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MELBOURNE | Archie Green is a restauarnt that’s opened in budding food hub Katherine Place, which is home to places like 5 & Dime Bagels, Lux Bite, and Dehli Streets. It’s the latest venture by hospitality veteran Paul Hourigan (former director of the Riverland group) and sees him bring on board chef Gomez Braham (ex Quay, The Napier) and sommelier Stuart Quinn (ex Atlantic, Estelle). We were invited to check out the space, and were keen to check out the latest addition to this corner of the CBD.
The Green of Archie Green is apparent throughout the restaurant, with a green hue emanating from the large neon sign at the back and an assortment of hanging plants and vines throughout the space. The rest of the venue ticks the boxes of what’s popular in Melbourne restaurant design circa 2018 – polish concrete floors, a mixture of natural and industrial materials and hanging warm lights. The plants do just enough to give it its own flavour.
Speaking of flavour, the menu is inspired by the assortment of cuisines that make up the Melbourne dining experience. Braham has worked around the world so has a lot of influences to draw on and true to the restaurant’s claim, the menu is modern Australian and very Melbourne – a mixture of Asian and European influences. The chicken liver parfait with fried bread and pickled chili is our pick of the starters, with a generous serving of creamy parfait to mop up with your spongy fried bread. Grilled prawns with garlic and jalapenos are another highlight.
Moving on to larger dishes, and we enjoyed the moist, crisp skin confit chicken leg served with gnocchi, jamón, parsley oil – the only criticism being the gnocchi which had a great texture, but was lacking in seasoning, especially compared to the delicious chicken which lay atop it. For sides, roast potato, bacon, rosemary is a must, however the highlight of the menu is to be found on the dessert list. It’s a next level ice-cream sandwich which sees chocolate and marshmallow cookies sandwiched with banana rum parfait ice-cream and chocolate sauce. It’s rich, very well balance, and one of the best desserts we’ve had this year.
For drinks its mostly accessible beers on tap, with a couple of craft options and further craft choices in cans and bottles. The wine list is decent and offers a wide selection of styles while the spirits selection is quality. The cocktail list is particularly interesting with a selection of signature concoctions and ‘twisted’ classics . Try ‘The Talented Mr. Ripley’ – a Tommy’s Margarita made using Tromba Tequila, rounded out with Strangelove Bitter Grapefruit and house-made grapefruit sherbet on the rim.
Despite being invited there was a bit of a mix up so the staff didn’t actually know that we were invited until the end of our meal. Perfect as it allowed us to gauge the service, which was fantastic. Our waiter was very enthusiastic when describing the various dishes and helping us decide what to order and it was great to be served by someone passionate who had very clearly tried the food that she was talking about.
Katherine Place is still a bit of an unknown for many in Melbourne, however those who venture down to this end of Flinders Lane have been rewarded with some great dining experiences. With Archie Green delivering on most fronts, there’s now even more of a reason to head to this end of town.
Archie Green
10 Katherine Place
Melbourne
Victoria 3000
Australia
Telephone: (03) 9448 9770
E-mail: [email protected]
Website
Open
Mon – Wed: 12:00pm to 10:00pm
Thu: 12:00pm to 11:00pm
Fri – Sat: 12:00pm to 12:00am
Sun: 12:00pm to 9:00pm