Ladro, a little piece of pizza heaven

162 Greville St, Prahran

8/10

I should first admit that I have never been to the Ladro original on Gertrude St, so this review is based solely on my experience of it’s Greville St sibling. And, after reading many negative reviews of the Greville St eatery, I was a little scared of what I would encounter on a busy Friday night. Most reviews savaged the slow and too-cool-for-school service as well as the noisy environment, with only a handful of reviewers giving positive comments. Well, it just goes to show that sometimes you need to experience things for yourself, because I found Ladro very pleasant overall.

Of course, as with anything, the evening wasn't without its hiccups. I had booked a table for two online that day, and was surprised that I was able to get my preferred time of 7 pm. I was expecting Ladro to be already booked out or to be relegated to the ‘nanna’ session of 6 pm. When I arrived alone, first impressions were good. The décor is simple and stark, but somehow still feels inviting and warm. It has a decent sized courtyard out the back and a good eating area on the street. But I had to stand awkwardly in a line of other new arrivals for a good five minutes before finally speaking to a waiter about my reservation. And then I learnt what booking a table last minute at Ladro for a Friday night gets you – the ‘crap table’. Wedged in between two large tables of South Yarra parents and their ‘bubs’ (I have to use that word because there is no other way to describe designer wearing two year old terrors in $1200 prams) was our ‘cosy’ table for two. Really, I would’ve needed ear plugs to sit there. Hardly relaxing after a full week of work when all you want is a large glass of wine and some good conversation. The waiter noticed my horror, and said that everything else was booked. In desperation I asked if I could sit outside, and the waiter said of course, even going so far as to recommend which table was most protected by the wind. So, once seated outside (under a very effective outdoor heater that meant I had to remove several layers of clothing), things got a lot better. Husband finally arrived, and we ordered some excellent glasses of wine. We choose the Italian white by the glass and the Italian red by the glass. At $12 each they weren’t cheap, but both were lovely well selected wines (apologies that I can’t remember what varietals they were, as the wines by the glass change regularly and there is no wine list I can refer to). By the time we ordered I was still waiting for some hint of snootiness or rudeness from the waiters, but the service had still been nothing but prompt and friendly. And there was no pushy ‘up-selling’ of extras as I had read in other reviews. In fact, I had to call back the waiter to ask for a salad with our pizzas.

But of course, the star of the show must always be the food. After arguing with Husband about his pizza selection, I relented and he ordered the Pomodori Verde ($23) a pizza topped with bufala, pickled green tomatoes, garlic, chilli and basil. On paper, the combination of ingredients didn’t excite me. But – my god – on the plate it was pure heaven. The pickled tomatoes were akin to jalapeños that had been soaked in lemon, and their lovely spicy zing combined with the soft cheese and chilli was a masterful combination. The pizza base itself was thin and crispy, without being dry. The true test of a great dish is whether I get a little weepy when eating something. And I did mist up a little bit when eating the Pomodori Verde. Less spectacular, but still tasty, was my pick of the Salami pizza ($21) which came topped with tomato, mozzarella, good quality salami and basil. My only criticism is that it lacked a little punch, and could have used some chilli or extra spice to take it to the next level. We also ordered a radicchio, rocket, chicory, fennel and witlof salad ($9.5), and the leaves were fresh, crunchy and lightly dressed, finishing off the whole meal nicely.

Another slight hiccup was the difficulties we experience in paying the bill, where we had to eventually get up and pay at the counter. Why, oh why, do restaurants not seem to care about letting customers pay the bill at the end of a meal? It’s not a problem that is isolated to Melbourne, but it really is ridiculous when you have to wait longer to pay the bill than for your food to arrive. I do also see how some reviewers struggled at Ladro when they had to sit in the main dining area. It was loud and packed very tightly, and I am not sure I would rush back there for dinner unless I could secure an outdoor table or one of the few tables for two along the window at the front of the main dining area. But overall, I was impressed, and Husband and I left with full bellies and big grins. Just the way it should be.

Dumplings Plus, 269 Swanston St, Melbourne

6/10

There is one thing that Melbourne does NOT have a shortage of, and that is cheap Asian eateries. But this oversupply of cheap Asian cuisine means that it is difficult to distinguish the “great value and delicious restaurant” from the “terrible and MSG filled impostors”. I have been attempting to broaden my range recently, so that when my friends try to force me to eat at the abhorrent Cami’s (the infamous Shanghai Dumpling House) I have somewhere else to suggest. I used to be a fan of North East China Family on Flinders Lane, but that relationship went down the toilet when they served me dumplings that tasted like dish water and were actually inedible.

So, my new regular is Dumplings Plus, a rambling restaurant off Swanston St. It has two levels plus a strange backroom (in front of the toilets, so avoid sitting there unless you like the smell of urinal cakes with your dinner). I will say in advance that Dumplings Plus is not that amazing. It is a place to go on a night where you want something quick, easy and not too pricey. So Dumplings Plus will do until I discover another cheap, easy to get a table at and semi-decent dumpling place.

