When? - 14th of March, 2013
Where? - Captain Melville, 34 Franklin St, Melbourne
Price? - $25
Website? - http://www.captainmelville.com.au/
Reviewers - Adam, Fridge, Lee, Nikki, Matt, Stefo
If the above photo looks familiar it is because we have been to this establishment before. Back in 2011 we visited this pub, however at the time it was known as “Miss Libertine” (Full review here). However times they are a-changing, out with the old/in with the new and all that.
So now Miss Libertine is Captain Melville, and I’ve gotta say, I’m impressed.
They haven’t just changed the sign, the pub has had a complete remodel since last time we were there, with both the decor and menu showing they are aiming for a more upmarket crowd that Libertine was, with less focus on live bands and music and more focus on quality food and drinks.
The place looks amazing, both in the front bar and out in the courtyard out the back, which feels like a beer garden until you look carefully and realise the whole thing is completely enclosed, no getting wet on winter nights here!
We arrived, took our seats, checked the menu and found the parma -
But quickly realised that there was so much more to try, so opted for a bit of pre-gaming before the main event (everything on the menu looked delicious, it was just too hard to decide)
So other than parmas, we got ourselves the following to share around the table -
- Salt & pepper squid with black garlic aioli
- Mt. Zero olives
- Charcuterie - A selection of cured meats with condiments
- Chicken Kiev balls (2 serves)
I won’t go into too much detail on the pregame, as this is Parma Daze not Pregame Daze, suffice to say it was all amazing (particularly the charcuterie), and hopefully a great sign of things to come.
Before we knew it we were polishing off the entree and the mains were arriving from the kitchen…
The parma itself was just outstanding. The chicken breast was of the highest quality, the herbed crumbs were amazing, the cheese was creamy and delicious and the ham complimented it all perfectly.
The napoli was delicious but in slightly short supply, could definitely have used a bit more. There were leaves throughout the parma (looked a lot like bay leaves) that added a very strong citrus taste to the dish. Now that sounds unappetising for a parma, but it worked surprisingly to its advantage, giving the meal a unique tang that we’ve yet to come across in the past.
The was much debate as to weather the chips were chips or wedges. They’re massive, cut in the same shape as a wedge, but without the trademark coating that makes a wedge a wedge - SoI’m gonna stick with the menu and call them hand cut chips.
Whatever they were I enjoyed them - At first they were quite bland, but a quick visit from Mr. salt shaker made short work of that. Once seasoned they were a very tasty chip, with the perfect combination of external crunch and internal softness.
In place of a garden salad was a serving of home made coleslaw, which was delicious and rich … a little too rich. It was quite a big lump of coleslaw, and although it complimented the schnitz perfectly there was just too much of it. Keep the coleslaw, but maybe half the size of the serving and throw a garden salad on the plate as well to keep things interesting.
The commenters were a talkative bunch this week -
The parma wasn’t cheap, clocking in at $25 it was up there on the price scale, but to be honest I’d happily pay that again. The flavours through that bird were outstanding and one I would have no qualms with revisiting. The ambience of the pub is fantastic and all of the food that came out of the kitchen was impressive.
Some of the attendees thought the schnitzel to be a bit on the small side for the price, but (not unlike goldilocks) I think it was just right. Due to the pregaming we were absolutely stuffed when the cheque came, but I think if we hadn’tve had the entrees I still would have left satisfied. Not as stuffed as I was mind you, but quite satisfied.
Definitely one to try.