Exceptional Dining at Saxe Restaurant in Queen St
Saxe Restaurant, the new restaurant by Joe Grbac, is a superb embodiment of all that is fine in fine dining. Greeted on arrival, taken for a drink at the sharp new bar, then escorted upstairs to a corner table by the window where we enjoyed several hours of conviviality. Dishes were chic and downright delicious, clearly featuring high quality ingredients. Local produce gets a guernsey and the theme is modern Australian cuisine.
Class and style at the bar. Relaxed dining downstairs and more formal dining upstairs.
Pork scratchings are my new obsession, with a Sample Brewing Lager.
The restaurant is a two story offering and the mood is intimate and cosy with a 70 seater restaurant conducive to couples and romance as well as groups. Being in the heart of corporate and legal Melbourne, it's a restaurant that corporates should visit. We know they are often creatures of habit frequenting favourite restaurants, but once you visit Saxe it's bound to become your new favourite.
Menu is compelling with meals designed as one person per plate. Although we did share some dishes. Starters were vibrant and sexy, a perfect start.
Back vintage wines were a wonderful surprise. Pairings were spot on.
Raw Yellow Fin Tuna, broccoli bits n pieces, white soy and bonito. This dish came together with crunch, creaminess and loads of flavour as a unique dish. Playful and seasonal! Loved the tuna sashimi element and the bonito.
Modern dining how we like it; looks great, touch of class, seasonal, texture and big flavour, perfectly balanced and full of technique. The sort of place you want to take your special friend or lover, group and client for dishes and vibe that makes an impression.
A stunning dish is the Quail breast and leg, curried pumpkin, puy lentils, pomegranate vinaigrette. Visually magnificent this dish hits the high notes as quail done well. The creamy pumpkin and lentils and sweet crunch explosions of pomegranate are a perfect compliment. The dish is a global fusion of flavour with puy lentils a French favourite, curried pumpkin an Indian favourite, and pomegranate vinaigrette a European favourite as we can tell. Using top notch local seasonal ingredients.
Service here was first class all the way. Descriptions and stories around dishes, regular engagement and a professional attitude.
White walls, but also American Oak and Velvet on the other long wall. Chic and not overcomplicated.
The restaurant filled shortly after 6.30pm and there was a buzz of conviviality.
Another highlight was the Corn fed chicken, shiitake mushroom, golden broth, egg yolk, chinkiang glaze. Savour every mouthful of this chicken.
Up close and personal with the Corn fed chicken. When the duck and the chicken dishes were served to us I couldn't help thinking I would want to order both - as both were so compelling and totally delicious.
Salads are savvy.
Duck fat potatoes my delightful indulgence.
Joe Grbac bringing a high class dining offering to Melbourne again.
Duck breast and confit leg with a blood orange sauce, black pudding and eggplant. This dish was a rustic triumph with 3 of my favourite things - duck, black pudding and eggplant. Such exceptional dining. If you love duck this was one of the best duck dishes we've experienced in Melbourne. Perfectly cooked, and set off by the black pudding (a highlight in itself) and creamy eggplant.
Desserts also hit the high notes with Brillat-Savarin cheesecake, mango, tapioca pearls, fig leaf. Sophisticated dining and lip-smacking deliciousness.
Roasted white chocolate, caramelised pineapple, tahini feuillitine. With the feuillitine biscuity shards covering the dessert we had no idea of the surprise underneath. A sophisticated chocolate dish that impressed.
Coffee and petit fours.
People are asking, how did they get the name Saxe. It's a nod to the local scene. The Queen of Queen St was of course Queen Adelaide; Saxe refers to Queen Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen in her longer name. Of course Queen Adelaide has a city named after her in southern Australia and now a restaurant. Having lived in Adelaide myself I've never known a restaurant there to be named after Queen Adelaide. What I do know is that a meaning of the name Adelaide is joy. And certainly Saxe brings the joy to Queen St.