MATTEO'S REVIEW 533 Brunswick Street, North Fitzroy

This North #Fitzroy institution has been open for over 20 years now and during this time has earned a respectable number of hats from the Age Good Food Guide and with good reason. The food at Matteo's is delicious!

Best described as euro asian fusion, Matteo's cleverly pairs classic european cooking techniques with asian and western ingredients.

My entree of spanner crab wonton ravioli was pure heaven. The ravioli was nice and light and the crab filling inside was sweet and delicate. The tomato consomme that the ravioli were swimming in paired well together and it wasn't too overpowering for the dish. The prawn cracker on top with the little dollops of shellfish mayonnaise was a nice textural touch. Everything was well balanced.

This was followed by the main event of Patagonian toothfish, a white fleshed fish similar to cod which was marinated and baked in a miso paste. The fish was sitting on top tender young leeks and rice noodle rolls which had been pan fried. On the plate were swirls of black garlic puree and ribbons of pickled purple daikon. A nod to Nobu's signature black cod miso no doubt but with a Matteo's twist.

Accompanying the mains was a couple of side salads. The tatsoi salad came recommended so we ordered a side of that. The strips of nashi pear gave a nice burst of sweetness to the salad and the wasabi peas a nice crunch. This was dressed with the wasabi mayo which thankfully wasn't too strong yet you could still taste the flavour of wasabi coming through. And the salad of green and yellow beans with the addition of anchovy bread crumbs and shavings of pecorino romano cheese was really inviting.

The #desserts didn't disappoint either. We decided to go for the sharing plate which included three of their desserts. Out came a trio of beautifully presented works of sweet art. The first a dark chocolate mousse lying on a rectangle bed of passionfruit jelly and chocolate soil. The second a party of fresh strawberries, strawberry jam and a silky beautiful yoghurt sorbet. And lastly a yuzu set cream with white chocolate shards, raspberries, meringue and mint granita.

And just because...

We finished off with Matteo's C Spot which was essentially a chocolate lava cake encased in a crispy flaky tartlet shell. A perfect little quenelle of vanilla icecream and raspberry jam escorted the petite tart. There were some ahhhs around the table when the warm oozy chocolate sauce flowed out as the spoon went in. What I liked about the desserts is that they weren't too sweet. Just like the rest of the dishes the desserts were perfectly balanced too.

Matteo's #MelbourneRestaurants is fine dining and sophisticated so expect to pay accordingly, but you can be rest assured you will have a thoroughly enjoyable eating experience which is sure to stay with you for a long time.

If you're looking to impress or need somewhere for that special occasion, then look no further than Matteo's.