Making their mark on Ackland street, Pablo Honey is a restaurant specializing in Spanish tapas and tequila. They make a mean cocktail and the food is quality. They have heaps of creative concepts and they nail each one. Thinking of a place for dinner and drinks, Pablo Honey is the perfect place to get your tapas and tequila on.
The restaurant had character with honeycomb shaped shelves and modern décor. Our waitress had created the paintings on the wall and another staff member had created the skulls displayed on the shelves, all of which are for sale btw. The atmosphere was warm and inviting.
We started with some cocktails. We had the coconut margarita (coconut tequila, Malibu, elderflower) and sangria (spiced rum, red wine, lemonade, herbs and spices) they both were delish. They have long list of cocktails and they all sounded amaze.
We started with the coconut prawns. The prawns were served in a custom made Pablo tuna tin aside a handful of black squid ink prawn crackers. The prawns were smooth and creamy, the coconut was prominent, the red onion added sweetness and the green mango and slices of fried garlic added crunch. This was so delicious. It was a great concept and tasted amazing.
The octopus was cooked perfectly. It was cut in chunks and had a lovely texture. The squid ink, mushroom and almond soil went perfect with the seafoody flavour and the sweet rings of caramelised onion complimented it even further.
The beef tartare was clean and well rounded. The flavours were bold, salty, sour, chilli, peppery, amazing. The beef was quality, cut fine and presented in perfect quenelles balanced with the sour of the capers. Then there were spots of souveed salted egg yolk and smoked chilli and finger lime paired with some coriander and cumin seed lavosh (herby crisps). Delicious.
The cumin lamb ribs were falling of the bone. Cumin and lamb is a match made in heaven and the cumin sauce complemented the lamb well.
The suckling pig was tasty with the meat tender. It came with soft tortillas, salsa and a coffee BBQ sauce which was interesting. I’m not a huge fan of coffee or chocolate sauces with meat but a little bit of this sauce on the tortillas was nice.
The chicken wings had a spicy habanero pebre sauce and were topped with pico de gallo (like a fresh salsa) and they were tasty. I mean who doesn’t love chicken wings. And these were spicy and fresh and a major crowd pleaser.
The coconut sago was kind of like a rice pudding with a beautiful silky passionfruit curd over the top and a choc nut crumble.
And finally we ended on the all famous sugar skull dessert. The super thin sugar is molded in the shape of a skull and placed on top of a silky smooth dulce de leche (caramel) mousse. The sugar skull was thin and easy to eat and the detail was outstanding. I wanted to sit and admire it for hours but at the same time I wanted to just dig in. You crack open the skull with a spoon kind of like tapping into a crème brulee but way more fun. The mousse was beautifully sweet, the chocolate added bitterness and a crackling texture with the choc pop rocks and the freeze dried raspberries added a tartness. It was sensational. It wasn’t just a pretty face it tastes amazing too.
Everything we ate was impressive, really tasty and great presentation. They’ve recently changed their menu so there will be more yummy things to try. But don’t worry the sugar skull stays. For delicious food and awesome cocktails Pablo Honey has the goods.
I heart Pablo Honey!
Olives x
Address: 68 Ackland Street, St Kilda VIC 3182
Website: http://www.pablohoney.net/
Phone: 03 9534 3246
Trading Hours: Mon: 3pm-late, Tue-Sun: 11am-late
