THE GRAIN STORE

517 Flinders Lane, Melbourne - ph: (03) 9972 6993

We were lucky to get invited to the launch party of The Grain Store - a new cafe, dining & bar at the Spencer St end of the CBD.  Owner Eleena Tan and Chef Ingo Meissner, partners in another venture in Footscray have decided to move closer to town, bringing a much needed freshness to the 'other' end of the city.

The concept for The Grain Store is, as the name hints to, rustic, traditional and healthy fare crafted through the lens of Ingo's classical French technique.

I checked their menu online the moment I received the invitation and got excited about what they had on offer - house made quinoa bread, lentil cassoulet and orange cured salmon are some of the breakfast items. It's refreshing to see a breakfast menu that sounds innovative and healthy at the same time.

The Grain Store also serves lunch and is open for dinner on Friday nights. The launch was a cocktail party where we got to sample a few of their lunch/ dinner items. Here are some of the highlights:

Polenta chips - sounds silly to include polenta chips as a highlight dish, but these chips were seriously tasty and addictive! Fluffy polenta inside a golden crunchy crust. I loved the rosemary infused salt they used.

Rosemary and sea salt polenta chips 

Char grilled chorizo with quince was another great combination of flavours. The sharp and spicy chorizo went really well with the sweet quince.

Chorizo and quince 

Beef cheeks with tartare sauce - I simply loved this one. The beef cheeks were so tender they melted in the mouth; I could have eaten 10 of these pretty little parcels.

Beef cheeks with tartare sauce 

A nice surprise was the masterclass held by Ingo, with stake tartare the focus. According to Ingo, the secret is assembling all the ingredients just before serving to make sure the acidity of the capers and gherkin doesn't breakdown the meat protein making it soggy.

The scent - and the taste - of the stake tartare were divine. I loved his addition of a hint of lime just before serving.

Stake tartare master class - served on house baked brioche bun 

Big thank you to chef Ingo and Eleena for the invitation. We are now looking forward to trying The Grain Store's breakfast menu.