Griff’s wine pub has been quietly feeding the faithful for almost two years under it’s latest guise (let’s all try to forget about the Purple Turtle shall we?). On the corner of Johnston and Napier streets in Fitzroy, it’s a stylish and comfy kind of place, with a front bar it can be hard to more on from, even when you’re only moving as far as the stained glass accented dining room, or the conservatory.

I love the feel of Griff’s, the smart cosy feeling, and the real beer. But mostly I love the reasonable mark-up on the wine list. And there is always an interesting bottle or two to try.

We share a charcuterie plate ($29) and a half dozen Streaky Bay oysters to start. The charcuterie was very generous with two types of terrine, duck and pork, liver parfait, salami and proscuitto along with various accompaniments including a delicious pickled cucmber and fennel.

For mains there was

Lamb’s liver was the “Offal of the Day”

“Fish of the Day” was a fish stew with saffron and shellfish.

And baked goat loin.

Griff’s hand cut chips are just that (and are fab with a beer in the front bar)

The Dessert Tasting Plate was terrific, featuring a warm frangipane tart with pears, some custard apple ice cream, a lavender creme brulee and a quince and pear crumble.

We went home very full, and very happy after a second bottle of Cab – well wouldn’t you?

Griffs Wine Pub
Cnr Johnston st and Napier St
Fitzroy
03 9416 5055
www.griffswinepub.com.au

A quick scan through the mental rolodex of places I’ve always meant to get to, but haven’t - Birdman Eating.

It’s not far away, the parking gods are on our side and we are quickly contemplating the menu.  

Breakfast is good here – it’s an art and they take it quite seriously.  The Baked Eggs change regularly and we watch a lot of them come out of the kitchen.  But today, my thoughts leap to melty cheesy bread.  Welsh Rarebit.   And it was a proper rarebit, not just grilled cheese on toast.  The cheese had been cooked into a cheesy, mustardy sauce and then spread on toast.  A quick stay under a hot grill and the bubbly cheesy goodness was making me very happy.

And it’s always hard to go past beans on toast.
These had a delicious Moroccan spice background adding a woody cinnamon and a subtle heat. I don’t especially like baked beans, but I was tempted to swap cheesy goodness for beans.  

Next time I want the housemade crumpets with leatherwood honey;  or the Coconut Quinoa Porridge, with banana and palm sugar; or maybe baked vanilla ricotta with fruit and almonds.  Then again, maybe the Black Pudding, or the Kippers will take my fancy, then again, there are always the baked eggs!
 

The coffee wasn’t bad, wasn’t great, but the Chai was worth writing about, and is a nice gentle finish instead of a third coffee.

3 coffees, beans, welsh rarebit and chair was $36.00 and good value.

Birdman Eating
238 Gertrude St
(Smith St End)
Fitzroy  
9416 4747