I need to give you an up-date on  my post about the Wayside Inn Hotel on the corner of Ferrars Street and City Road, South Melbourne.

I wrote of the good meal we had and that we would be back for more of the same.

Friends turned up to the Wayside Inn Hotel for dinner last week to find it was all over.  No dinner and a few staff hanging around not knowing what to do but not serving dinner.  They said that they thought the premise had been sold and their jobs, like dinner were a thing of the past.

Does anyone know?

The cook could be worth following.

They have changed their phone number too.  It is now 9682 1544 – courtesy of Telstra.

If you know anything do  comment.

Related posts:

1. The Wayside Inn Hotel South Melbourne – good eating – with a new cook and new management.
2. Cricket Club Hotel South Melbourne – ideal eating on a cold night
3. Lunch at Hotel Nest – Albert Park

It is mind boggling to think how many watering holes were needed to supply liquor to our forefathers.

The Wayside Inn Hotel has recently come under new management with a new cook.  They describe their food as having a  ‘Rustic Italian’ influence.  The meal we had on a recent Thursday evening bore this out.
We arrived straight from work on a cold wet evening at around 6pm.  They have a flexible finish time for happy hour and our glasses of a house Margaret River Merlot were still the Happy Hour price of $4.00 –  exceptional value at $4.00

On Thursday they serve a $15.00 steak  and it came with Caponata a Sicilian vegetable stew.  This was delicious.  The Caponata has a sort of sweet/sour taste ( nothing like a serving of Chinese sweet and sour sauce).  It was a subtle but unique taste to me and it went perfectly with my steak that was cooked to perfection.

The menu is small and I believe it changes. For desert there is no menu.  There is one choice.  On that Thursday it was Panna Cotta with caramelized figs and syrup.  Perhaps it is always Panna Cotta.  As Pana Cottas go this was up with the best.  I’d go back for the Pana Cotta and coffee.

The interior is smart with a hard edge.  The heaters warmed it, the nosh and the wine were good – not a bad way to spend time on a winter evening.

There is a beautiful garden room that makes me think even more of summer.

The bar is cosy with a fire in one corner and comfortable couches around it.  You can also eat in the bar.
The staff were wonderful and the cook popped out to discuss the Caponate with us.  I was surprised at how few people were there that night.  However I’m told that Karaoke Night on Friday draws crowds. It begins at 9.00pm.  Karaoke isn’t my thing but I will be back for the food.  I can see that the garden bar will be a good place for idling away time on  a warm evening.

The web site www.waysidehotel.com.au gives a menu but it differed from the own we saw.  I like the idea of the menu being flexible  and depending on the cook.

The Wayside Inn Hotel
446 City Rd
South Melbourne VIC 3205
Phone (03) 9682 1544

Opening hours:-
12.00  noon until late.

Getting there:-

Trams:-
Tram 112 from the CBD goes along Clarendon Street.
Get off at the corner of Market and Clarendon Street and wander along Market street until it joins City Road.  The Wayside Hotel is on the corner of City Road and Ferrars Street.
Tram 96 (light rail) Get off at the South Melbourne Station and walk along Ferrars Street to City Road.

Car:-
There is parking in Ferrars Street

Related posts:

1. The Wayside Inn Hotel South Melbourne – an up-date
2. Cricket Club Hotel South Melbourne – ideal eating on a cold night
3. Red Star Cafe right opposite The South Melbourne Market, Clarendon Street

You can see it yourself as you head along Cecil Street away from the South Melbourne Market.

It is wonderful to be able to see such eye catching pieces of art during an every-day shopping excursion or a walk around the local streets.  Frank Malerba was commission by the developer and the commission was approved by the Port Phillip City Council.

He says he drove around South Melbourne for a few days, “To see what it was all about.”

When you look at the art work does it say South Melbourne to you?
It has been up for over a year and looks exactly the same to me now as it did when I first saw it, months ago.  No deterioration.  Frank Malerba knows what materials to use for durability.

I wish more developers would think of the public and how we need visual feasts as we travel around our city.

My thought when I first saw the mural was, “Who is the lucky person who owns it?”

I assume if you own the unit it is attached to, you don’t own the art work.   And that you can’t sell the unit and then pack up the Malerba panels and take them  away with you.

