The Moon — Restaurant in Melbourne

Honestly for what we spent on dinner, this was quite a let down.

The food wasn't bad by any means but tasty and worth the money, definitely not. This was also partially reflected in the portion sizes.

We had the oysters, anchovy toast, Jerusalem artichoke, halloumi, focaccia w/ tarama and finally the lamb shoulder.

Nothing really stood out or 'hit' which is a bit contrary to what you see on the plate and in some instances, the name of dish itself.

An example of this would be the focaccia, which is meant to be light / airy / crisp on the outside and not akin to standard bread.

For the main, the lamb shoulder was a bit anticlimactic - it was soft and somewhat pull-apart but wasn't really seasoned or elevated, and was a bit plain for the main focus of the dish. However, the pickled celeriac and white beans were a welcome addition.

Aside from the food, the ambience was fantastic and is what you want from a venue like this, a bit of hole in the wall mixed with modernity.

Service was prompt and attentive and could not fault it at all.

Overall, great place for a drink, just...

📍The Moon, Collingwood - 3.8 ⭐️ out 5.

This wine bar has impeccable vibes, with a gorgeous sitting area at the front where you can people watch Collingwood goers, or a more moody back area. We were lucky enough to score a beautiful round booth where we sat under the moon (lovedddd it). All the other seating here is high stools without a back. I fear that I may not have stayed so long if I was sat at one of those tables because I get uncomfortable quickly.

We had plenty of beautiful wine (starting from around $15 for a glass of red) and I also tried the coraggio ($24) which is their version of an espresso martini. This had brown butter, burnt coffee and frangelico, and came with a brownie (!!!!). I was obsessed with brownie detail but found that the drink fell a little flat for me, I wanted the flavour to be more punchy with the brown butter being fairly faint.

I didn’t try any food but the focaccia looked incredible here.

Overall 3.8...

I Invited a business partner of mine to join me, who is a winemaker in the Yarra Valley. He and I tried 3 different wines by the glass.

Unfortunately we didn't enjoy any of them and when we got to the third glass it had been affected by Brettanomyces (Brett) which I was a bit embarrassed about considerating the wine was poured prior to being served. I was quite surprised the staff didn't recognise this.

However, I was impressed with the service, communication and the recovery of the wine replacement. l'm pretty sure they even took some off the bill which I thought was a polite gesture.

My recommendation to the business owner is to contact their buyer and seller to make them aware as well as ask for a refund. These kind of experiences, if undetected will repel professionals who understand and enjoy great vino.

I'll also be back to give it...