Level 1, 302-320 Burwood Rd, Hawthorn - ph: 9819 2200
I've been meaning to visit Canvas forever. I used to live just around the corner and walk past it every week, but only now I finally got the chance to try, well... a taste of it.
Restaurant's logo on the wine glass
We got there after 9pm on a Friday and the outdoor bar area was totally packed. Generally you cannot have bar meals at the indoor bar / waiting area, but one of their friendly waiters was quick to make an exception and accommodate us inside. Lucky, because there was some sort of function going on outdoors and it was really loud - we wouldn't have stayed otherwise.
We started with chips served with harissa mayo. The chips were crisp on the outside and really fluffy, steaming hot inside. The home-made spicy mayo was great too.
Chips with harissa mayonnaise ($8)
I decided what to order before I even finished going through the menu: octopus paella with chorizo.
Loved the look of this dish as it arrived on the table - and it also smelled fantastic. I was just disappointed there was hardly any octopus in it at all. All the elements of the dish tasted great: spicy, thoroughly cooked chorizo, giant soft Israeli couscous was an interesting substitution for rice. But there wasn't enough octopus in it. Annoying.
Hubby chose the lamb meatball pizza. The dough was a bit different from your traditional Italian pizza base and tasted more like pita bread. But it was crisp and complemented the lamb meatballs well. There were also some caramelised and deliciously sweet onions in it - the final result was a bit unconventional, but really good pizza.
Octopus paella with chorizo and peas ($16)
Loved the look of this dish as it arrived on the table - and it also smelled fantastic. I was just disappointed there was hardly any octopus in it at all. All the elements of the dish tasted great: spicy, thoroughly cooked chorizo, giant soft Israeli couscous was an interesting substitution for rice. But there wasn't enough octopus in it. Annoying.
Hubby chose the lamb meatball pizza. The dough was a bit different from your traditional Italian pizza base and tasted more like pita bread. But it was crisp and complemented the lamb meatballs well. There were also some caramelised and deliciously sweet onions in it - the final result was a bit unconventional, but really good pizza.
Lamb meatball, braised onion and dukka pizza ($18)
Despite being disappointed with the amount of pctopus in my paella, I'm looking forward to my next visit to try the restaurant's menu.
The paella rice looks interesting - it's rounded like Persian couscous. And I love fries with mayonnaise!
ReplyDeleteHi MD: We were told it was Israeli couscous, but I guess it's the same as Persian?
ReplyDelete