I guess that can’t happen but it makes me ask who does own it and who is responsible for maintaining it?  The Port Phillip City Council?  Or is it the Owners Corporation’s responsibility? Perhaps someone will know.

One thing I do know is that it is wonderful to see such interesting art, by a well-known local artist, for all of us to view.

Developers:-  how about more of this?

To view Frank Malerba’s urban art on the corner of Cecil and Dorcas Street:-
Tram 96:-  (light rail)  to the South Melbourne Station.  Head for the Market.  Cecil Street runs from the  roundabout.

Tram 1:- get off at the corner of Cecil and Park Street and head to the market. – check out Dorcas Street when you cross over it.

Related posts:

1. Red Star Cafe right opposite The South Melbourne Market, Clarendon Street
2. The Wayside Inn Hotel South Melbourne – good eating – with a new cook and new management.
3. A touch of France on Park Street, South Melbourne

As a by-product of local advertising I found myself there on a cold winter night because a friend reads the back of her super market dockets.  A deal gave two meals for the price of one.  She suggested we “give it a go”.  In view of the wintery weather a pub meal seemed like a good idea.

The Cricket club hotel has been in operation at the Albert Park end of the Clarenden Street since 1870. I’m told it is the nearest pub to Albert Park but I haven’t checked this out. It has had many face-lifts since 1870 and I understand that the most recent was in 2007.
The two for one meal is obviously trying to drum up custom.  This could mean anything and we prepared ourselves for hot food on a cold night but without any great expectations of quality.

We arrived at 6pm and found our way through two bars, one with a large TV screen and the other with a charming nook for a bit of time out.

We were first in the dining room and they turned on the heat and settled us by the fire.

There is small menu of standard fare.  M ordered corned beef and I had a chicken parmigiana.

Chicken parmigiana

Corned beef

This food was excellent M said it was the best corned beef she had.  I said the same about my parmigiana.  It was delicious.  Not as big as some servings are but quality.

This part of the meal was so good it was a pity the choice of wines by the glass was so limited.  I had a glass of Penfolds Koonunga Hill Shiraz Cabernet 2007.  The 2008 is on sale for $10.00 in my local bottle shop.

The desserts weren’t of the same standard as the main course.  A sticky date pudding was okay but the rhubarb and pear crumble served in a ramekin lacked the crumble.  The thin oat mixture on the top was soft and lacking flavour. I look for a crisp crumble that has a rocky road surface.

The dining room filled and warmed up.  The service was friendly and attentive.  I was grateful for having a friend who reads the back of the super market dockets and suggested she kept reading them.  We will back.  We may give the dessert a miss but the main course even at the full price is good value.  Prices are the usual pub prices.

Where:-
The Cricket Club Hotel
435 Clarendon Street
South Melbourne
Phone 9690 5941

Opening Hours:-
The dining room is open every day
Lunch 12.00 to 3.00
Dinner 5.30 to 9.00

Getting There:-
Tram no 112 travels along Clarendon Street and turns into Albert Road.
Get off at the stop before Albert Road
Stop no. 130
Tram no 1. Get off at the corner of Clarendon and Park Streets.
Continue walking along Clarendon Street towards Albert Park the Cricket Club Hotel is on you left.

Related posts:

1. The Wayside Inn Hotel South Melbourne – good eating – with a new cook and new management.
2. The Wayside Inn Hotel South Melbourne – an up-date
3. Lunch at Hotel Nest – Albert Park

The people with me have been to Cafe Saigon several times and knew exactly what they were going to eat. I was new to the cafe and I expected Vietnamese.

I have seen the restaurant many times before.  I used to work not far away and I have admired the building – all that bluestone makes for an attractive facade.  It was nice to get a chance to eat there.

Walk through the entrance and there is a small shrine to Buddha that creates an immediate ease to the day’s tensions.

On your left is the bar and to your right the large dining room.  It has a decor that  is cool and minimal with bricks and concrete.  It represents no particular style and somehow this makes it easy to feel comfortable and at home.

As I said I was surprised to find the menu covered dishes from other Asian countries including Grilled Teriyaki Chicken and Pad Thai Rice Noodles.

We ordered a serving of Vietnamese spring rolls and also Vietnamese vegetarian rice paper rolls.

