I’m a big fan of Regional Victoria’s dining scene with their fresh local produce and great community vibe. When I heard about Restaurant Igni, I knew I had to make a booking a check them out. For an 8 course degustation for $150 per head, it’s still quite affordable compared to those in Melbourne with a price tag of +$200 per head. There’s plenty of parking on the main street so that’s not a problem at all. Moving along, it’s a very discrete restaurant and when you get inside there are only 10 or so tables thats spaced very far apart so you’re not bumping elbows with the next table. The atmosphere is very casual and friendly yet the staff are very professional. They’ll ask for your dietary requirements including what your likes and dislikes are so they can be sure to cater for you. It was already a good start to our lunch!

Before the degustation even started, nibbles came out which included salmon, crunchy kale, asparagus and wagyu jerky, etc. It was an awesome spread with awesome flavours which focused a lot on sourness.

Let the feasting begin!

My favourite dish was the wagyu tartare with a beef broth. That beef broth was like getting a warm hug from your mum. It’s so fragrant whilst delicate and was not heavy at all.

My friends are not a fan of eggplant and they were very worried when this came out. It was cooked so well that it oozed with flavour and was not too mushy that the amigos went to town on it.

The barramundi wings were again, AWESOME SAUCE! The fish was so soft with a hint of charredness.

Now, I forgot to mention that I’m not a fan of lamb and guess what came out? You guessed it. Lamb ribs with more lamb! I did try it and my friends and I came to the consensus that the lamb was a touch overcooked and was quite dry which was disappointing.

An interesting dish came out next – grilled watermelon (to mimic meat) with shaved cheese.

And of course, a series of desserts came out.

The hot chocolate was so rich and not overly sweet and paired with the after sweets snacks, it was purrrfect.

Igni is a definite must do and it is definitely worth the drive out to Geelong. We did the non-alcoholic matching drinkies and unfortunately, that was disappointing, it was based on a lot of acidic flavours and we found that to be too overpowering. We would definitely be back and next time, it’ll be matching wines!

Ryan Pl, Geelong VIC 3220
Tel: (03) 5222 2266
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