Huxtable: Hit-and-miss

I met up with The Girls at Huxtable in Fitzroy for a small catch-up dinner, and to celebrate CG’s birthday. After hearing that Heston visited this restaurant when he was in Melbourne, I was keen to see what was on offer.

The decor was quite retro - very cool, very laid back. Encompassing an entire length of the dining room was the open kitchen/bar, while small tables adorned the rest of the space. 

The menu is sectioned into ‘bites’, ‘to share’, and ‘sweets’. Bites are single serve tapas, while to share dishes are larger. There were some clear Asian influences seen in the menu (including Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, Thai) – some of these dishes were very well done, some were so-so.

I didn’t particularly enjoy the jalapeno & chedder croquette, nor the tempura eggplant prawn fritter – despite its deep-fried crispy goodness, I thought the filling was too pasty – they both reminded me of Vietnamese fish paste, which is not something I was ever a fan of. Also note the prawn fritter IS MASSIVE. If you plan to order this as a ‘bite’, I’d recommend to share between 2 people, otherwise you’d be full after a couple of ‘bites’. 

Bread & butter

 Sangria

xo bun with crab, jalapeno, thai basil mayo

jalapeno & cheddar croquette

steamed tofu w chilli, ginger & black bean dressing

crisp filo log of lamb puttanesca, lemon yoghurt

tempura eggplant prawn fritter, shiso

spiced tuna tartare, shiso, yuzu custard, radish, sesame crackers 

Smoked kingfish, horseradish, beets, pear & kombu

The tuna tartare was absolutely delicious. Fresh and light, it didn’t smell fishy at all. I also enjoyed the smoked kingfish, it was very good. Beautifully presented as well.

korean bbq pork ribs, spicy slaw, chilli gherkin

rare sesame beef salad w lemongrass, lime, peanuts & rice paddy herb

lebanese cauliflower, harissa yoghurt, dukkah

This salad was a delight to eat – light and refreshing. The beef salad was okay, probably can’t compare to a good authentic Vietnamese or Thai beef salad. The Korean bbq pork ribs didn’t live up to my Korean food standards – it lacked that extra kick that would have made it awesome. 

Service was fine, except for a few awkward moments with our waitress who at certain points asked if we wanted some of the plates cleared when we weren’t finished yet, and other times left the plates after we were clearly done...nothing major, just a tad odd. I thought the $4 per person cake-age fee was absolutely ridiculous though – I would have been happy to order a couple of desserts as well, if it weren’t for this. 

Overall, I thought the food was a bit of a hit-and-miss. Probably won’t come back anytime soon. 

Ratings (based on my own experience, on this occasion):

Food – 6 ½/ 10

Service – 6 ½ / 10

Value for money – 6 ½ / 10

OVERALL CONSENSUS: 3 bags (out of 5)