Mr and Mrs Howell

Enjoyably uncomplicated: prawn curry. Photo: Josh Robenstone

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173 Sydney Road, Brunswick, 9381 0846

My score 3.5/5

Whatever else they may be, restaurants must be logistics businesses. Without systems and rigor none of the other branches of hospitality – nice food, an appealing dining room, friendly staff – can thrive. I was thinking about that at Mr and Mrs Howell, a neighbourhood restaurant in Brunswick, while watching chef Mark Brozic toil in his open kitchen. He was there alone, feeding 40 or so diners from a menu of up to 30 dishes with hundreds of elements. At busy times, Brozic brings in a helper but it’s still an impressive feat of efficiency and focus, especially as most of the menu turns over every season.

Mr and Mrs Howell (named after a posh couple on 1960s TV show Gilligan’s Island) has been here since 2013. Brozic shifted here from Kamel, the Middle Eastern restaurant in Albert Park he owned from 2001 to 2012. Prior to that, he travelled long and widely, pursuing twin interests of eating and snowboarding, and the influences of his time in Asia, India and Europe are evident on the freewheeling, easy-sharing menu here.

Fried goat’s cheese is dusted with crushed almonds, glazed with citrus and honey, and served with crisp bread and apple slices. The combination of sweet, creamy and crunchy is an easy win. Minced duck spring rolls are a bit Canton-meets-Casablanca, with Chinese construction but flavours that recall bistilla, a Middle Eastern pigeon pie. They’re flavoured with allspice, pine nuts and currants and are dusted generously with cinnamon sugar.

An international array of salads, stir-fries, braises and curries offers good variety. The usual Melbourne gaggle of meat-lovers, carb-phobes, vegetarians, dairy-avoiders and cake lovers will all find stuff to eat. Shredded beetroot is tumbled with pistachios and pickled red onion: it’s fresh and bright and juicy. A soupy vegetable tagine is studded with chick peas, topped with labne and sprinkled with sumac. Prawn curry with vegetables, cashews and coconut gravy is enjoyably uncomplicated. Venison ragu is deeply meaty with nice fluffy mash; the jus is thick and sticky, the lean meat near enough to tender. It’s all good fodder, generally simple, with nothing a competent home cook couldn’t wrangle.

The long shopfront restaurant is appealing and colourful, dotted with knickknacks and easy to be in; there’s a bar if you want to perch for snacks. Brozic’s Slovenian background gets play in occasional specials but I’d love to see it foregrounded on the regular menu to give the restaurant a clearer identity and, possibly, elevate the dining experience from fine to fabulous.

See their website.

More Neighbourhood Restaurants:

Ilona Staller, 282 Carlisle Street, Balaclava, 9534 0488.
Regular diners are the mainstay of this handsome restaurant with central bar and curved booths. Some beloved dishes never leave the menu (garlicky pasta with shellfish) but there’s a good array of specials too. A recent pork belly with carrot puree was magnificent.

Copper Pot, 105 Victoria Street, Seddon, 8590 3505.
Open almost a year now, chef Ashley Davis offers a ‘foodies’ road trip’, with dishes from Europe’s neighbourhood restaurants rendered with carefully sourced local produce.

Allora, 135 McKinnon Road, McKinnon, 9578 6550.
In the premises that used to house The Way to San Jose, Allora has emerged with a focus on housemade pasta and authentic pizza. Private dining spaces and a courtyard make it worth considering for southside spring and summer parties.

Rumi, 116 Lygon Street, Brunswick East, 9388 8255.
Ten years old and as delicious as it’s ever been, Rumi serves Lebanese food with plenty of heart, sometimes literally (a recent feast included grilled quail and lamb heart). Otherwise, don’t miss the eggplant with crisp onions or the braised goat with goat yoghurt.

First published in The Age, 19th September 2016