The décor is on the upper end of the niceness scale for a cheap dumpling restaurant. There are pretty lanterns hanging from the ceiling and carved wooden furniture. It gives the place a warm feeling, unlike many of the brightly-lit, plastic table restaurants in the China Town area. The staff are also efficient and pleasant, although a weird incident did occur recently when my dining companion, who was feeling uncomfortable with the waitress intently watching her eat, had to ask the waitress to stop staring. The incident was a little odd (I suspect the waitress was just bored) but certainly not a deal breaker. So unless you have a deep seated fear of someone watching you eat, Dumplings Plus is certainly a decent option, and you won’t be left chasing the staff around in an attempt to get another beer or order your food (which can be the norm at many other China Town restaurants).

Another “plus” (he he, see what I did there?) is the hand made dumplings, which you can watch being efficiently formed by the chefs through a glass partition. The steamed dumplings are fresh and soft, and the fillings range from relatively ok (the vegetarian) to border line delicious (the meat variety). The “plus” in their name relates to all things Chinese, but I have only sampled the chive pancakes (if I was you, I’d give them a miss as they are overly fried and tasteless) and the morning glory (which I would also avoid, as it came covered in a gloopy, clear, unidentifiable sauce that gave it a unpleasant consistency).

Last time I ate there the bill came to $30 with drinks for two people. Not the cheapest option for China Town, but I would rather pay a few extra dollars and not have to endure establishments like Cami.

The Hardware Societe, a little piece of lunch time heaven

120 Hardware St, CBD Melbourne

9/10 on the lunch scale. There is no better lunch option (that I have tried) in Melbourne.

I almost don’t want to write a review of Hardware Societe, because I don’t want to make it anymore difficult to get a table there at lunchtime! But, sigh, in the name of Fill My Belly I will add to the avalanche of positive reviews out there on Hardware Societe. Because the place is a truly great find. Stuck up the quiet end of Hardware Lane (where it actually becomes Hardware Street), away from the awkward restaurants touts trying to convince you to come inside their restaurant, sits Hardware Societe (Note: if a restaurant has to encourage you to come inside by placing some poor bastard out the front to pounce on people passing by, it is not worth going to. I don’t like generalisations, but I can assure you, their food will be shit). Hardware Societe has the opposite problem of a lot of places on Hardware lane, in that it has too many people wanting a table. So if you want to eat there and not wait half an hour for a table, arrive at 12 pm. They don't take booking and the place is very small. When we arrived at 12 pm we snagged the last table.

Hardware Societe sadly only does breakfast and lunch. If it branched out for dinner it would do a roaring trade also. Because the food is lovely. It is hands down the best value meal I have had in Melbourne in a long time. Sure, $17 for lunch isn’t cheap, but for the quality of the food, the cute and quirky surrounding and the exceptional service, it is a bargain. The food compares to what you would get in a top end restaurant, but instead of paying $45 a meal, you are paying around $17. It certainly puts into perspective the mark ups that top up restaurants must add to their dishes. I am gushing I know, but this place shows us how lunch could be everyday of the week if other places took a leaf out of Hardware’s book. And what a wonderful world that would be.

The menu changes seasonally, and they also don’t have a website, so it is hard to tell you exactly what my friends and I ate (however, I am still having graphic food flash backs so it shouldn’t be too hard). To try to put their cuisine into words, think lots of cuisines and ingredients combined into a delicate balance of flavours. The menu contains about 10 options for lunch, and they all sounded so delicious that I had a minor panic attack when trying to pick what to order. I ate a pork escalope placed on a generous dollop of garlicy labna, with broad beans, peas and snow pea tendrils ($17). It was a generous serve and the pork was perfectly cooked and went beautifully with the labna. The peas and broad beans had been poached ever so slightly so that they kept their fresh flavour. I ate every last little bit of food on my plate. My friends had the pork belly special, which came with cous cous that had been “sexed” up with date molasses and rose water and tossed with roasted nectarines ($17). The pork belly had the requisite crunchy top and sweet, moist bottom. Other menu items included scallops, roasted lamb and vegetarian options.

The food was so good that you could ignore the various groups of people angling for a table and attempting to poach freshly vacated tables from those who had arrived before them. Because of the flood of people wanting a table, Hardware Societe becomes a bit of a jungle at lunchtime in this respect, but the staff cope well and I actually heard a waitress politely telling two people who had snagged a table that there were others who had been waiting longer.

Hardware also has a range of delicious looking sweet food, like macaroons (which a trusted source tells me are some of the best in Melbourne) and cakes. But sadly, I was down to the last 5 cents in my purse and couldn’t indulge. Oh well, this simply gives me an excuse to return. Although I think I will have to arrive at 11.55am next time ...