Shakahari Vegetarian Restaurant, Carlton

201-203 Faraday Street
Carlton 
Victoria 3053

We hadn't made a booking at Shakahari, but got a table towards the back of the restaurant easily enough when we visited on a Friday evening, although the front section was quite busy. From the outside the modern paint job and signage contrasts with the pair of old terraced bungalows that house the restaurant. The melange of styles continue inside with some foliage to soften the lines. the one downside of being near the back, were the drafts from the tricky to open door to the toilets which require a trip outside.

The menu isn't huge, but most dishes were tempting., We kicked off by sharing the vegan mushroom hemp dumplings. These are individually filled with a mixture of mushroom and hempseeds and then poached in a lemon grass and galangal flavoured soy milk stock laced with fresh Thai herbs. The flavours and textures were wonderful, but both components weren't very warm.

The millet souk savier, was a Moroccan Arab dish cooked with black olives and fried chilli onion in veggie stock. It was served with a mildly spiced chick pea stew and assorted baked vegetables including eggplant, purple and orange carrots, swede and quince in herbal oil, topped with wilted rocket. The hearty dish certainly went down well.

I went for the vegan nonya curry, which came served across a plate and tray. The porcelain featured the turmeric brown rice, leaves, mustard fresh pear chutney and pappadam. 

The Malaysian flavoured curry of mixed vegetables including cauliflower and courgette, cooked in spiced coconut stock with fresh lemongrass, galangal and ginger flower was in one half the of the metal tray. the other side held a green split pea dhal. I enjoyed all the components, but would have loved a little more kick in the curry and perhaps a mango chutney rather than pear, but perhaps the British Indian curries of my youth have tainted my thinking!

The staff seemed pretty busy all evening, but the service was friendly and timely. The bill came to $76.50 including a couple of drinks. I'd certainly be happy to check out some of the other veggie offerings on the menu next time we are in Carlton.

D.O.C. Pizza & Mozzarella Bar, Carlton

295 Drummond Street
Carlton
VIC 3053

After reading some reviews we decided to check out D.O.C. whilst we were in Carlton. When we arrived at 6:30 on a warm summer Sunday evening most of the other tables were already taken both inside and outside where we chose to sit.

Living up to their claim of providing "...real Italian eating and age old simplicity..." the vibe is certainly pretty latin, with most if all the waiters hailing from there. The Carlton restaurant occupies a building that may once have been a pub on the corner of Faraday and Drummond streets, there is also a cafe and a deli on Lygon street not far away.

We ordered some drinks and then reviewed the menu featuring a mix of classic and original options. The Lurisia “Sei” or 6 beer I had was a new one to me, a Belgian wheat style beer brewed in Italy which was pretty sweet and a nice change. We grabbed the waiters attention and ordered.

My choice was the trusty napoletana with San Marzano tomato, mozzarella, anchovies and olives. The base was perfectly crisp, light and browned, the flavour from the small salty fish permeated the pizza making a definite hit.

The Pizza Tiger Prawns lived up to its name featuring one crustacean per slice along with tomato, mozzarella, endive and fresh chilli. Again it was cooked just so and the spice permeated the dish.

The mista salad of spinach, radicchio and rocket leaves well dressed with olive oil and balsamic vinegar provided a contrast of flavour and texture to the rest of the meal.

As we ate the a queue began to form, by 7 it stretched along the front of the building, which made eating our meal feel like being the key attraction in a spectator sport!

The pizza's were great, some of the best I've eaten in Melbourne, the service was fairly prompt despite the crowds and certainly Italian and friendly. The bill came to $70 with a couple of drinks, and we'd certainly return, being careful to try to get there early if we weren't keen on queueing for a seat.

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Svago

118 Lygon Street
Carlton
VIC 3053
03 9663 3536

We'd read about Svago and when we walked down the busy Lygon street its more laid back yet elegant feel appealed to us. After checking if we had a reservation the charming tall German waiter offered us a table inside or let us choose one on the street, then asked if we were in a hurry, and warned us that the kitchen was a little crazy. We didn't have any other plans for the evening and given the cool change had resulted in a pleasant temperature we decided to stay.

While initially around 6:30 things were quiet, it got busier inside and people were soon being turned away. We perused the concise menu and made our selections. We ordered and our wait began, in the end it was about an hour after we arrived and maybe 50 minutes from ordering before our entrées arrived, although we had a couple of updates and apologies, some bread and drinks in that time. With plenty of people to watch it wasn't a bad place to pass time...

My choice to start was the roasted tomato soup and while I didn't notice the crunchy Cherry tomatoes the basil oil was the highlight of the dish.

The sardines were served with plenty of roasted peppers and basil on toasted bread. They looked great and were soon polished off.

The wait for our mains wasn't quite so long, I had the Spaghetti del Mar, which featured beautiful home-made pasta  with fresh seafood including prawns, mussels, calamari and perfect scallops in a Salsa Verde sauc.

The loin of lamb looked impressive, with a generous helping of backstrap served with braised sprouted legumes, pea puree and Juniper berries jus. Appearances weren't deceptive, and dish went down well, with all the elements proving to be a success.

While the delay was a little longer than we expected, the food was worth the wait. The waiters warnings and updates were all delivered with great humour which made the evening more memorable. The bill came in just under $110 including 3 glasses of wine. We'd definitely return, if we were looking a relaxed evening and some great Italian influenced food in Carlton.

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