Out for dinner

We had a lovely dinner last night for our anniversary at Fenix. Honestly I don't know why we don't go there more often as we don't live very far away. Oh yes. I just remembered. It's because of the rug rats!! I say that with great affection.

Upon arriving there's a large display of Mehigan's and Calombaris' new cook book.

We're greeted sincerely and warmly. In fact the food was excellent but I would say that the standout of the night was the service. The staff were very friendly but were happy to joke around with you as well, so this felt very genuine and made for a more homely dining experience.

I would describe the food as rustic. Bread and butter, of course, appeared first. For entree Richard had char grilled quail with sweet and sour cannelini beans, rosemary and thyme. The beans were beautiful with an intense smoky flavour. I didn't try the quail, but Richard said he was disappointed that it wasn't falling off the bone. My entree was salt and pepper calamari with a garlic aioli. I love aioli and the calamari was lovely and crisp, nicely salted with sliced red chilli's and coriander leaves scattered over the top. The chilli's gave a nice hint of heat to the dish.

For mains Richard had grilled swordfish with fresh borlotti beans and salsa verde. I just realised how much beans Richard consumed!!..... My main was the special of the day. Slow roasted suckling pig that came with apples and a buttery-herby sauce. We had a side dish of green beans with soft homemade ricotta. My pork was lovely but very very rich. The beans were a nice addition to it.

Dessert - yes I left room - was an apple souffle with rosemary ice cream for Richard. Richard said that the ice cream was extremely unusual. He described it as having an almost 'healthy' taste. I thought it a strange combination too, a little medicinal. Being a chocaholic I couldn't go past the bitter chocolate and olive mousse. This came as a large curl on my plate, festooned with oregano leaves and underneath was this kind of set gel that must have been the coffee and licorice part of the dish. I'm not a big fan of licorice so I didn't know what to expect. It didn't really taste very licorishy to me.

It was a good night overall. It gave Richard and I a chance to spend some time together alone, and it's been a while since we've had that opportunity Oh, and I should probably also add that we had some Neighbour's stars at the next table. We watch Neighbours so they were immediately recognisable to us - of course we didn't let on, being the sophisticated couple that we are - there were about five cast members. So, I think we shall return to Fenix. I'm fortunate enough to actually have that part of the yarra river as my dog walking thoroughfare, so I was even thinking that we should stop off for a coffee too. With the rug rats of course.