It seemed a bit unusual that there would be availability of a respected two-chef hat restaurant for a Friday night when booking only a few hours earlier. I suppose it is because Matteo's is not a new place, it isn't in the middle of the city, and doesn't follow any current food trend. Additionally the name suggests an Italian focus, but in fact it is a very Japanese-inspired menu.
The clientele is very western european with many Greeks and Italians. Given that the restaurant is in Brunswick, that probably shouldn't be so unexpected.
Given it was our first trip here, we opted for the degustation menu with the addition of some oyster shooters (which is only listed on the lunch menu for some reason). The 10 servings of the set are presented as 4 courses of 2-3 each, which is a more casual way rather than continuous procession of waiting staff and plate/cutlery clearing.
- Oyster Shooters (with mirin & sake) - same base as the benchmark from Ezard. No chilli or wasabi in this version, but still the strong sweet mirin followed by a lovely salty oyster flavour. Much cheaper too at $3.50 each.
- Hiramasa Kingfish Sashimi (with prawn remoulade, shiso sauce) - nicely textured sashimi slices with a tangy yuzu sauce;
- Citrus-cured Ocean Trout Tataki (with lattice chips, creme fraiche, Yarra Valley salmon roe) - almost a biscuit sandwich of salmon slices with some roe that I couldn't taste. Nothing special;
- Teriyaki-glazed Smoked Eel (with potato & egg roulade, bonito mayonnaise) - strange dish of potato salad and eel wrapped in nori. The eel was thicker than the delicate Japanese unagi I expected and did not have the sweet thick brown sauce;
- Steamed Scallop Dim Sum (with roasted parsnip, yuzu-witlof sauce) - sweet juicy scallop dumpling with a tart citrus sauce. Delicious;
- Tempura Zucchini Flower (with fetta, watermelon, radish, coriander & peanut salad, tamarind vinaigrette) - excellent fetta-filled tempura on a lovely combination salad mixing sweet and sour, soft and crunchy;
- Chinese-roasted Five-spiced Duck Breast (with Tokyo turnip fondant, Yakiniku barbecue sauce) - beautifully rare duck with wonderful flavour;
- Seared Wagyu Beef Sirloin (with spinach fondue, kimchi-capsicum piperade, miso-shiraz sauce) - small cube of medium rare beef with some visible marbling and good texture. I think wagyu should not be served with sauce as the beef flavour wasn't discernible through it;
- Vanilla Bean Bavarois (with summer berries, macaroons, strawberry sorbet) - vanilla ice-cream, cold fresh fruit, sweet marshmallows (which they said were macaroons), and meringue pieces moddled together. Refreshing and lovely;
- Roasted Yellow Peach Tarte Tatin (with raspberry & almond frangipane) - outstanding soft sweet peaches in a circular moist and slightly crispy pastry. Enjoyed every bite;
- Poached Meringue with White Chocolate-Nougat Parfait - very heavy and sickly, too much for me.
Next time I would order the degustation menu for the first time. The degustation dishes sounded a lot more interesting in words than the a la carte menu. Many dishes were delicious and well executed, without any one demanding a return just for it. Overall a very good meal.
