A day or night at the roxborough is something you need to fit into your week. The guys from Fitzrovia have opened a new café on Ackland street, St Kilda and as expected the food is delicious. The menu is adjusted every now and then to include only the best and seasonal produce and lots of care is put into the cooking so you can taste the freshness of each ingredient. And if you were wondering whether or not they have their signature melt in your mouth polenta chips on the menu, the answer is a big Yes!
The rabbit and chicken terrine was packed with flavour and the pistachio added a really nice texture. It paired well with the early summer pickled plums which had a tartness and sweetness and was served with thin slices of crispy sourdough toast.
Vitello Tonnato, asides being fun to say out-loud in an Italian accent, it is a lovely dish. The veal fillet is poached in milk for hours then souveed for more hours and then is served soft and tender. Melt in your mouth would be an accurate description. It was served with tuna tartare with mayo, capers, dill etc., which went well with the veal, and would also be an amazing filling for a sandwich just quietly.
What to say about the oh so wonderful polenta chips. Well they have them at Fitzrovia and thankfully they have brought them to Roxborough. They are crispy and golden with a good crunch on the outside and buttery, soft and creamy in the middle. Not to mention they are covered in truffled parsley and parmesan. Need I say more.
The zucchini dish is not usually one I would order but I’m glad we got to try it because I would definitely order it again. It was a warm dish with different types and textures of zucchini. There were thick pieces of zucchini with a blackened char and thinly shaved pickled zucchini, with a pea salsa, mint, crushed pitachio and ricotta.
The potato gnocchi was one of my faves. The gnocchi had that golden pan-fried crunch and was soft and fluffy in the middle. It was served with fresh ingredients, which was good because it didn’t take away from the perfection of the gnocchi. It had zucchini, asparagus, peas, stinging nettle pesto, pine nuts and goats curd. Yum!
When the pipi and clam dish came out, it looked amazing and you could smell the smokiness of the pork. It had shredded smoked pork hock scattered across the shellfish with garlic shoots and fresh parsley. Full of flavour and we had some crusty sourdough bread to soak up the juices.
La porchetta was a rare breed pork belly rolled and roasted. It had a crunchy crackling that you could hear across the table. It was tender, tasty and served on a bed of organic black lentils and bitter braised chickory. It was topped with a fresh herby salsa verde.
For dessert we had the yoghurt panna cotta topped with roasted yellow peaches which had a lovely char on them, homemade honeycomb and a sprinkle of rosemary. It was a nice fresh dessert.
Roxborough is perfect for summer days and summer nights because it has a bright open space, which celebrates the good vibes of this warm weather. It is a beautiful bright space with friendly staff, a casual atmosphere and quality food.
I heart Roxborough!
Olives x
Roxborough
Address: 88 Acland St, St Kilda VIC 3182
Phone: 03 9537 3819
Website: roxborough.com.au
Trading Hours: Mon-Fri: 9am-10pm, Sat-Sun: 9am-10.30pm
