The Spotted Mallard – Quirky and Chilled

The Entrance

Inside The Spotted Mallard

The Magnificent Stain Glass Window

Inside Spotted Mallard

Inside The Spotted Mallard – MisMatched Furniture

The Mallard Beer Taps

The Bar

The Bar

Mushroom and Caramelized Onion Poutine – Topped with Porcini, Swiss Brown and Field Mushrooms, Parmesan Cheese, Gravy and Caramelised Onions

Wagyu Beef and Bacon Burger – 150gm Wagyu Beef Patty with Bacon, Molten Gruyere Cheese, Caramelised Onion, PIckles and Chipotle Mayo

12 Hour Roasted Lamb and Black Bean – Hunks of Lamb marinated for 2 days in a mix of Dried Chilies, Cumin, Cinnamon, Vinegar then Slow Roated served with Braised Black Beans

Chickpea and Sweet Potato Burger – House made Chickpea and Sweet Potato Patty with Harissa Yoghurt, Pico de Gallo, Pickled Jalapenos and Roquette

Menu:
                 

We needed to find a venue in the Brunswick area for a catch-up and I picked The Spotted Mallard. It was a Tuesday night – which meant it was Trivia night also at the venue. It was free to enter if we wished. The Spotted Mallard is located where the old Metropolis Eating house used to live.

The Spotted Mallard is quite different to any other venue I have been to. It was a former reception centre and ballroom which has now been turned into a 300 seater bar/restaurant/live music venue/trivia night space. As you walk up the stairs to the main area, you are greeted by the long bar and the vast expanse of space. You are immediately drawn to the colourful stain glass ceiling which allows fresh sunlight through. But then there is so much going on in the space that you want to look at everything at the same time. There are accents of the spotted mallard ( a duck) all around the venue especially at the bar where the beer labels are in the shape of the mallard. They also make an appearance on the menus. The furniture is mismatched and quite eclectic and unique in style but it really does come together really well. The vibe is funky, vintage and chilled out.

There are also themed nights such as Middle Eastern or BBQ Sundays.

The Spotted Mallard is the idea from Sam Grose, Max Meshers and Samanda Black, who met working at Greasy Joe’s in St Kilda. Together they set about reinventing this space by rebuilding the kitchen, creating the bar and stage and buying the perfectly mismatched furniture. The menu is put together by Grose (ex Mamasita) and Dan O’Donoghue (ex Chester White) – and is a classier version of pub food with Mexican influences. There is a great drinks selection as well – from spirits to craft beers on tap. All of the food is main in house and they use local and environmentally friendly produce when they can. Even the fish (barramundi at the moment) is ethically caught! Their bread is organic and is sourced from Lievito Bakery.
The menu is split into the smaller dishes, the Poutines, the bigger dishes, Burgers and Sandwiches and finishes with Sides and Salads. For the desserts – as they change daily – you need to refer to the specials board.

Most of us around the table ordered burgers and we also ordered a poutine to share. All the burgers come served with hand cut chips and slaw complete with a Dijon-Caper dressing.

We ordered the Poutine to share at our table –  Mushroom and Caramelized Onion Poutine – Topped with Porcini, Swiss Brown and Field Mushrooms, Parmesan Cheese, Gravy and Caramelised Onions. The dish was very rich and full of flavour. The potatoes were crispy on the outside and soft and cloud-like on the inside. The combination of the sauteed mushroom and caramelized onion was a perfect compliment.

The burger I ordered was the Chickpea and Sweet Potato Burger – House made Chickpea and Sweet Potato Patty with Harissa Yoghurt, Pico de Gallo, Pickled Jalapenos and Roquette. I absolutely loved the chickpea and sweet potato patty – the sweetness of the potato together with the nutty flavour of the chickpea was sensational. The addition of the harissa yoghurt was a great “sauce” for the burger. I also liked the bun that came with this burger – complete with seasame and pumpkin seeds.

Most other people around the table ordered the Wagyu Beef and Bacon Burger – 150gm Wagyu Beef Patty with Bacon, Molten Gruyere Cheese, Caramelised Onion, PIckles and Chipotle Mayo. They all enjoyed the burger and thought that the Wagyu Beef was cooked quite well.

D ordered the 12 Hour Roasted Lamb and Black Bean – Hunks of Lamb marinated for 2 days in a mix of Dried Chilies, Cumin, Cinnamon, Vinegar then Slow Roasted served with Braised Black Beans. He wasn’t too thrilled with the flavours and as a result didn’t really enjoy his dish.

Overall, I thought the food was pretty good here at The Spotted Mallard. I love places that make their food in house and the burger I had was up there with my top veggie burgers. Check it out for a casual and laid back dinner out – or even some Trivia if you head there on Tuesdays!

