I made a booking here over the phone for a table of 8 for a Saturday night at 7:30pm. Since there were road works, everyone turned up late, luckily the restaurant was understanding since literally almost all their reservations were stuck in traffic. Anywho, it’s a really cute place and people will generally miss the front door but since I’ve been hanging to come here, I knew exactly where it was yo!
Inside was quite dark and very warm (guess it’s for the date nights so you need to lean in closer to actually see them haha).
We were served bread with butter (I think it was some sort of aioli since it was a bit oily/mayonnaise-y/garlic-y). It wasn’t really good, the bread was so hard and didn’t seem fresh at all.
Since the rest of the gang was late, we decided to have some entrees first. First up, the pork belly parcel. Generally pork belly is quite moist due to the fattiness (mmmm fatttt!) but this one was slightly dry. The flavours were quite nice too and since it was a parcel it had a nice crunch to it.
Pork Belly Parcel – $14
Next entree was the Arancini balls and it was pretty good. Cheesey and rice-y (does that even make any sense…?) and came with a side of garlic aoili. Good choice Mr D.
Arancini Ball – $14.50
When the rest of the gang finally arrived, we got onto our mains (this was what I was waiting for!). Mr D and a few others got the The European Pepper steak cooked medium rare. This I thought was okay, still kind of tough for me (Yes, I have an inner 98yo grandma inside of me). Mr D thought it was pretty good so maybe trust his opinion since I’m not really a steak person.
The European Pepper Steak – $37.50
They also got some sides to accompany the steaks. One of them was the Kipflers, bacon and cabbage which came in a teeny tiny saucepan (very cute, I like). It was rather smokey but the cabbage and bacon mixed in was AMAZING!! Loved it!
Kipflers, Bacon, Cabbage – $11.50
The second side we got the was the witlof, pear and Pecorino salad and it was very pear-y (should have figured from the pear in the description). It was fresh, and a touch of saltiness and like the waitress said, delish!
Witlof, Pear & PecorinoSalad – $10.50
Finally, my main came out. I got the Black and white linguine served with fresh crab, basil, tomato and bottarga. THIS. WAS. ABSOLUTELY. MAGNIFICENTLY. AMAZEBALL! It was just so damn good. The flavours were so good and it wasn’t oily at all. So generous with the amount of crab (I LOVE PLACES THAT ARE GENEROUS!) and on top of that, I CLEARED THE WHOLE PLATE!! Totally the recommended dish if you ever come here.
Black & White Linguine, Fresh Crab, Tomato, Basil & Bottarga – $31
Finally it was time for dessert (dessert stomach get ready!!!). I got the European Bombe Alaska since I’ve never gotten one before. It was so pretty when it came out. It was a meringue on the outside and on the inside had banana and ice cream!! Soooo good!!! The cream on the plate wasn’t anything special nor the nuts covered in chocolate or caramalised bananas.
European Bombe Alaska – $18.50
Mr D got the chocolate salty caramel, peanuts & dolce di latte gelato. This was so good! The chocolate salty caramel was an expected hit but a good one though. The gelato was soooo YUMMO!!! I wished I gotten this dish….sad times. Lucky Mr D knows I like sharing hohoho
Chocolate Salty Caramel, Peanuts & Dolce Di Latte Gelato – $17
Some of the gang got the souffle with rhubarb and crumble. You haveto wait 20 mins for this dessert as they make it fresh. The souffle wasn’t really good though, very eggy and not to my liking. Yeah, I wouldn’t recommend getting this dessert….
Souffle – $18.50
Overall, I enjoyed the service at the European, the Linguine was the stand out dish of the night along with the chocolate salty caramel. Come here for date night or catch up with friends but be warned, it is dark and VERY WARM!
161 Spring Street, CBD, Melbourne, VIC
Tel: (03) 9654 0811
Website: www.theeuropean.com.au