Hello! I was about to start this post saying welcome to my very first foodie review BUT BUT then I realised I'd already done one about George Jones Eatery "here" AND that Luke and I did not one but two reviews of NZ and Aussie snacks:
So it's not super new, but what is new though, is that exclusive foodie reviews will be provided to my subscribers only, so make sure you subscribe to the mailing list if you want to get your hands on that (plus it's free). All you have to do is go to the "home page" and scroll until you see the form to provide your email address. Who doesn't love a bit of extra content in their inboxes? I sure do!
Anyway, for one of the very first foodie reviews, I thought I'd choose somewhere local and somewhere that Luke and I had been somewhat recently. And don't worry, I think I've been to soooo many foodie places in Melbourne (the list is endless so there will be plenty of exclusive content and content provided on the blog too for ya'll to enjoy).
Something that I've always loved about Melbourne is the endless amount of hidden bars and hidden restaurants everywhere and all the funky laneways. Like it's basically information overload, but it's a whole lotta fun! So let's get into it shall we?
I'm not sure how to get a Pinterest pin onto my blog posts (the blogging platform I use doesn't seem to be compatible which is really annoying, but you can check out my pinterest "here".
Noyade Bar & Grill is located at Rear/333 Napier Street, Strathmore, Melbourne, VIC 3041. It's relatively easy to find, just look for a brick alleyway and you'll see the signage on the right of the brick wall. Follow that laneway and you're there!
Hours of operation are: Monday (closed) Tuesday (closed) Wednesday 5pm - 10:30pm (we went about 5:30pm on a Wednesday and it was quiet) Thursday 5pm - 10:30pm Friday 4pm - 11:30pm Saturday 3pm - 11:30pm Sunday 3pm - 10:30pm
So some good hours and it's got an inside area and an outside covered area with heating where we sat. I even checked out Google Reviews and I cannot see a bad review (that's promising). Google says price PP is around $20 - $40 (not bad not bad).
Noyade also has a cool Instagram account, you can check out "here".
Overall, the staff were really friendly, making sure we were comfortable and offered us drinks straight away. The menu has a pretty cool list of their own signature cocktails but if you're after something more traditional, you can ask them to make it for you (it is a bar after all). On their menu it does say they are unable to make an espresso martini - which I assume is because they don't have a proper coffee machine and that's fine, but the best espresso martini I ever had was from the hidden bar Eau de Vie in the city (but I haven't been there since 2019 so I'll need to go back to that one soon, it's just always been booked out).
Now, Noyade is tapas style so the meals are relatively small so I would highly recommend ordering a few different things to share and it's good because it kinda keeps you drinking and eating and ultimately, consuming more so the bar gets more money (it's basic capitalism). But there were a few things on the menu that I'd been eyeing up for a while so let's just say my cravings were definitely very satisfied once I got what I ordered.
I cannot find a drinks menu online for the bar, but we both got 2 cocktails each and I remember them being priced at $21 each (but I think we either came at a happy hour OR the bartender forget to charger us for 2 of the drinks, either way, works for us). Anyway, I think one of the cocktails was called a Black Pearl and I got it because it had blue curaçao in it and I knew the drink would be blue but it also had a lot of blackcurrent so it did have some strong Ribena vibes. Here's the first round of drinks:
And on to the second round:
The second round, Luke got some sort of Coffee liquor cocktail and I actually can't remember what mine was but I do know it had Raspbery liquor in it LOL.
Haha Luke has just let me know that his first cocktail was called Margarita Picante and his coffee cocktail was La Dominicana. Guess we'll just have to go back for more drinks (I wish a drinks menu was online somewhere because I feel like I'm making myself look dumb lol).
Now onto the food! We basically got everything to share except our two mains but of course we did try each others!
To start, Marinated Olives $5.50 (Vegatarian + GF)
And yep, it does seem a little pricey for a bowl of olives and I do wish it was bigger but they were delicious. I prefer the green olives - idk why - I think it's just a texture thing. But they were delicious and made us thirsty for sure. I would rate them an 8/10 purely because I wish the bowl was bigger.
Next up, Cypriot Halloumi Bread $7 (Vegatarian)
I would have never thought you could make bread out of halloumi but I was really impressed with this - the flavour notes were so smooth and the bread was absolutely delightful dipped into the vinegar it came with. I feel like you could actually make an epic cheese toastie with some halloumi bread. I felt like the price of this was pretty reasonable so I'm gonna go ahead and give this a 9/10 (plus I love cheese so I'm absolutely bias).