Rating : 3.5 Pandas
Price: $$
Menu – Refer to http://www.spottedmallard.com/menu/ – There are Small Dishes, Poutines, Bigger Dishes, Burgers and Sandwiches, Sides and Salads
Fullness: 100%
Atmosphere / Ambience: Eclectic, Vintage and Funky
Standout Dish:
Service:
Online Booking: Yes via website – http://www.spottedmallard.com/contact/
Restaurant Details and Location:
http://www.spottedmallard.com/
314 Sydney Road, Brunswick
Tel No: 9380 8818

Opening Hours:
Tuesday to Friday: 4:00pm – 1:00am
Saturday: 2:00pm – 1:00am
Sunday: 2:00pm to 11:00pm

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B’Stilla – Moroccan Talk of the Town

B’Stilla

Cauliflower, Pine Nut Paste, Ras El Hanout, Herbs

Chargrilled Whole Prawns, Pil Pil

Cous Cous Marrakech, Seven Vegetables, Seven Spices, Smen

Desserts at B Stilla

Starters at B Stilla

Fish Kefta Tagine, Black Cabbage, Saffron, Potato

Interior at B’Stilla

Lamb Ribs, Apricot, Cardamom

Lamb Shoulder, Ginger, Cumquats, Parsnip, Sumac

Mains at B’Stilla

Medfouna – beef cheek, cashews, potato, labne

Glossary Menu at B’Stilla

Mint Tea with Date Shortbread

Persimmon, Mehalabeya, Amlou

Rgahaif – Spinach, Eggplant, Almonds, Yoghurt

Rosewater Flan, Dates, Walnut Nougatine

* NOTE THE GOAT, BEEF and LAMB are all Halal Certified.

It was birthday dinner time and I picked B’Stilla to try out. B’Stilla is a newly opened Moroccan restaurant tucked away behind Chapel Street in South Yarra. When I was making the booking I enquired if the meat was halal and co-owner Leon Kennedy was fantastic in responding and letting me know that the beef, goat and chicken are all Halal Accredited. Great service already!

B’Stilla is a modern and spacious restaurant with an open kitchen and an outside seating area in the form of a long terrace which has overhead industrial heaters and plastic screens to keep the cold out. It is named after Morocco’s most famous pastry dish – the sweet-savoury B’stilla. This is the latest project from Jason Jones who co-founded Mamasita and remains a co-owner, and Leon Kennedy (Padre, Proud Mary). Both took a trip to Morocco and fell in love with the cuisine and enrolled in cooking courses to learn more, and then forged ahead with this venture. The aim is to deliver authentic and approachable Moroccan food, celebrating essential balance of flavours and fresh local produce and it safe to say that B’Stilla ticks all of these boxes.

There is a real Moroccan feel to the place with its lattice of the 8 point star that is reminiscent with any Moroccan theme. This continues in ochre colours under the bar in the form of tessellated tiles. The open kitchen is lined with tagines and colourful preserved fruits and overlooks into a red painted dining area. This is where we were seated on this Friday night. There are simple wooden tables and chairs to further enhance the casual yet classy feel.

The menu is designed to share and is split up into smaller entrée size dishes, followed by larger dishes which consist of three different tagines and dishes like lamb shoulder and beef ribs. There there are seven different salads to choose from and of course dessert to finish off the meal. There are Banquet options available as well (refer to the Menu section below for options and pricing). There are plenty of vegetarian dishes available as well which makes the menu robust to all. In addition to this, if you flip the menu over there is a handy glossary on the back that run you through some of the elements mentioned in the dishes. I think this is a great idea – saves the customer from whipping out their smart phone and googling what each thing is or asking the wait staff.

After perusing the menu for a while we settled on a couple of the smaller dishes, two of the larger dishes with a salad – leaving room for dessert. I also ordered a mocktail – which had pineapple, passionfruit and mint flavours which was quite tasty as well. They ask you what flavours you want and make one up to suit that. Whilst we were waiting for our meals, we were brought out complimentary tea for each of us together with a small piece of date shortbread. This was a nice touch I thought and typically Moroccan. The mint tea was full of flavour and was a great way to start a meal.

