Dinner @ Josie Bones

While our attempt on Tuesday failed as Josie Bones is closed on that day, we did persist and finally made it on Sunday.

Our fellow eators, Al and Elle have already dined here and were very enthusiastic about their experience, so we've joined them tonight for a second go at the menu.

You'll probably know that the food here is served to share and the focus is on nose to tail eating and on beers - the beer list is most impressive (160+ ) and the non-beer options while small, are well considered.

Trotter Fritters with Romesco Sauce

The trotter fritters are a success - meaty and moist, surrounded by a lovely crisp shell.

Octopus and Bone Marrow Cigar with Green Mango Salad, Nam Jim

While I didn't mind the filling I felt that the pastry was a little too oily - perhaps the oil wasn't hot enough or they hadn't been drained well enough.

Rillettes with Toasted Sourdough

Absolutely no complaints about the rillettes  - in fact they might well have even been our favourite dish of the night. Beautifully tender meat, well seasoned and flavoured with just the right amount of fat. Served simply with toasted sourdough - it doesn't get much better than this.

Pink Fir Apple Potatoes, Onion Jam, Grilled Swiss Raclette Cheese

Then again, potatoes, onions and cheese - another winning combination. Underneath the potatoes sits a layer of caramelised onion (onion jam) - its then topped with raclette.

Selection of bread

Miniature Scotch Egg with Anchoyade

These are quite a lot larger than I had expected considering they are made with quail eggs.

The egg has still some softness to the yolk - not quite sure if I really enjoyed the meat surrounding it, it was a bit like boiled ham hock in taste.

Lamb Tartare, radish and mint salad, wheat beer brioche

We've had tartare before but not with lamb but this was excellent. With tartare there's really no place to hide, the meat has to be top quality. The richness of the brioche worked really well with the flavour of the lamb. The radish and mint salad played its part to cleanse and refresh the palate.

Rolled Pigs Head with Sauce Gribiche, Crackling

Lovely meaty slice of rolled pigs head, beautifully matched with gribiche. Not the easiest of dishes to share.

Chicory and samphire salad, dijonnaise dressing

With so many meat dishes you need something to balance them out and this salad is an excellent way to do it. Good to see some less mainstream ingredients being used.

Grain fed beef rib, thrice cooked chips, horseradish hollandaise

Interesting to note that the portion has decreased between visits - the beef is as tender as you would expect and served with a rich and thick jus.

Dessert:

Eton Mess with Viet Mint Sorbet

The eton mess itself was quite sweet - the sorbet was a bit granular, though the idea was nice.

Rich chocolate brownie, brownie ice cream, chocolate beer

The chocolate brownie was wonderful, served warmed, the insides are still soft and it's not overly sweet. The chocolate beer had run out so it had been replaced by a small glass coffee beer which I must say, wasn't good at all. The only coffee like characteristic we could gauge in the beer was overwhelming bitterness.




Overall, we had a really good time - the food for the most part was quite good especially considering it has only been open for a week or two. Service was also very good - friendly and knowledgeable. We certainly didn't experience any arrogance or attitude but then again, perhaps if you come into a place with tickets on yourself it's understandable.

What surprised us is that they don't do coffee, which after a meal is something we like to do. I can possibly understand that they don't want a coffee machine and the associated staff it needs but what about offering tea?

The details

Josie Bones
98 Smith Street
Collingwood

Phone: 9417 1878
No Bookings except for large groups (8+)
Closed - Tuesdays

web
josiebones.wordpress.com