The next "starter" was the "World's Best" Hand Cut Chips $9
Now, I was really sad these didn't come with a tomato sauce or another condiment like aioli because that would have really made me love these. These chips were cooked so well, they tasted like they were double cooked (one of my favourite ways to cook potatoes) and the seasoning was to die for. The chips honestly melted in your mouth and I think they must have had some sort of Cayenne Pepper or Paprika seasoning BUT what's really getting me is the lack of sauce. I'm a big sauce gal so not having sauce when the chips are $9 for a starter, it sucks! And I know I could have asked for some, but I just didn't want to. Just gimmie dat sauce - sidenote here, Luke puts tomato sauce on absolutely everything and I think so does my mum (I feel like I'm the odd kiwi even though Luke is Australian).
Onto the mains (probably my favourite so far).
Luke went with the Beef Smash Burger $18 (but I actually think it was a Wagyu special that night). Anyway, when I tried it, it tasted like a better version of a Maccas Cheeseburger and I mean that in the most respectful-complimenting way. Here's a picture:
It was kinda like a little slider so I'm gonna say it's an 8/10 (purely for the fact that it would have been amazing if there were two OR it was just bigger in general). But again, it's tapas style so you can't really do anything about that unless you order a 2nd one (personally, I totally would).
And my main, ahhh I'd been craving it for soooo long ever since I read it on the menu was the Grilled Lamb Cutlets with mint and pea puree $18
The lamb was beautifully cooked, so tender and honestly, I know when lamb isn't cooked well. Not because I'm good at cooking lamb, just because I've had a lot of terrible lamb in my life BUT it did fall off the bone really well. I liked how all the flavours came together and the puree was really nice. The text of the puree was a little odd though - kinda like an illusion in my mouth because it had a similar texture to wasabi so I was expecting a kick I didn't get and I think I was a little disappointed. I kinda feel like if they put a tiny amount of chilli or red onion in the puree, it would have been really well (it just needed a kick, even a splash of lemon juice probably would have worked). But all in all, I loved it so I'm gonna go ahead and give it a 9.5/10 plus it's a good price for meat and even though it's only a small cut, it was delish! Oh and it had pieces of ginger on it too that really complimented the lamb. I kinda like when dishes have bits of ginger on them because it's a good palate cleanser.
And finally, because I am a sweet tooth, we absolutely have to go for dessert! Duh. I actually have a second stomach just for dessert (I'm secretly a cow, jk jk). I had a feeling the desserts wouldn't be very big so I thought we should get two instead of our normal sharing one - because often we're so full from our mains we just share, but this time I decided to follow my gut - I also thought that if desserts are around $13, then they probably are relatively small. I feel like this place would do well with a dessert tasting platter (like try all the mini desserts).
Luke went for the Vietnamese Coffee & Brandy Tiramisu with kumquat cream $13
I actually think I preferred Luke's Tiramisu to my dessert (but we'll get to that soon) because it had such a good coffee flavour and it had the sponginess of a good one (I wonder if I could make one, idk I've never tried). I would give this an 8/10.
Oooh now my one! I got the Pandan Panacotta with strawberry coulis $13
The main reason I got this is because I knew it wouldn't upset my stomach and I remember telling Luke that Pandan kinda looks like bamboo and he's like no it doesn't and so I googled it and he's like oh okay it does kinda. But I also was thinking about the cheesecake on the menu too. Basically, if I've learned anything writing this blog, it's that we need to go back to Noyade and try other food LOL. The panacotta was as wobbly and set as you'd expect, really smooth going down your gob. The fancy sugar work was cool but I wasn't a fan of how it felt in my mouth but I did enjoy the strawberry coulis, it was really fresh and light and felt like a taste of summer going into winter. Plus, I love when desserts put pansies on the plate because it's one of my favourite desserts. I'd probably give this about a 7.5/10 because I preferred Luke's dessert.
If I could describe Noyade Bar & Grill in one word it would be "cosy".
AND in conclusion, I feel like the main thing that was missing was quantity from Noyade and I love tapas because you can try a lot of different things but most of these dishes were so good, I wanted more of them.
So if you're looking for a cosy quiet night for tapas and cocktails that isn't in the city, I suggest checking out Noyade in Strathmore.
I hope you enjoyed this foodie review, there will be way more coming soon incluing my top brunch spots in Melbourne, my favourite places to get desserts and much much more!
Let me know in the comments what hidden bar you've tried recently (or if not a hidden one, just a bar or pub in general)
Much love,
Ash xoxo
Benji tax!
Update 24/05/2024 - here's the latest vlog with some vids from our visit to Noyade
Comments