EAT > No. 100 Flinders Lane (15/20)

Melbournes Flinders Lane is full of fine dining options so there is an incredible amount of choice available and No. 100 is possibly the newest option that is just a little different from the usual choices.

Firstly it is small – there are only 20 seats in the restaurant and while there are options to sit outside this is hardly the season. Inside you will find a delicatessen for takeaway lunches and coffee and smart European menu and wine list. The wood panelled walls, leather banquet seating with bent wood chairs and marble tables ooze Melbourne style.

I have now been along to No 100 three times and each time have seen a different persona to the place, at lunchtime it bustles as people rush to get a lunch (they do an excellent set lunch option see the recent review from Jill Dupleix here). Late afternoon and early evening it is quiet as people slip in for an excellent martini on the way somewhere else. And later it is busy for a more formal dinner offering that has some similarities to that Melbourne institution ‘The European‘.

Our starters were all brilliant the No. 100 Focaccia and Pistachio with Whipped Feta which is a delicious treat ($16) the bread is not large but was plenty to share between three, the pistachios were full of crunch and the whipped feta was light and creamy. The Chicken Pate comes with a wonderful caramelised candy crust – amazing its like a toffee apple on pate yum yum yum ($16). Then we had the Veal Carpaccio with fermented chilli hollandaise and capers ($26) the fermented chilli hollandaise and capers make this dish into something special, perfectly poached melt in the mouth veal with a spicy hot sauce, original and very memorable.

The wine list is interesting with a few interesting selections on the list but sadly not a lot of Pinot Noir choices so choices were the Chatto Bird Pinot Noir 2021 ($160) which sat between the Prossimo Pinot Noir 2022 ($85) from Mornington Peninsula and the Daniel Bouland ‘Morgan Corcelette’ Gamay from Beaujolais ($130).

We chose to drink the Chatto Bird Single Vintage Pinot Noir which it turns out was quite excellent (read the review if you don’t know the wine) and for mains we then shared the local squid noodles with silverbeet and nduja, which is quite a remarkable and different flavour combination ($28) really interesting. The duck breast with leek and pepitas was succulent and delicate but after the squid noodles felt a little bland ($40), similarly the pork belly with zucchini, squash and mint ($38) was also perfectly prepared but it felt like it needed a sauce to finish the dish – a little tasteless.

To finish a Basque cheesecake with apple and sage ($18) shared between three of us over coffee was so smooth and delicious.

The space is lovely and intimate and the staff are excellent, most of the food was innovative and interesting but the two larger main courses were not quite at the same excellent standard of the other dishes (which I am sure is just everything settling down as they have only been open a couple of months).

100 Flinders Lane,
Melbourne 3000
TEL 03 9943 5861
https://100flinderslane.com.au