Restaurant Review: Cutler & Co

Location: 57 Gertrude Street, Fitzroy
Phone: 03 9419 4888
Link: cutlerandco.com.au
Cuisine: Modern Australian, Wine Bar, International
Overall Impression: 8.5/10

 

Awarded the best restaurant in Victoria by Gourmet Traveller Restaurant Guide 2013, Andrew McConnell's flagship restaurant, Cutler & Co, showcases perfectly executed Modern Australian fare.

The restaurant is surprisingly relaxed for a fine dining establishment. Forget the white table cloths; the ambience is much more like a trendy bar with its brick-exposed walls and soft curtain-like chandeliers hanging down from the high ceilings.

J and I decided to reward ourselves with the degustation menu. This option will set you back $150 per person (excluding wine and the additional cheese course).

Selection of appetisers   

Oyster broth, Hervey Bay scallop, king brown mushroom & wild garlic 

Hand-picked mud crab, buttermilk potato, almond & brown butter 

Hay baked carrots, goats curd, toasted grains & ash 

Smoked & fried duck, morcilla, carrot & gingerbread 

Roasted suckling pig, mustard, kohlrabi & onion soubise 

Apple & sorrel sorbet, fennel meringue & dill 

Earl Grey ice cream, chocolate, Pedro Ximenez prunes & honey

Salted caramel chocolates 

The Cutler & Co menu is unpretentious.

The food boasts tried and true flavour combinations that work a treat and are perfectly executed. Every dish had very well-balanced flavours and was presented beautifully. Course after course, our taste buds were spoiled with bursts of delicious flavours. It was obvious that the quality of the food sourced was of the highest standard. The Hervey Bay scallop was of particular note with its natural sweetness which paired harmoniously with an oyster broth that had just the right hint of mushroom and garlic flavour (anymore and it would have over-powered the sweetness of those fresh scallops).

Cutler & Co certainly affords a brilliant dining experience for patrons. The space is elegantly relaxed with brilliant attention to detail. Each element of every course was consistently cooked to perfection - the pork crackling was beautifully crisp, the unctuous smoked and fried duck was moist and tender. As expected, the service was brilliant. J and I both felt incredibly welcomed and comfortable. Our wine glasses were consistently filled and our courses were delivered at perfect intervals. We cannot wait to return.