Estivo

Located in a bit of a vacuous part of Kew, Estivo could have taken the easy way out and been happy dishing substandard offerings to a captive (and generally well heeled) audience.  But far from falling foul of ‘big fish in a small pond’ syndrome, this much loved establishment continues to represent  everything that is right about suburban dining experiences, and its one-hat status is well earned.  The service is warm and friendly – all pretension stops at the white table cloths – and the ambience is pleasantly intimate, as you would expect from a suburban establishment.

Oysters

Our most recent visit (celebrating Mumsy’s birthday) did not disappoint.  Seated in the upstairs dining room we shared an entrée of oysters between the eight of us – the oysters were fresh, retaining just the right amount of that briny taste of the sea, and had us fighting over who would get a second one!

For mains we broke my oft imposed rule of ordering different dishes (to my dismay), and we all ordered either 1. Steak; 2. Crab Linguine; 3. Duck Risotto or 4. Lamb. At this point I should make mention of the Duck which I have had on prior visits and would highly recommend if you are a duck fan – it would have to be one of the better duck dishes I have had in a Melbourne restaurant (of course, nothing could ever quite compare to Paris).

The steak as usual was perfectly cooked and juicy in such a way that only the best cut of meat can be.  It came served on a pretty bed of spring vegetables in a red wine jus.

Steak with spring vegetables

Linguine with Spanner Crab

The Crab Linguine – whilst not huge in volume (oh and don’t, unlike a patron on our table think that you will get served the WHOLE crab), it was huge on taste! The tomato based sauce lended a natural sweetness which perfectly complimented the freshness of the  the crab, and there was just enough sauce coating each strand of al dente linguine without the dish being a complete soggy mess.  As a great lover of pasta I was a little envious of Mumsy who had picked this dish, although my duck risotto (which I had overlooked the other 2 times that I dined at Estivo earlier in the year) did not disappoint.

Risotto is at the best of times a little risky – too often its either undercooked and crunchy when it really should not be (I do NOT enjoy a risotto that resembles crunchy peanut butter), or else its one big sloppy mess.  This risotto is one of the better ones I have had – perfectly cooked so that the grains are soft with that glutinous liquid clinging in all the right places.  The duck was tasty without overpowering the mushrooms scattered throughout – YUM!

Duck & Mushroom Risotto

Lamb was the other popular dish on our table, and looked succulent and juicy.  Inside, the meat was a beautiful rosy colour – and I was assured that it tasted as good as it looked.

Lamb

On this occassion, we didn’t order dessert as Mumsy had a big cake surprise for us (see our next post on ‘A Sweet Thing’).  But if you are that way inclined, the dessert has about 4 offerings that can satisfy the chocoholic as well as the fruit fanatic.

So if you’re looking for a good feed that’s a little bit fancier than fish and chips, pizza or lemon chicken, and you’re in this part of town, Estivo is a great choice.  We know we’ll be back!

Estivo

330 High Street Kew VIC

(03) 9853 1727