The first dish we got was the Lamb Ribs, Apricot and Cardamom. This was a super tasty dish – the lamb was cooked delicately and just fell off the bone – the apricot sauce added a sweetness to this dish. Having sweet flavours mixed with lamb was a great combination. Next of the entrée dishes was the Chargrilled Whole Prawn, Pil Pil and the Rgahaif – we got the spinach, eggplant, almond and yoghurt option ( there is also an oxtail option). The Rgaghaif was one of my favourite dishes of the night – it reminded me of a samosa in a sense – it was pastry wrapped with spinach, eggplant, almond and yoghurt. The pasty was homemade and delicious – I could eat loads of the pastry all on its own. The mix of flavours with the mentioned ingredients was tasty and the spices added to it was a great hit, with the almond finishing the flavour palate. The prawn dish was good but not great – the prawns were grilled perfectly and the addition of the Pil Pil (which is made of garlic, chilli, lemon and parsley) added to the flavour of the prawn – there was just something lacking. The last of the dishes we got was the Medfouna – Beef Cheek, Cashews, Potato, Labne – this dish was yet another winner. It resembled what looked like a meat pie but tasted so much better! The filling was moist and flavoursome and each element worked perfectly together.

After letting our entrees settle we were ready to take on the mains. We ordered the Cous Cous Marrakech with Seven Vegetables, Seven Spices, Smen (which is oregano infused butter that has been aged and fermented). We also ordered the Fish Kefta Tagine and the Lamb Shoulder with the side of the Cauliflower, Pine Nut Paste, Ras el Hanout and Herbs Salad. Both the Cous Cous and Fish came in tagine dishes and were filled to the brim – serving sizes here at B’Stilla are quite generous. The Cous Cous with Seven Vegetables was flavoursome and fresh – the cous cous was cooked to perfection as were the vegetables which were piled up high atop the cous cous. Some of the veggies included chickpeas, potato, sweet potato, cabbage and zucchini.

The Fish Kefta Tagine comes with black cabbage, saffron and potato and was delicious. The fish kefta’s were green in colour which I thought was really interesting but do not let that fool you as the flavour was great. The juice I did find to be a bit runny and not as flavoursome – I think I would have preferred it to be a bit thicker in consistency. The Lamb Shoulder was another favourite dish of mine – it came with Ginger, Cumquats, Parsnip and Sumac. The lamb was once again cooked beautifully and was soft and tender and coupled with the parsnip puree was delicious. The cumquats added a tang to the dish as well. The side of cauliflower was also outstanding – the cauliflower being lightly charred and coupled with the pine nut paste and the ras el hanout and herbs was a great addition and complement to all the other dishes had.

We were all so full from the entrees and the larger dishes, but decided to share some desserts amongst the five of us. We got the Persimmon, Mehalabeya, Amlou dessert and the Rosewater Flan with Dates and Walnut Nougatine. The winner and standout out of these two was definitely the Rosewater Flan. The flan was something between a crème caramel and a crème brulee and had the right amount of wobbliness. The dish was creamy and smooth and the addition of the crispy walnut nougatine added texture to the dish. The Mehalabeya dessert I thought were just different elements put together on a dish that didn’t really mesh together all that well for me – I would have liked to have had more of the Mehalabeya component.

B’stilla also has a strong focus on coffee and serves French Press and Cold Drip – both of which are African varieties from Proud Mary Coffee. The staff are friendly and well informed about the menu, and always are energetic and have a smile on their face and are happy to help out at anytime. We were lucky enough to have Leon serving us, and he gave us a good background about the restaurant.

B’Stilla is a great addition to South Yarra and the fact that it is embracing Morrocan cuisine is a big win. The food is delicious and encompasses great ingredients in imaginative and unique combinations and the presentation is fantastic as well. The focus on a shared dish menu I think is great and more restaurants should encourage this. For a taste of Moroccan in Melbourne definitely check this place out.

Rating : 4 Pandas
Price: $$
Menu – Refer to http://bstilla.com/menu.pdf. There are also Banquet menus available – 5 dishes and sides (savoury only) at $45 pp or 8 dishes and sides (includes desserts) at $65 pp. For Lunch there is a 3 course lunch menu for $35 pp. A minimum of two people are required for the Banquet menus.
Fullness: 100%
Atmosphere / Ambience: Casual, Modern and Classy. It is a chilled out place and is reminiscent of being a piece of Morocco in Melbourne.
Standout Dish: Rgahaif –spinach, eggplant, almonds, yoghurt AND Lamb shoulder, ginger, cumquats, parsnip, sumac
Service: Fantastic, Super Friendly and Helpful. Staff always have a smile on their face and make you feel welcomed.
Online Booking: No. Point to note – Half the restaurant is reserved for bookings and the rest available for walk ins
For bookings, there are two seating times available: 6:00pm to 8.15pm OR 8:30pm to late
Restaurant Details and Location:
http://bstilla.com/
30b Bray St, South Yarra
Tel No: 9826 2370

Opening Hours:
Tuesday to Thursday – 5.30pm – Late
Friday & Saturday – 12.00pm – Late