EAT > IDES, Melbourne

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It is not that long ago when Smith Street in Collingwood was considered more a place to see a grunge band than a place for fine dining and slick cocktail bars but Collingwood has gentrified a lot in the last 10 years and now there are lots of outstanding places to eat and drink. It was not our first visit to IDES but it was the first since they expanded with the bar area next door and in 2023, IDES was recognised by the Age Good Food Guide with a very prestigious two hats. So it seemed that this was the perfect place to celebrate our wedding anniversary and to also see what had changed since our last visit.

Arriving at IDES you now enter into a smart bar which is also available for bar meals if you are looking for something a little smaller, we had a welcome drink and because we were a little early also got started with a glass of champagne.

Our host led us to the restaurant, out past the impressive looking wine cellar and private dining room and round to the main restaurant room where you catch a glimpse of the kitchen before taking a comfortable seat at a beautiful leather coated table.

We went with five courses (they also offer seven) and started with a delicious nori and carrot tart. The nori was shaped and baked into a faux tart shell, the carrots picked, the combination was a perfect flavour sensation, both refreshing the palate and engaging the tastebuds. The next dish was creamed corn in a flat dish served with smoked caviar and with it a parmesan doughnut. I know you are saying a cheese doughnut how did that taste, the answer was it was absolutely mind blowing and such an excellent contrast. The caviar and corn combination was inspired, I don’t know quite how this stuff works so well but wow.

Next was steamed rockling, served with a chive and shiso seed sauce and with it a zucchini flower stuffed with scallops and edamame and covered in black nigella seeds. The zucchini flower was crisp on the shell and soft on the inside, and the flavour was elegant the fish was sweet with a little bit a spicy punch.

We ordered a pinot noir (more on the wine in a moment) it was a premier cru from Givry by Domaine Joblot. Not a wine we were familiar with, we asked the sommelier for his recommendation and this bottle was proposed and was an excellent choice. Good structure, fruit forward but enough complexity to hold up to the various dishes and provide lovely contrast.

We elected to add an extra shared dish 9+ wagu boneless short rib, served with apple balsamic teriyaki sauce and aged pickled cucumbers. It was only a mouthful each but melt in your mouth meat with wonderful flavours offset by the pickled cucumber. (did I mention I really don’t like cucumber, hmm no probably not. But on this occasion it was very good).

The last substantial dish was a roast pork loin, soft and perfectly cooked it was served with a number of delicious sauces, mustard, apple, pumpkin each sauce was a tasty accompaniment that also changed the flavour of each mouthful.

Something of a mix between sweet and savoury was next with a duck liver parfait tart that came with parilla and plum jelly. The duck liver parfait was so smooth and fine, the jelly a perfect offset and the flavour ideal with the pinot noir.

Finally we had a desert of caramel cake, served with dark chocolate and chewy peanut. So often in degustations you end up with too many overly sweet concoctions but this was right on point. The chewy peanut and dark chocolate a delicious combination.

And because it was our anniversary they also brought a dark chocolate mousse again not too sweet and so fluffy and light.

image credit | Crispy ALMANAK Magazine

WINE >

The wine list is full of different wines from around the world that are all quite reasonably priced and likely to suit almost every palate. There are not a lot of ‘show off’ wines, rather this is a wine list constructed to best match the food and the experience.