Kingston Hotel, Richmond

55 Highett Street
Richmond
VIC 3121

After a disappointing result at the footy we headed to the Kingston Hotel in Richmond with the the better half's family. The smart old building sits on a quiet street not far from West Richmond station. The front bar area is fairly traditional too and you can also eat here.

We headed down to the restaurant, which has a more formal feel and views into the garden area. We ate fairly early and alone for the first part of our meal. The menu is the same as that in the bar area.

We took advantage of the 3 entrees for $30 offer, and Stuffed mushrooms were tender, moist and flavour filled.

The chicken wings were much brighter than the photo suggests!

DUMPLINGS
pan fr ied pork & g inger, sp icy d ipp ing sauce
 14

I had the fish and chips. The beer battered flat head tails had a great crisp batter encasing perfectly cooked fish. Both the chips and  mixed leaf salad also worked well.

The 350 grams of Black Angus scotch fillet came with kipfler potatoes, green beans and a red wine jus and seemed to go down well.

The bangers and mash featured local pork and fennel sausages, creamy mash, onion gravy and green peas kept Bruce happy.

Stu enjoyed his chicken parma, which also came with chips and a mixed leaf salad.

I don't re-call the fish of the day, but the better half wasn't a massive fan.

The mains were in the $25-$35 range, which seemed like fair value in quite a swish environment. The service was friendly and the dishes came out at a good pace for our group. It is somewhere we'd go back to if we were wanting to eat in Richmond again.

Thai Riffic Randwick

46 Parouse Road
Randwick
NSW 2031

BYO

We'd been to Thai Riffic in Randwick a few years ago when visiting the in-laws and decided to try it again on a Saturday while staying down the road in Coogee. It was pretty packed when we got there with our BYO beers from around the corner.

We kicked off by sharing the tofu satay, which was fresh out of the fryer and super hot. The exterior chewy rather than crisp, with a tender and soft interior. The satay sauce was suitably peanutty.

The veggie and tofu green curry was good without being exceptional.

The better half had the Chicken Pad Thai which came with some unusually large slices of meat and more veggies than I'd normally expect.

The bill for our food came in came in around $45. The service was OK given how busy it was. Our table did have a whiff of having been cleaned with dirty water which was a bit off putting. Overall the experience wasn't amazing and I don't think we will be rushing back.

Pizza D'Asporto

2-6 Ballarat Street
Yarraville
Victoria 3013

After watching a film at the Sun Theatre, we headed next door to Pizza D'Asporto. The venue is actually quite small, with a heated outdoor area featuring shared tables...

...and equally cosy interior. There is also another space upstairs, but that was occupied by a function on the Saturday evening we were there. We'd enjoyed coffees from the Kiosk at Williamstown beach, but hadn't tried the original branch in the Rifle Range shopping centre.

Given how busy the restaurant was, it turned out that the reservation was a good move, our spot was on the heated and semi closed in terrace on a large table shared with another 4 diners. Once we got settled we had enough room, and set about perusing the menu. Despite the indications that we needed to order at the counter, our waitress was happy to take our orders for food and drink.

Phil selected the pork and fennel ragu which arrived first, several minutes before our other dishes, It featured casareccie pasta with a braised pork and fennel ragu, and was enjoyed, although the rich pork flavours pretty much drowned out those of the fennel.

My Ortolana Pizza was topped with San Marzano tomato, mozzarella, grilled eggplant, roasted peppers, mushroom and olives. The base was great, authentic with big soft crust and a thin centre. The veggies were flavoursome and perfectly cooked.

The daily 'special' came with the better half's favourite, anchovies, along with olives, onions and fresh basil. The salty fish were noted as being particularly good.

Including 4 drinks, the bill came to $89. The service was great given the crowded venue, the only small gripe being the dishes arriving with a slight gap. There are so many great Pizza spots in the inner west these days, but this must be up there in terms Yarraville options!