238 Gertrude St Fitzroy
6.5/10
Spending most of my time in the South Eastern and CBD area, I made a brave foray into the fabulous dining world that lies across the other side of the Yarra. These suburbs are unexplored and exciting for me food wise, and every time I visit Smith St or Gertrude St I promise myself I will visit more (but then the inefficient and unwieldy nature of the Melbourne public transport system prevents me from fulfilling my promise). So this little journey was to Birdman Eating for dinner. Birdman is a restaurant that is known more for its breakfasts and brunches than for dinner, and apparently it is difficult to snag a table on weekend mornings. However, on this humid Wednesday night we had no problems getting a table for six (outside no less!), and the place remained half empty all night (in comparison to Ladro, a few doors down, which was packed to the gills). Upon arriving and perusing the menu I had a bit of a sinking feeling. I didn’t realise that Birdman Eating only did “small share plates” for dinner. Or, in other words, “small plates of food to ensure that you spend more than if you only had a main meal”.
Let me preface the following rant by saying that I love eating out in Melbourne and think we do world class food, no matter the cuisine. But, as yet, I am not convinced that we can do tapas, or the “small serving” thing, well. In Spain you can eat your fill of small and delightful treats for a reasonable price. It is the done thing in many bars and restaurants, and therefore there is competition and a need to keep things reasonably priced. The Spanish have also had many years to figure out what works well as a small serving shared amongst friends, and what does not. Melbourne has not figured this out. So what should be a relatively inexpensive way to eat out has become the opposite in Melbourne, and when you see the words “small plates”, “share plates” or “tapas”, be prepared to leave with a light stomach and an even lighter wallet.
Birdman Eating is unfortunately no different. The food was good, I don’t deny that. Our group had, all up, about 10 different small share plates between us. Most were delicious, such as the sous vide octopus with green olives & compressed watermelon salad ($18.50) and the slow roasted lamb shoulder with celery heart leaves, fetta, lemon & bread ($18). I am also still dreaming about the fried haloumi with red rice, dried sour cherry’s & pistachio salad ($15). The zucchini & fetta fritters ($10.50) were a bit dry and tasteless, and the skordalia ($9) did not hold a candle to others I have tried (for the BEST skordalia head to Mamacas on Chapel St). But really, the food was all pretty damn nice and used flavour combinations that I had never thought of before. The service was ok, if a little slow at times, but relatively friendly and smooth. The wine/beer list was also reasonable, although I am not a convert to the Mauritian Beer Phoenix ($8).
BUT here is my issue. Most dishes I wanted more of, but instead I was left with a few mouthfuls of intense flavours, and than I had to move onto another mouthful of different flavours. It was sensory overload. I would have much preferred a entrée and main of two of the dishes, which would easily be able to be “super sized” by the kitchen. I stopped tasting the differences and didn’t really feel like I got to completely enjoy and appreciate each dish. The dishes, as they were, just didn’t work as small shared plates. And of course there was the bill. For a weeknight casual dinner where none of us actually ate that much (I suspect the men in our dining group went home hungry and made toast) it was $65 a head. In my book that is too much for what we had, despite it all being fresh food made from quality ingredients. I suspect that it is this small and pricey approach towards dinner at Birdman that sees it half empty on a week night whilst the neighbouring restaurants are bursting at the seams. Maybe the Birdman should just stick to breakfast.
