially the hallway to the toilets. And while, I think this whole “waiting for your table” thing would be a lot more acceptable and comfortable if patrons were provided with a bar or lounge area, the attentiveness of the staff more than made up for our cramped waiting space.
Within minutes we had a beer in hand (recommended by our waitress) and a bowl of almonds to keep me from keeling over. When she saw that I could not nibble on almonds and hold a beer at the same time, she swiftly found a bar stool which we could use as a little hallway table.
And sure enough, within half an hour we were sat at the bar, and ready to order. Now in some circumstances a bar seat would be unacceptable, but Bar Lourinha is in fact a bar, rather than a restaurant. All the seats are either at the bar, or surrounding small bar benches, with a scattering of lounges at the front window.
Once seated we were greeted and served by two very friendly, but super cool and knowledgeable bar tenders, one of whom reeled off an amazingly extensive list of specials almost perfectly, from memory. We ordered a delicious, and reasonably priced bottle of French red (2007 Chateau de Caraguilhes) from a list which featured mostly international wines – a nice change in a market flooded with Australian fare.
For food, we ordered the sardine special, a cabbage and lubna salad, and the slow cooked wagyu shoulder with shaved hourseradish. The sardines came out first. They were were big, whole and absolutely yummy. The salad followed soon after, with a big chunk of complimentary bread. I must admit to being skeptical about a cabbage salad, but with the lubna cheese, a hint of parsley, and what can only be described as a touch of magic, it was damn straight delicious. We found ourselves trying to hold ourselves back from eating the lot before the beef arrived.
But when it did, we were not disappointed. It was soft, unctious, and rich, with the peppery horseradish sprinkled on top to give it an edge. Somehow, even though they weren’t deliberately matched, the salad and the beef went perfectly together. We ate the lot, and soaked up the scraps with the bread. To be honest, I have been to Barcelona, and Madrid, and it was possibly the best Spanish style food I have ever tasted.
The whole evening was so delightful, in spite of the queue and the crowd, I could have sat there and had another bottle of wine quite happily. Hats off to the staff for amazing service on a crammed Friday night.
yes it was yum. you’re a bitch for reminding me as I’m about to eat what looks like something they served on grade three camp. Hmm, all i need is a glass of tang.
And maybe a yogo!