Last week Theresa and I headed to Lounge Bar on Swanston Street for a special dinner, along with some old and new food blogging friends from around Melbourne. As part of a new re-vamp of their image and menu, Lounge showcased the best of their tapas share style menu to two tables of starving food enthusiasts.
We were greeted with a mojito and mingling on arrival before being treated to a scrumptious and diverse array of dishes. On the menu are tapas favourites patatas bravas, braised beef and confit pork sliders (tip: go the beef), and calamari. Along with these came some new favourites – does chargrilled asparagus with roast capsicum pesto sound good to you? How about Eggplant San Choy Bao? The bacon wrapped chicken and prawn parcels had us all extra excited.
photo courtesy Lounge
Dinner was followed by the tongue-curlingly sweet salted caramel panacotta. Served in gorgeous old style champagne glasses and topped with candied popcorn, these babies are a meal on their own. They are so good you won’t even know you have company at your table it will be so silent as everybody digs in.
My favourite dish of the night I have to say was the mac n’ cheese. It gives me no greater pleasure in life to know that a childhood afternoon snack has been embraced by chefs and turned into an adult delicacy. This one is topped with a crunchy, distinctly adult black truffle crumb.
photo courtesy Lounge
The night ended with Strawberry Amaretto cocktails on the balcony with our new friends and plans made to come again soon.
-Charli W.
Charli is a creative writer, food lover, and Harry Potter aficionada in her last year of a History degree. She is sure she will find a way combine these things one day, to great success. If not, she’ll pack up and become a bartender somewhere in the Caribbean with a fabulous year-round tan.
Lounge Bar’s new menu is there for you to enjoy Monday to Friday from 12 noon and weekends from 3pm.
243 Swanston Street
Melbourne
www.loungekitchen.com.au
