By Franz Scheurer (February 2007)
The Grossi family has taken over the dining space at the Tolarno Hotel, commissioned artist Mirka Moro, who painted the building’s original murals, to restore them and paint a couple of new ones, and turned the space into a fabulous fantasy-world dining venue. Solid wooden tables, terrific chairs, polished wooden floorboards and the part-psychedelic-part-neo-romantic murals (highlighted by cleverly positioned spotlights) create a mindset ready for relaxation and a bit of theatre on the plate.
The menu, again with one of Mirka’s paintings on the front, represents the best of approachable Italian food, and the wine list is exemplary.
As soon as guests are seated, the amazingly long house-made grissini arrive - wonderfully salty and crisp. We started with the plentiful and varied vegetarian ‘Antipasto’ ($22), the young Pecorino stood out and the marinated king mushrooms were beautifully meaty. The ‘Steak Tartare’ ($25), available in a mild or hot version (I opted for hot), was perhaps the best I’ve ever had. The tiny, crisp croutons served with it complemented the soft, chewable texture of the meat and the chilli hit worked very well indeed. Next we tried the ‘Scilatelle pasta with fresh tomato & basil’ ($18), and the ‘Gnocchi with gorgonzola sauce & walnuts’ ($22). The scilatelle reminded us of Sicilian hand-rolled pasta, quite chunky, but soft textured, and the moreish gnocchi were not at all overpowered by the Gorgonzola. A bottle of Ashton Hills Pinot Noir absolutely shone with the food (such a well-crafted, savoury and elegant Pinot).
For desserts my companion opted for the ‘Soufflé mocha with sherry ice cream’ ($16) but, not having had enough of the savoury menu, I couldn’t resist the ‘Snails, baked with garlic, butter, parsley under flaky pastry’; I was rewarded by a super dish with lots of mopable butter. The soufflé was firm, the mocha flavour worked well, and the Pedro Ximenez-based ice cream had fantastic texture and flavour.
The terrific service and ambience are what makes this restaurant stand out. It’s not just the murals, which will put a smile on your face, but it’s the fact that there’s interaction between the diners. Everyone feels ‘Italian’ once they enter and food and wine is there to be consumed AND talked about.
Mirka at Tolarno is certainly well worth visiting (frequently).
Score: 7.5/10
For more information or bookings:
Mirka at Tolarno Hotel
42 Fitzroy Street
St. Kilda
Tel.: 03 9525 3088