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MELBOURNE | MJR TOM Collingwood has been around for almost a year now and, while we’ve walked past several times and thought “hey that place looks cool”, we’d never actually visited until recently, when we were invited to an event to sample a range of their dishes from the new dinner menu. The space is very eclectically designed and uses corrugated iron, exposed brick and, unusually, lots of plywood. It’s been described by owners Harry Tsiaples and Nick Tiktikakis as “back to front” and “inside out”. We’d always assumed that the cafe/restaurant area was it but there’s actually a full bar out the back and a funky little space with a pool table downstairs – very unexpected. If Bowie were still with us an somehow found himself on Smith Street he might very well approve.
The drinks list is impressive, with a surprisingly decent range of craft beers on tap and bottles (including some fabulous Nail beers from WA). The wine list includes a thoughtful list of local and international drops, with an eye to food matching, while those in the mood for spirits and cocktails are also well catered to.
Food is taken care of by head chef Sam Kearney, who uses his experience cooking in Spain as well as Chapel Street’s Japanese fusion restaurant Mr Miyagi to create dishes that bounce between Spain and Asia, ranging from the traditional to the modern. One of the highlights is the seafood paella de mariscos which comes in either 7 inch or 12 inch pan sizes, and features prawns, mussels and calamari. We were also big fans of the “Mack on Crack” – marinated blue mackerel with tomato on a squid ink rice cracker and the mojo prawns – beautifully grilled fresh prawns. When it came time to explore the sweet side of the menu, we loved the buenelos – goats cheese ice-cream with almond praline and ponzu caramel.
Along with the new dinner menu, you can also get breakfast and lunch, or simply take advantage of the bar and enjoy a drink. Whatever time of day you visit, there’s something that should suit your needs at MJR TOM, be it traditional or a bit more out there.
MJR TOM
108 Smith Street
Collingwood
Victoria 3066
Australia
Telephone: (03) 9419 8048
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: http://www.mjrtomcollingwood.com.au/
Open
Mon – Sun: 8:00am to 1:00am