Two by Two

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235 High Street, Northcote, 9486 5885

My score: 3/5

In the olden days, when people were glad of the technology that bestowed gears and brakes upon their pushbikes, beef cheeks were dog meat and bought for copper coins. The occasional bewhiskered human would eat these gelatinous chunks, treating them with ancient magick best not spake out loud, before taking them into their own creaky bodies. Today, oh changed world, dogs eat bone-shaped biscuits and humans have gone nose-to-tail, and verily, cheek to cheek.

At Two by Two, a welcoming, all-day restaurant, beef cheek is slowly braised in stout at low temperature until it can be broken apart with a fork. It’s luscious, rich and black, making startling contrast with the creamy mash and deep green chicory that share the plate. It’s a seasonal signpost that makes me glad about winter, as do (don’t tell anyone) my ugg boots. Two by Two’s chicken assiette is another good winter dish, featuring moist breast, confit thigh, crisp wing and gentle almond cream. A grain salad with tahini dressing makes a robust side.

Two by Two opened last November with Press Club alumni at the helm. The brunch menu is appealing (runny-yolked 63 degree eggs, porridge with rhubarb, really good coffee) and the dining room (the old Chowhound site) is open and lively, though the backyard toilet is a drag, as is the bracing breeze when the rear door is opened. The prices are a good fit: not overreaching but not straining to be cheap so the kitchen is able to bestow some fine dining flourish on postcode 3070. The approach to wine is freewheeling and fun: they read the mood each day and crack a few bottles to suit.

I’d happily return if friends suggested Two by Two as an easy place to gather for good wine and keenly priced food, but there were factors that would prevent me from rushing back of my own accord. The service, though cheerful, veered from polished to off-the-rails (mains arrived while we were eating entrees, dishes were wrongly described) and some food was less than pleasing. An otherwise good scallop, black pudding and cauliflower dish was marred by bitter lemon foam, and a shambolic chocolate dessert seemed to suggest that the road to excellence was paved with bland white splodges. So, Two by Two doesn’t quite get two thumbs up but it’s a happy addition to happening High Street.

See their website.

More winter dishes:

Valentino, 517 Malvern Road, Hawksburn, 9826 8815
Riccardo Momesso, most recently at Sarti, has just opened a Calabrian restaurant. Consider the offal stew, slow-braised goat with local mushrooms, and marinated suckling pig with blood orange sauce.

Tonka, 20 Duckboard Place, Melbourne, 9650 3155
Coda’s Adam d’Sylva riffs on Indian food at his new laneway restaurant. Warm up with dishes such as tandoor kingfish, chickpea curry and Goan seafood curry with barramundi, mussels and prawns.

Sosta Cucina, 12 Errol Street, North Melbourne, 9329 2882
Trucking on steadily and successfully for six years, Sosta serves up wintry dishes like pappardelle with lamb ragu and roast duck with charred polenta.

First published in The Age, June 2, 2013