It’s been a while since I posted about food. All the Spring Racing Fashion has got me in a tizz and I am ashamed (ok, not really cause they are also quite good) to admit I have been living off 2 minute microwave dinners and canapés for the last few weeks. But tonight I went out. Bar Lourinha on Melbourne’s Little Collins Street is quite popular in food circles and tonight I discovered why.
As all good Melbourne restaurants are, this one is a small single fronted shop located at the Paris end of the city, a short walk from Spring Street or Exhibition. At 6.30pm on a Wednesday evening the place was packed and my friends and I were asked to wait in the hallway approximately 20 minutes for a space at a table. Um, in a hallway? I thought this place was supposed to a bit cool and classy, but waiting in a hallway is a bit substandard isn’t it? Well, one would think so but it was actually quite charming and endearing. We sat on stools outside the kitchen and chatted in the half-light, ordered our cocktails and felt like we belonged to an exclusive club that only the very important were admitted too. 10 minutes in the hall and 10 minutes in the lounge (a few stools at the front of the restaurant with a table, rather than in the doorway to the staffroom) and then it was table time.
Communal tables, high with stools, encourage a friendly atmosphere and allow you to check out what others are eating before ordering yourself. The staff are very attentive, filling water glasses and asking if assistance is required, while remembering the 8 or so specials off the top of their head.
We started with Tinto Verano; pink wine with lemon juice and mint, mixed with lemonade, then moved onto food and enjoyed Yellow tail kingfish with lemon oil, Spiced chickpea and spinach, Tuna with a spicy garnish, Lamb sausages with a yoghurt dressing and a salad of fish, broad beans and artichoke. The sausages and chickpea were especially good – the aromas of the spices combined to create a most exotic eating experience.
The restaurant is not expensive by Melbourne’s standards – a cocktail and my share of 5 tapas plates was a little under $40 and daylight savings saved my cab fare home with a short walk on a cool evening.
Bar Lourinha is located at 37 Little Collins Street Melbourne and is open for lunch and dinner Monday to Friday, and Saturday evenings. Lunch bookings are accepted, however for dinner you will just have to show up and wait in the hallway like the rest of us. I assure you though, it’s not an unpleasant experience – just like visiting the Bar itself.
www.barlourinha.com.au (Thanks to Jojo Gamvros for image)
