Syracuse

23 Bank Place

Melbourne, VIC 3000.

I’ll come right out with it. I like Syracuse, in fact I like it a lot.

I could leave the review at that and happily give it a 14/20 and move on, but that wouldn’t give a lot of insight as to why.

The main thing I like about Syracuse is that once upon a time this would have been a bit of a mamasitta, that is popular, hard to get in to and have a bit of an attitude. Today it is still a very smart restaurant with a fantastic wine list, knowledgeable staff and one can normally get a table as a walk in, but it is never empty.

The menu scales from sharing plates to main courses, perhaps a slight Greek angle in the sharing plates to more modern in the main’s.

SAGANAKI

First course of the night was Saganaki which comes as a nice salty piece of pan fried cheese that matched well with the Dolcetto being served by the glass.

L: LAMB CUTLETS

R: ASPARAGUS & BEETROOT SALAD

Following on the next dishes on tasting were the lamb cutlets and as usual they were a hit. Nicely seasoned, grilled with good char and the right shade of pink. This was paired with an asparagus & beetroot salad with quinoa, crème fresh and topped with pine nuts, this is not normally my first choice of dishes, but it was a cracker. It looked like a dish that has been to Peter Gilmore school (he of Quay fame) as it was garnished with edible flowers and had a nice lightness to it but also a number of textures and flavours coming through

As usual the decent range of wines by the glass sufficed, but I do also like the quite lengthy and reasonably priced wine list.

Needless to say, I’ll be back and would recommend it as a good after work spot to meet with friends.

Syracuse – 14/20