Tivoli Road Bakery – Doissant Heaven

panda 4.5 rating

Menu:
The Menu

Tivoli Road Bakery has re-opened in the same location as what was once MoVida Bakery – with Michael James and his wife Pippa running the show. James has been the head baker with the MoVida group since the creation of Movida Aqui so this transition to owning what is now Tivoli Road Bakery was perfect.

The question on every ones lips (including mine) was regarding the famous Doissants that MoVida Bakery has been come to be known for – and indeed it is still for sale. As part of the change, the original products – and more – are definitely here to stay. This was my main reason for visiting Tivoli Road Bakery on a very rainy Melbourne day. I even called up beforehand to make sure they had some in stock, as I know they generally sell out by lunchtime.

As well as being known for these Doissants and Donuts, their main priority (as is for any Bakery) is Bread. There is a huge variety to choose from – sourdough, brioche, olive, rye, spelt, soy and linseed and multigrain being amongst the selection. There are also delicious pies, sandwiches, sausage as well as coffee from Small Batch. And of course for all the sweet tooths out there – croissants (plain, almond or chocolate, with the option of serving with jam), fruit Danishes in both pear and apple varieties, fat slabs of chocolate brownie and chunky as well as the famous donuts – with flavours such as the famous salted caramel, lemon custard, rhubarb and others. For lunch there are also additional specials such as soups and sandwiches.

Customers can also buy Myrtleford Butter and MountZero olives, as well as Small Batch Coffee that they use in store.

Back to the Doissants. What are they you ask? In New York, Ansel Bakery discovered the perfect balance between a crossiant and a donut and named it a “Cronut” – and had it trademarked. Here in Melbourne we have dubbed it the Doissant – how smart! – switching around the order of the two products. Here at Tivoli Road Bakery there are changing flavours and on this day that I went they had the Vanilla Bean Custard and Raspberry flavour as well as the Chocolate Custard. I was very tempted to order one of each but settled with ordering just one of the Vanilla Bean Custard topped with a freeze dried raspberry. The Doissant consisted of multiple layers of flaky pastry which had been fried (as a donut would) and filled with the delicious creamy vanilla bean custard. It really was like biting into heaven. They are quite rich and filling and as good as they were I definitely would have struggled at eating two in one sitting – but definitely take one home for later.

Tivoli Road Bakery is a warm, cosy and welcoming bakery and there is seating inside as well outside overlooking Tivoli Road where you can watch passer byers. There is a communal table with a fresh bunch of flowers where you can sit and overlook the kitchen and see where all the magic is made, or sit by the window – whichever you choose you are sure to enjoy your time here.

Rating : 4.5 Pandas
Price: $
Menu – Refer to picture above
Fullness: 100%
Atmosphere / Ambience: Relaxed and Welcoming
Standout Dish: THE DOISSANT!
Service: Friendly and Helpful
Online Booking: No
Restaurant Details and Location:
tivoliroad.com.au
3 Tivoli Road, South Yarra
Tel No: 9041 4345

Opening Hours:
Tuesday to Sunday: 7:30 am – 6:00 pm

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Rosa’s Kitchen – Sicilian Homely Treat

panda 3.5 rating

It was time for another one of our regular catch ups for A and I and this time our destination was Rosa’s Kitchen. As we were going to watch King Kong after dinner at the time of booking I told the restaurant that we needed to be out by a certain time which worked well with their sitting times.

Rosa’s Kitchen is located in Punch Lane – a wonderful side street in the heart of the Melbourne CBD – and is a venture by Rosa Mitchell (ex-Journal Canteen), David Mackintosh and Peter Bartholomew (Coda, Movida Group, Pei Modern). The venue itself is quite dark yet warm thanks to the soft glow of the lanterns, cosy and playful at the same time – this is evident with the mismatched and colourful chairs at the mix of timber and black plywood tables. There are polished concrete floors together with a whitewashed brick wall to match and there is a red glow through the whole venue.

What is strikingly different from any other place is that there is no menu given to you to decide what you want to eat – you have to look at the blackboard along the sides of the walls as well as above the bar/kitchen area and decide what you want there. Specials are spoken out to you by the friendly staff. The way the menu works is that it rotates fortnightly – all depending on the ingredients which come from Mitchell’s 140 acre farm near Yandoit – keeping with the fresh produce theme that Mitchell wants to achieve. The cuisine is Sicilian influenced in the form of homely and comforting dishes by Lucy David (ex-Coda, Pei Modern) and consists of four pastas and five mains generally, such as Orecchiette alla Trapanese which has a Sicilian-style pesto with almonds sauce or Meatballs with fresh tomato sugo. There is also a great drinks list which has been put together by sommelier Lazlo Evenhuis (ex-The Crimean), as well as snacks menu to go with the drinks.

We ordered the Calamari with potatoes and herbs for “entrée” but really this dish could have been a main on its own. There was a tangy taste combined with the soft and crunchy in parts potato which served as a wonderful combination. I ordered the Bugspasta which was cooked beautifully with the combination of oil, garlic and parsley and topped with toasted breadcrumbs which added texture, flavour and crunch. The Bugs were cooked perfectly and really complemented the other flavours of the dish. My friend A ordered the lamb special which she enjoyed but couldn’t finish due to the generous serving size. The lamb she said was soft, tender and full of flavour.

We were running out of time and were both quite full so decided to share the Canoli as I had heard that this was a must try. And I can see why. The Canoli had crispy pastry casing which was filled with whipped ricotta and combined with honey, sugar and lemon zest and finished with toasted and crushed pistachios on the outside.

The food at Rosa’s Kitchen is rustic and really does feel like you are in a Sicilian town eating food that has been created with a feeling of love and happiness. They don’t try to make the dishes overly complex – just simple home style cooking at its best. Try it out for yourselves.

Rating : 3.5 Pandas
Price: $$$
Menu – The food menu – http://www.rosas-kitchen.com/Rosas%20Kitchen%20Full%20Menu.pdf
The drinks menu – http://www.rosas-kitchen.com/Rosas%20Kitchen%20Drinks%20Menu.pdf
Fullness: 100%
Atmosphere / Ambience: Warm, Homely and Cosy
Standout Dish: Spaghetti with Breadcrumbs, Parsley and Garlic
Service: Friendly and Accomadating
Online Booking: No
Restaurant Details and Location:
http://www.rosas-kitchen.com/
22 Punch Lane, Melbourne
Tel No: 9662 2883

Opening Hours:
Tuesday to Saturday: 12:00pm – 11:00pm

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