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218 Chapel Street, Prahran, 9510 8693
My score: 3.5/5
Globe Cafe did all-day dining on this site from the mid-1990s through to late 2013, riding all the culinary waves from big cakes to gravlax stacks to chai lattes and, according to my back-of-napkin guestimate, serving enough serves of their popular eggs benedict to fill an Olympic pool with hollandaise sauce. Mmm, swimming.
But Globe got very tired and Osti sprang up in December under new owner Tim Kenyon (ex-Oscar Whyte in Armadale) who oversaw a refit in cool blue and Melbourne black. The all-day, easygoing outlook remains but there’s more polish to the act now, and the food from chef Luigi Buono (ex-Enoteca Sileno) is a satisfying mixture of Italian classics and confident reworkings of the canon. The reliability of the food is pleasing. A simple dish that’s well cooked is always better than a way-out concept badly executed, as any My Kitchen Rules tragic knows.
My spatchcock (a small chicken) had golden-brown skin and juicy meat, speaking of careful, loving roasting and grilling. Braised radicchio, neatly turned asparagus and a corn fritter were apposite accompaniments. A sumptuous risotto came with a generous amount of Moreton Bay bug (shellfish) stirred with spicy tomato broth. The rice was properly soupy and sturdy. The dozen grazing dishes are perfect for shoppers needing a breather and bar-hoppers wanting a little ballast. Scallops are topped with caramelised onion and wine-infused breadcrumbs, adding sweetness, acidity and texture to the pert, just-cooked mollusk. An ‘ancient grain’ salad stretches the concept by including just freekeh and lentils. It was topped with cotechino sausage, adding welcome spice and fat, but the dish would be better with a bit of freshness and crunch too. Desserts are button-pushers: one includes yoghurt pannacotta, chocolate mousse, biscuit crumbs and stewed berries. It’s a no-brainer plate-licker.
I feel for anyone staffing a restaurant because it’s so hard to find bodies with the full complement of food and wine knowledge, cheerfulness, observation skills and initiative. Osti hits some marks but not all, or at least not all the time. More reliably to hand are the good function spaces and the champion brunch menu. Along with quinoa porridge and ricotta pancakes there is, of course, eggs benedict with hollandaise. I hope Osti goes on to break some swimming records too.
More all-day dining:
Marios, 303 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy, 9417 3343
Ah Marios. The cafe that taught Melbourne about cool all-day dining is still there at the front of the pack, serving well-priced meals and good coffee (no skinny, no decaf) from early till late.
Rita’s Cafeteria, 239 Johnston Street, Abbotsford, 9419 8233
It started as a pizza parlour but Rita now gets up early to bring you dishes like crab omelette with fried peppers and gruyere, and citrus salad with granola, mint and labneh.
Pelican, 16 Fitzroy Street, St Kilda, 9525 5847
For 13 years, Pelican has been fluttering its feathers, clacking its beak and strutting its stuff on Fitzroy Street. Classics include the zucchini fritters, the patatas bravas and the calamari.
First published in The Age, March 2, 2014.
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