CAFE FLORENTINE

24 Church St, Brighton - ph: (03) 9593 1214

Come here for: relaxed brunch/lunch on a sunny weekend
Don't come here: for the daily specials; mine proved to be quite disappointing

It was such a nice sunny day last Sunday that hubby and I decided to go down to beach for lunch.

We rarely go all the way down to Brighton - there are so many good places to eat in Middle Park, St Kilda and Elwood - but it's good to try something different every now and then.

We had heard that Cafe Florentine is supposed to be similar to Richmond Hill Cafe & Larder: a mixture of cafe and restaurant serving modern Oz dishes with a focus on using local ingredients, so we were excited about coming here.

I chose one of the day's specials - leek risotto with salmon tartare.

Risotto of the day - leek risotto with salmon tartare ($23.90)

Disappointing. There was nothing wrong with it, just tasted pretty bend and the salmon tartare was also pretty dull. It definitely didn't have the citrus-y punch I was expecting. Although the serving wasn't big, I still did not finish it - it was just too boring.

Hubby ordered the schnitzel with a side of chips.

Chicken Schnitzel ($28.50)

Schnitzel on the other hand tasted amazing. The chicken was as succulent inside as it was crispy on the outside. The tomato and oyster mushroom sauce was perfectly seasoned and complemented it so well. I specially liked the crispy thyme leaves on top. Fries were nice and crunchy.

French fries ($4.90)

Quite surprising how one dish could be so good and tasty and the other such an extreme opposite.

Overall, service was good, the ambiance was pretty nice with a cosy fireplace in the main dining room and the atmosphere was quite relaxed. I think I was probably just unlucky with my dish - it's not part of the normal menu and maybe that's where they went wrong. Would come back for the schnitzel though.