Spring rolls

Vegetarian rice paper roll

Of the two dishes the rice paper rolls were far the superior and had a sauce that owed a lot to Hoi Sin Sauce.  The waiter told us that the sauces were all made on the premises.

Two of us travelled south from Vietnam and ordered Singapore noodles.  Good choice.  The dish had just the right amount of heat for me and I got the other diner’s serving of prawns.

Singapore noodles with extra prawns

The sizzling beef and vegetables was a tried and true favourite for my other table companion.  She suggested the restaurant so she could eat this dish.  It came to the table really sizzling and smelling delicious.

Sizzling beef and vegetables

The service was wonderful, friendly, efficient and careful.  That sounds a silly word to use but we felt  we were cared for and our pleasure was their priority.

The restaurant has been there for a long time and appears to have built up a following with the locals.

The food was good but not exceptional and the prices on the high side for Asian food but then we are in Albert Park just up from the beach so it is unfair to compare prices with prices in Victoria Street, Richmond.

I’d eat there again.  It’s a Melbourne Place that is worth going to.

There is a take away menu here. I can’t see that it is very different from the cafe Menu.

Cafe Saigon:-
159 161 Victoria Avenue
Albert Park
Phone 9696 3388

Opening Hours:-
Lunch 11.30 to 3.00 every day except Saturday
Dinner 5.30 to 10.00pm every day except Thursday Friday and Saturday when it stays open until 11.00pm

Getting there:-
It is just up from the South Melbourne Beach.
Tram No 1 to South Melbourne Beach it terminates at the beach at the end of Victoria Avenue
Get off at the second to last stop.

Related posts:

1. Lunch at Hotel Nest – Albert Park
2. Asia on Victoria Street in Richmond
3. Antarctica on display in the Foyer of Gasworks Park Theatre – Albert Park

The cafe is long and narrow with a courtyard at the rear.  The red chairs are for outside, only.  Inside is cool and more sophisticated with a polished concrete floor and dark wooden tables and chairs.  The tables come in various sizes including a long communal table.

One wall is covered in posters advertising up-coming events and happenings, there is their organic coffee for sale and there are plenty of papers and magazines to read. It is a comfortable and relaxing atmosphere.

Breakfast is served all day.   We ordered one breakfast and two lunches.

The Nasi Goering looked good, the egg was perfectly done, the flavour everything it should be. $15.50

The beef hamburger had plenty of bacon and the egg just right but the beef was a little over cooked and on the dry side.  It  came with a side serving of caramelized onions and tomato sauce. $16.90

English muffin, bacon, egg and tomatoes was a  breakfast special  for $8.00 and was good value for the price.

There were fruit muffins available and cakes for afternoon coffee – the milk in the flat white coffee was silky but I like mine a little stronger, however you can’t please everyone and I didn’t ask for strong.  If you like it strong that would be the way to go.

Service was friendly and attentive with the waitress saying ‘enjoy’ when she delivered the food.  I found that rather endearing.  The Red Star Cafe, on the corner of Ward Street and Coventry Street, is a great place to sit and  view the action around the South Melbourne Market.

The Red Star Cafe opening hours:-
Mondays CLOSED
Tuesday to Thursday 8.00am to 4.00pm
Friday to Sunday 7.30am to 5.00pm
They serve organic fair trade coffee

Getting There:-
Tram:
96 (Light Rail) from Bourke Street, and get off at the South Melbourne stop. The market is about 2 minutes away.
112 Tram from Collins Street, get off on the corner of Clarendon and York Street.
Driving:
Melway:       Map 1C Ref E11
There is parking on top of the South Melbourne Market and some parking in the neighbouring street ( alot of street parking is Permit only, so watch out for that)

Related posts:

1. Gas Eateries and Supply Cafe – South Melbourne
2. A touch of France on Park Street, South Melbourne
3. Prahran Market –the food lovers market in South Yarra

Chimmys was the place to grab a coffee before racing to a meeting or a training course.  The Head Office moved and I forgot about Chimmys until recently when I was in Park Street and wanted a coffee.  I remember it always being busy on those work-day mornings and it was busy on the recent Sunday when I popped in.

