Lichen Restaurant, Binalong Bay, Tasmania

Main Road
Binalong Bay
Tasmania 7216

Our first attempt to book a table at Lichen Restaurant didn't work out, we'd left it too late on a late summer Saturday to get a spot and it turned out that a power cut meant that they were going to be late opening, apparently they made it rough in the end though.

We returned on the Sunday to find things humming along smoothly, including the open area of the kitchen with its wood fired pizza oven.

The views across Binalong Bay from our table on the deck were second to none!

The grilled local fish on spinach and a potato nori fritter with ponzu mayo and lemon butter looked great and went down very well.

I had the Bari pizza. The base was super thin in authentic Italian style with the wood oven helping puff up the crust. The prawns had been sliced in half, which given their size made sense and everything came together well.

The service was friendly and speedy, if slightly haphazard at times. With a glass of wine and pale ale the bill came to $83.60 including a 10% service charge, which came as a bit of a surprise. The restaurant is the only option in town and has a superb location, but doesn't rely on those factors alone and is certainly worth a visit.

Plus 5, South Wharf

37 South Wharf Promenade
South Wharf
Victoria 3006

Plus 5 is situated in South Wharf facing the Yarra river.

We visited for an early dinner on a sunny summer weekday evening. 

The views across to docklands, the Seafarers Mission bridge and the city from the terrace aren't bad. We'd booked using a dimmi 50% off food offer and chosen the restaurant based on location and a quick look at the menu online. In fact the menu on the day had a few different dishes

The crab sliders were small and nicely formed with a mix of crunchy veggies accompanying the meat.

The Napoli pizza featured the eponymous tomato sauce, scarmorza, anchovies and capers on an authentic woodfired base.

I went for the Sicilian pizza topped with mozzarella, eggplant, ricotta and spinach. It was a good combo nicely put together.

We'd taken advantage of a dimmi deal for 50% off food, so with a soft drink, the bill came in at $30, which was great value. The service was swift and friendly which was perfect on an evening we had plans. It is certainly a good spot to enjoy a pizza outdoors while taking in the city across the yarra. 

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!

 

Clyde Park Pizzas

Food Stall at the Golden Plains Festival
Meredith
Vic 3333

The better half had previously enjoyed a visit to the Clyde Park Winery so I took the chance to sample one of their pizzas while we were at the Golden Plains Festival, near Meredith. We'd passed the winery itself on our drive on the A300 Geelong to Ballarat road.

The pizza's generally eschewed tradition, but I decided to stick with the original margarita. I only had a short wait despite the stand seeming reasonably busy. The  woodfired oven turned the simple combination of tomato, mozzarella, baby bo-cconcini and herbs into a tasty treat.

The only downside to the meal was the food envy resulted in not all of it remaining mine! Oh well it's good to share... If we see the tent or pass the winery again we'll be likely to try it again.

The European Bier Cafe

120 Exhibition Street
Melbourne
VIC 3000

I met up with some furthr colleagues at the European Bier Cafe as it was a convenient a location for us all.

We found ourselves a booth table ordered at the bar and then had a bit of a wait before the food started arriving...

My Margherita pizza was the first meal to turn up. The crisp scone dough base was topped with sliced tomato, buffalo mozzarella and a fresh basil oil/paste. The fresh flavoursome ingreadients lifted it above my initial assessment and it was hard to fault the value for $10.

The remaining meals arrived over the next five or ten minutes, and once they got their dishes everyone seemed happy, but I didn't get too many details so from here on in it's pictures only.

The pepperoni with salami, mozzarella and fresh parsley:

Nachos with cheese, jalapeños, sour cream and house made guacamole:

Onion rings:

The zucchini and eggplant lasagne with salad and chips:

Penne with pumpkin, spinach, red onion, garlic, pesto, parmesan, veg and cream:

In the end I had to dash off as we'd had a fairly long wait, but that would be only real negative about the meal. The European Bier Cafe is a good option for pub style food and pizza's at this end of town.

Mr Lawrence at the London, Port Melbourne

92 Beach St
Port Melbourne
Victoria
3207

We'd booked for lunch on a Sunday at Mr Lawrence at the London on the corner Princes and Beach st in Port Melbourne. It was reasonably busy inside but we had a window seat with views out across the bay.

Inside the fit out has Middle Eastern touches while still feeling a bit like former pub it is. Apparently it is under threat of re-development, which given how few notable older buildings there are on this part of the seafront seems like a shame. The menu is also influenced by Mediterranean and Middle Eastern flavours.

A few of the Turkish pizzas were ordered including one topped with chopped prawn, harissa, preserved lemon, zucchini and halloumi.

I chose the roast mushroom, caramelised onion, three cheeses and fennel for the first Turkish pizza I can remember having. The combination of ingredients  and the crisp thin base worked for me!

 The grilled pork loin with nut and grain salad and mint yoghurt went down well.

The special salad of beetroot and orange with feta was popular too.

The bill for 5 including a few drinks came to $166. The service was professional and pretty swift for a busy spot. It is worth a try before any wrecking balls move in!

The Lane Cafe, Ballarat

27 Lydiard Street North
Ballarat
Victoria 3350

After a busy viewing of the Archibald exhibition at the Art Gallery of Ballarat we crossed the road to the grand old Victorian George Hotel.

We headed to the adjoining Lane Cafe which is more art deco on the outside, but is linked to the main building.

Inside was more of a bustling modern vibe. The menu stresses a heavy reliance on quality local ingredients.

We both ended up selecting pizza's, the prawn, chorizo, chilli, tomato, basil, rocket, aioli and lemon number delivered a winning combination of flavours!

I went for the margarita with chevre and garlic added to the regular mozzarella, Napoli lane sauce and basil. Both the toppings and base hit the spot.

It took a little while for our meals to arrive but it was a busy public holiday weekend. The pizza's ranged from $14 to $24 each. I'd certainly be happy to go back for more!

Ciao Bella, Balnarring

2998 Frankston-Flinders Road
Balnarring
Victoria 3926

We popped into Ciao Bella in the afternoon to check it out and booked a table. The small frontage hidden behind the greenery disguises a deceptively larger space inside, as well as a covered outdoor area.

Most of the tables were taken when we arrived around 7pm on a Saturday, the interior had a casual rustic feel. As well as the main menu there were specials on offer.

We ended up sticking with the pizzas on the main list. The Ciao Bella features portobello and brown mushrooms, mozzarella, Fontina cheese, Parma prosciutto, truffle oil and thyme.

I went for the traditional Napoletana with San Marzano tomato, mozzarella, black anchovies, black olives, oregano. The base thin and crisp around the edges benefiting from the wood fired oven. The quality of the ingredients resulted in explosions of flavour.

The service was very quick, with our meals arriving within about ten minutes of ordering, I guess thay were ready for the number of patrons! The bill came to $64 including a couple of drinks and we'd happily return if we were in town again.