Hazel — Restaurant in Melbourne

HOME DELIVERY (VIA PROVIDOOR) REVIEW The current COVID lockdown has deprived us all of the simple pleasure of dining out. Providoor is a new meal home delivery startup that offers "almost cooked" meals from a range of restaurants. Providoor sends you a box with the food ready to put in the oven or in boiling water (sous vide style) or in a pan. We selected Hazel from Providoor's ten or so restaurant choices. The food arrived on the doorstep early in the morning. Inside were the various food items along with two frozen chill bags to keep everything cool. There was also a printed page with instructions for meal preparation. We chose the eggplant parmagiana meal for 2 people ($90) which comprised a garlic foccacia, eggplant parmagiana main, leafy green salad and a lemon curd dessert.

Ease of preparation very simple - just placed the focaccia bread, pumpkin and eggplant parmagiana in the oven in their aluminium foil tray. Salad - just add your preferred dressing (for us it was olive oil and balsamic vinegar). Dessert precooked and just needed refrigeration. The printed instructions were a bit vague. You have to read through fairly dense text to find your items and how to prepare them. No images or tsep by step instructions.

Taste Foccacia was very tasty. Pumpkin was delicious. Eggplant was a bit disappointing - semed to lack body and flavour. Salad was fairly wilted to begin with so most didnt get eaten. Dessert fine. Quantity foccacia and dessert plenty for two people but the parmagiana is just enough for two!

Use by date Providoor delivers the emal in the morning with the expectation that you will cook the food THAT evening. So it doesnt leave you much wrigggle room if your pland change. However the meal items do come with use-by dates. All items in our order had two days from delivery to use-by but I suspect you could stretch it out a day or two more depending on the dishes ordered.

Value for money At $90 plus $16 for delivery, it is a very expensive meal for what you get. We bought a second meal (for the next night) in the same order and the $16 delivery covered both meals, however, if you choose from more than one of Providoor's restaurants in the same order (eg entree from one, main from another) you will be charged $16 for each restaurant.

Conclusion Although very convenient and good quality, the high cost will deter us from regularly ordering. We will probably use Providoor for larger gatherings where having "ready to cook" meals takes the stress out...

Well, what can I say about Hazel Restaurant. I have been here now three times over the last two years. I came here for a friend’s birthday this time which was on a Wednesday evening. We decided on the champagne in advance given it was a birthday occasion. Hazel however did not have that $100 bottle that I saw on their website in stock, Leura Park Blanc de Blanc, so I opted for the only remaining choice in Blanc at $160 which was still good. In terms of ambiance, Hazel has that, and the feel is excellent. Very clean lines and classy with the neutral colour scheme, something reticent of what you would see in some parts of old modernized New York. Soft on the eye with no stark colour schemes or any gaudy artwork on the walls. In terms of the food, I guess the drawback of knowing how to cook and having eaten in some very nice restaurants over the world is that the food at many restaurants today disappoints. It’s not for the quality or the preparation generally, but for things like the portion size to cost ratio and most times the quality of the aged meats and their apparent weight as described on a menu. For me, key, is quality, yes, but beyond that, it’s also about the value dining experience particularly when the bill at the end of the night creeps up to nearly $500.00 for two people. The food was ok. Just ok. The 600gram steak was acceptable. Could I have done it the same? Yes, and probably a better cut as I found the steak slightly tough, but still flavorsome and evenly moist throughout. Was the whole food array we chose from the menu that night amazing? No. It was just good. However, when we look at the service attention we received from the staff, it was some of the best I have ever experienced dining here in Australia. The ladies that tended the table were very polite, warm, always smiling and very detailed with the information given about the menu and our options. The staff were clearly invested in their work as you could clearly see from the way they spoke. Another big key I see here is the attention to filling your glass, Excellent. Will I be back, probably, but for me it would not be a regular go to default choice. I will continue on and try other places in the search for a restaurant that can tick consistently all the boxes including the food value to price equation....

The real definition of casual dining.

Great line up of cocktails & the best tasting Moscato from Italy recommended by Liam the legend: Apple Gimlet Strawberry Negroni Black Forest Milk Punch Tastes exactly as it sounds and they pack a punch.

Pig head croquette (4.5/5): crispy salted exterior, and a meaty treasure of pulled pork is discovered. A bit dry but plenty of flavour which was sweet and salty. That peach mustard on top was the cherry on top that elevated the flavour of the single bite.

Cheddar fritters (4.5/5): another favourite! Cheesy and not too much potato. Has a nice kick from the green chilli! Personally prefer the pig head one but my friends loved this one more.

Raw fish (4/5): I find many sashimi or raw fish dishes very similar but this one is a must try. Has a rich creaminess with a refreshing kick from the spices and herbs which is very hard to decipher what it is.

Halloumi (3.5/5): That grilled halloumi had the perfect amount of saltiness, cheesiness and creaminess. The fennel pollen gave the bite nothing short of aroma. I just personally wouldn’t order this again bc to me it’s just cheese - then again, my cheese croquettes are an exception.

Bbq potatoes (4.5/5): surprisingly the highlight of the dishes. The creamy sauce that the beautifully cooked potatoes sat on was to die for.

Scotch fillet & butter (4.5/5): Juicy piece of steak for a decent value. The aromatic flavours just explodes in the mouth, mellowed by the shining element, the anchovy herby butter. Cooked perfectly medium rare. Loved that bit of char, and the meat had a perfect amount of fat.

Honey tart (5/5): just try it. I don’t need to say no more. We were so full but just couldn’t resist this golden glory. Super creamy, not too sweet with that heavenly honey flavour.

Food: 4.5/5 Value: 4/5 Ambience: 5/5 Service: 5/5 - Liam was a bloody ripper who demonstrated what and how casual dining should be like. Super funny...