The flat white doesn’t have any pretty designs but it has the silkiest milk I’ve tasted for a while and the coffee is the best.

To me the cafe has a French feel, and the man who makes the coffee a Gallic charm – you need to experience this charm for yourself.  Perhaps it is just European ambience and charm but I like to think of it as French. The filled baguettes reinforce the French ambience .

The interior says, “It’s all about the food!”  That is, it is not decorated.  There are two large rooms with a wide doorway between them, dark brown tables, pale cream walls and sort of  orange/brown lino tiles on the floor. Relaxing?  Not particularly.  The best place to be is outside under the veranda .

Most of the first room is taken up with display cases and one end is given over to the ovens with a row of tables along the remaining wall.   The second room is the cafe area with tables spaced so you feel separate from your fellow coffee drinkers.

The cafe is popular with locals. This is a breakfast and lunch place.  By mid afternoon most of the food has been sold.  This is a good thing because you know everything is made the day you buy it. The baguettes with egg and bacon are just as good at breakfast as they are for lunch and if you just want a coffee try a raspberry shortbread with it.  Delicious.

Then there is the bread.  I bought some  bread ‘pain de campagne’ and I will be back for more and I’m told the ’seven grain’ bread is delicious.

For a Francophile this tiny area of Park Street, South Melbourne is a good place to hang out.  Manon is at 294 Park Street and then further towards Clarendon Street on the other side there is Le Metro,  Byoux et Accessories, at 231 Park Street. The shop is a French experience. Check it out here

Getting there:-

The number 1 tram goes past Chimmys on its way to the South Melbourne Beach.  You can get off, buy a filled baguette and a pastry and perhaps a take away coffee, get on the next tram and picnic at the beach.

Chimmys info and opening hours:-

They serve a cooked breakfast from Wednesday through to Sunday.

They open from 7am every day of the week.  In the weekend they close at 3pm and during the week 4pm.

You can confirm hours etc:- Chimmys phone 9696 7418

Related posts:

1. Red Star Cafe right opposite The South Melbourne Market, Clarendon Street
2. Gas Eateries and Supply Cafe – South Melbourne
3. A French Experience at Noisette’s Port Melbourne

It’s where to go to eat or sip a coffee and read the paper.  There are singles, couples, friends and groups doing that all day.

The café  serves Mediterranean and Middle Eastern food although I believe the general theme is Spanish.   When we arrived about 12.30 on a Saturday, the place was packed.  We hung around getting in the way of everyone while we waited for a table.

Large communal table and display case of tapas style meals.

This hanging around gives a chance to study the large display cabinet that runs along one wall.  We decided there and then what we were going to eat and a waitress took our order.  As soon as we were seated our order was whisked to the kitchen.  The service was casual and very attentive if that isn’t a contradiction.

“No smoking. Gas” said the notice opposite us as we slid into our seats at one end of the long table.  This was a bit disconcerting but the gas actually stands for Gastronomy.  It could just as well stand for gas as in ‘talk’ because the atmosphere is so conducive to that.

Meatballs and yogurt

Zucchini, feta cheese and herbs.

Coffee was great and if you only want a caffeine hit – this is a good place.  Just ignore the food on display– once you start eying it you’ll want to eat.
One of the surprising things about Gas is that although it is often crowded  the noise level is bearable – you can talk and hear without any effort which is often not the case in crowded cafes and restaurant.

There are tables  out on the pavement and bar-seating in the window  but most of the seating is at high communal tables with stools.

Gas Eatery and Supplies is for day-time, only. It opens a 8am and is great for breakfast – all sorts of delights – but it starts winding down about five and is closed at six.  The take-home-meals are delicious but of course you need to be there before 6pm.

Gas Eatery and Supplies
253 Coventry Street,
South Melbourne, VIC, 3205

Phone 9690 0217 for further information
Tram 112 from Collins Street in the CBD  goes along Clarendon Street.

Get off at Bank and Clarendon Streets and walk back a block for Coventry Street.

Coventry Street also has an interesting collection of shops for browsing in.

Related posts:

1. Red Star Cafe right opposite The South Melbourne Market, Clarendon Street
2. A touch of France on Park Street, South Melbourne
3. Cricket Club Hotel South Melbourne – ideal eating on a cold night