From Here By Mike is the signature all day restaurant at 1 Hotel Melbourne. It's a collaboration between the hotel and Chef Mike McEnearney (known for Sydney's Kitchen by Mike, his work at Rockpool and his role as director of Carriageworks Market). The restaurant spotlights Victorian produce in a luxe sustainable setting and is not your ordinary hotel restaurant.
From Here By Mike sits on the ground floor of the 1 Hotel Melbourne and seats around 100 people. An open kitchen with a wood fired oven crackling sets the scene. Soft lighting flickers on every table and the restaurant continues the theme of 1 Hotel Melbourne with its sustainable wooden fittings and greenery.
We are shown to our table right next to the sculpture "Suspended Landscape" by Jamie North made with handcrafted cast rock made from repurposed materials. Service is warm and friendly from the staff and our waiter gives us helpful tips on what to order.
From Here By Mike is known for a few dishes and one of them is their oysters. These are Boomer Bay oysters from South East Tasmania with spring onion, finger lime mignonette and finely diced pickled daikon. Tip: we made the rookie mistake of getting 1 per person. I suspect like us, you'll definitely want more as the topping is sweet, zingy and fresh in every bite.
The scallops are draped in semi translucent pieces of lardo and dotted with house made charcuterie XO that pairs the scallops with a crispy pancetta flavour. I did enjoy these but I think next time I'd just order more oysters.
The crudo changes every day and today it's Southern bluefin tuna and kingfish. We opt for the tuna with a gentle prompting from our waiter. The raw slices of tuna are dressed at the table with smoked citrus ponzu and allium oil and finished with freshly grated horseradish. The orange and green oils give the dish a striking appearance but it isn't just for show, they enhance the silky tuna perfectly.
The restaurant's signature dish is the Meredith goat's cheese soufflé with a baked half shallot on top and rosemary cream. The rosemary cream is such a clever idea to help balance the richness of the goat's cheese but it is the light, almost mousse-like texture of the soufflé that really makes this dish stand out.
Y'all know I love a puffy bread and a must order is the vegan slow fermented flatbread (which in truth, is more puffy than flat). This is baked in the wood fired oven and topped with an incredibly creamy almond ricotta (which doesn't taste all that different from a dairy ricotta) and on top there's a layer of a sweet and savoury shiitake mushroom XO with a hint of fennel seeds and plenty of chives. This is delicious and as an allium (onion family) lover I love the liberal use of them on many dishes.
For me, salmon and chicken are things that I make a lot at home and don't tend to order in a restaurant but I'm persuaded to as they recommend the salmon here. A fillet of salmon sits in a bright green pool of green garlic beurre blanc and braised green chicory from Five Tales Farm. The salmon is perfectly cooked with a crispy glass skin while the salmon is so luscious underneath but the thing that ties this whole dish together is the divine green garlic beurre blanc that would brighten up anything. Green garlic is a seasonal plant that resembles leek but with the flavour from garlic and is a real spring time treat.
Mr NQN is completely obsessed by the spaghettini with Rockcliff Spanner crab in a buttery bisque sauce made from crab shells, fermented chilli and cherry tomatoes. He goes into his corner to devour this while I adore the salmon.
Brussels sprouts are juicy and crispy at the same time and they are seasoned with vincotto mustard and ricotta salata shaved on top.
A little warning: the desserts are large and could easily feed 2. I like the sound of the Enbom Messmate Honey and Moondarra Cream Cheese basque cheesecake that is served in a large ramekin. It has a crisp honeycomb biscuit and honey drizzled on top.
Mr NQN enjoys the rum baba flamed at the table. It's a soft buttery sponge paired with poached rhubarb batons from Five Tales Farm. One baton is tender crisp while the other one is just crisp and it is served with crème diplomat and spiced rum.
So tell me Dear Reader, would you let a waiter talk you into the dish they recommend, or do you usually stick to what caught your eye on the menu? Do you avoid ordering food that you cook a lot at home?
NQN and Mr NQN were guests of From Here by Mike but all opinions remain her own.
From Here By Mike
1 Hotel Melbourne
9 Maritime Place, Docklands VIC 3008
Phone: (03) 7053 0888
www.1hotels.com/melbourne/taste/from-here-by-mike
Reader Comments