Went for dinner as a celebratory occasion with my partner. Had heard amazing things about this restaurant and being a Melbourne Institution we thought it would be a great place to try.

I’m not sure if 3 stars is necessarily a fair rating as at moments the food really was incredible but there were some things that really were quite average.

Started with a selection of Spanish small goods, all really tasty, the sourdough was also very good. Maybe they could have gave more than a small slice of bread each but overall this course was good.

Had a selection of tapas….

Croquetas - Great Tartare - Okay Kingfish - Great, Pine nut Sorbet was delicious Pincho - Chicken Oysters and hearts were really bland but the salsa was incredible Bollo - Okay but underseasoned and just okay Txistorra - Great

Ordered two mains and shared both…

The Pork Loin was pretty bland, we were expecting an aged piece of pork served slightly blushing in the middle but what arrived was just a grilled piece of pork with no seasoning. It didn’t have any of the gamey-ness you’d expect from the description and hadn’t been brined or marinaded before hand so really it was a pretty bog standard pork that was quite bland and dry. The agrodolce was fantastic and maybe the idea was for that to be the star of the plate but we felt it just fell short of the mark and would have been happy to not have ordered it.

The beef cheek - Again, just okay. Beef was cooked well and the Jus was good, cauli puree was also good but it was just missing depth in the dish, a salsa to cut through the richness of everything or a touch of acidity. There was nothing that really set it aside from a good pub main course. Maybe that’s all it was supposed to be, I don’t know, we just felt that it should have been more.

Forced a flan for dessert down us which was nice, it didn’t feel perfectly executed, but it was nice.

As I said previously, perhaps the 3 stars is an unfair rating but for a restaurant of this reputation and calibre we expected things to be fantastic throughout. The real punchy flavours you’d associate with Spanish food just didn’t seem to be there despite all the elements being present. I’d say a few small touches and the meal would have been incredible but without them it left us feeling underwhelmed, particularly with the main courses.

Would I return? Absolutely, the wine list was extensive and really showcased some fantastic wines from across Spain and I felt the tapas was good. The service was fantastic, knowledgeable and friendly. Perhaps taking 2/3 tapas from the bar with a glass is the best way to enjoy this restaurant.

Would I return for dinner? Probably not, it’s clearly a good restaurant and the menu read very well, all the elements were there but it takes a fantastic restaurant to tie those elements together properly. Also at the $400+ mark there’s plenty of restaurants in Melbourne to try as an alternative

Overall we had a good evening and the meal wasn’t bad, but - not unlike alot of restaurants in Melbourne - style over substance is at play. Maybe we made the wrong menu choices, the paella on other tables looked great and had we had that maybe this is a completely different review but we didn’t and here we are.

Seasoning and acidity is everything and is the difference between okay food and great food. Don’t be just another expensive Melbourne Institution.