Lunch @ Noir Restaurant

To make up for our non-existant weekends, we're treating ourselves to lunch with our favourite wine dude Kaylo. We've got a few wines to taste and having been extremely impressed with Noir, we have returned to experience the tasting menu in the daylight!

Bread, garlic infused olive oil, butter

I should explain that with the tasting menu, it's left to the chef to decide on the dishes.

Pacific Oysters served with Champagne Granita

The oysters and granita is a refreshing way to start - cleansing the palate

Salted Cod Croquette, Lime Mayonnaise

Sometimes salt cod croquettes can be more potato than salt cold but in this case, these gorgeous, golden orbs were positively packed with lovely salt cod. The little cube of lime really lifted the dish and gave it a fresh taste.

Salad of Yellowfin Tuna, Pickled crab, avocado, watermelon and mint

While it looks like cubes of tomato are dotted around the plate, they are in fact watermelon. The tuna is barely seared, still gloriously raw in the center, the crab is sweet and very lightly pickled. The dish celebrates the quality of the ingredients.

Caramelised Atlantic Scallops with confit duck leg, beetroot and walnuts

The confit duck leg is presented as rounds, like a sausage of confit duck, alternating with wonderfully seared scallops.

Pumpkin and Parmesan Gnocchi with peas and pinenuts

These gnocchi do look a bit like those scallops from the previous dish in regards to size and shape but they were beautifully soft and a pleasure to eat. They had been sautéed in a mix of slivered green beans, peas and red pepper.

Tortellini of braised lamb shoulder, zucchini, snails and garlic sauce

You can sort of make out the snails sitting in the garlic sauce dotted around the bases of the tortellini. These are quite large tortellini, generously filled with a rich braise of lamb shoulder.

Seared John Dory, olive tapenade, green beans, parmesan crisps

Well-cooked fish, still moist, served on olive tapenade. Twin tastes of parmesan - shaved strips and parmesan crips.

Fillet of Black Angus, Oxtail pie, Jerusalem artichoke, pine mushrooms, red wine sauce

It tastes every bit as good as it looks - the oxtail pie was especially divine, perfectly piped potato top, thin pastry and luxuriously rich oxtail filling that only comes from long, slow cooking. The fillet was served rare, fork tender and napped by a thick, red wine sauce.

Roquefort

White chocolate cheesecake topped with granita, poached rhubarb, rosemary pannacotta

In the center of the plate are slices of white chocolate cheesecake topped with granita, on either sides discs of rosemary scented pannacotta.

Chocolate Fondant

What a feast! We remain as impressed if not more so - the meal was well paced and the dishes all hit the mark.

  The details:

  Noir Restaurant
  175 Swan Street
  Richmond

  Phone: 9428 3585

  Open:
  Lunch - Tuesday to Friday from 12pm
  Brunch - Saturday to Sunday from 10am
  Dinner - Tuesday to Sunday from 6pm

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