Matteo's Restaurant, Fitzroy

For my recent birthday, Tim took me out to Matteo's Restaurant in Fitzroy for dinner.  The menu is French-Asian fusion, making its menu quite unique  from other places that I have been to.

On walking into Matteo's, the entrance is decorated with gorgeous gold and red wallpaper.  There is a downstairs section of the restaurant, with big plate glass windows giving views of the street, and there are intimate booths upstairs.  Out the back, there is a large function area that was buzzing on the night that we were there.

On being seated in one of the booths, and after ordering two glasses of Prosecco, we were provided with some bread to start:  

 
The bread was the perfect vehicle for the delicious sea salt and seaweed and almond meal condiments:

 
For entrée, I chose the Jerusalem artichoke soup with goats cheese ($23):

 
The large, creamy balls of fried goats cheese swam in a moat of smooth and delicious soup which was poured into the bowl at the table.

Tim chose the king salmon with salmon roe and yuzu dressing ($24):

 
He said it was delicious.

For main, Tim ordered the wagyu beef ($39):

 
I have no further information about this dish other than that it was tasty.

I wanted to try something a little different, so I ordered the pork hock roulade with cauliflower and prunes ($33):

 
I knew that this dish would be rich, but I didn't really understand how rich.  I was glad the waiter steered me away from the Chinese doughnut with scallops and congee for entrée, as two rich dishes would not have been good.  Don't get me wrong, this tasted good, but the sheer fatty goodness of the hock was a bit overpowering to someone who is used to choosing lean cuts of meat. 

On the side, we ordered a beetroot salad (~$10):

 
and Asian greens in soy sauce (also around $10):

 
My favourite side was the Asian greens.

For dessert, both Tim and I ordered the panna cotta trifle with berries and gelato ($18):

 
My favourite part of this dish was the crunchy cereal balls, which contrasted nicely with the smoothness of the panna cotta.  We were both very happy with this choice, and I could have eaten another despite feeling very full by this stage.

We did some celebrity spotting when Goerge Calombaris of Masterchef fame came to dine with three companions.  They were seated by the big plate glass windows, so I could only see him  by glancing sideways.

The service at Matteo's was impeccable.  Our waiter was attentive without being intrusive, and I appreciated his advice on my menu selections.

We finished off with a coffee each, which was served with a mini raspberry macaron with chocolate ganache filling:

It was a perfect end to a perfect evening.

Matteo's Restaurant

533 Brunswick St

Fitzroy North VIC 3068

Ph: (03) 9481 1177