ezard at adelphi

Ph: 9639 6811; 187 Flinders la, Melbourne 3000 www.ezard.com.au

Modern Australian, $$$, ** for Food & Ambience
Open Mon-Fri noon-2.30pm Mon-Sat 6pm-late, Closed Some public holidays; Licensed; AE DC MC V
Chef Teage Ezard & Dylan Roberts (5-12-08) Owner Teage Ezard (5-12-08)

Mietta's Review
The hard architectural edges have been smoothed off this mostly sunken restaurant making it a comfortable place to dine particularly if you're into creative Australian cuisine. Chef Teague Ezard has made distinctive choices on everything you can put in your mouth, except the water. As Maggie thatcher would have said, "there is no alternative". The extremes of ingredient combinations have calmed a little over time and the accent is now on what could be described as the Neil Perry Asian mixture. The comfortable middle class clientele seem to enjoy the chef's prescriptive approach to restauration which, given the prices, is just as well.

Other published opinions

Age Good Food Guide 2009 Score: 17/20 "Any fears Teage Ezard's new Gingerboy venture might have diluted the energy at his eponymous smart restaurant can be safely dismissed. In fact, the case is made by some regulars that Ezard has, if anything, regained some of its supreme poise after a degree of short-lived complacency some years back"

Gourmet Traveller 2009 Australian Restaurant Guide Score: ** "Dylan Roberts Teage Ezard's sleek basement diner is nudging its 10th birthday but shows no signs of weariness or complacency. Rather, its ease and confidence make it a joy to settle into the well-upholstered, neutral toned dining room"

Age Good Food Guide 2008 Score: 17/20, Two Hats "Opened n 1999, Ezard is one of our most accomplished restaurants, as you're reminded when opening the menu to confront a list of significant (recent) awards"

Gourmet Traveller 2008 Australian Restaurant Guide Score: ** "Now eight years young, Ezard is ageing gracefully. Service has always been a strength but it's sharper than ever"

Herald Sun Dining Out, Simon Plant, 21/3/06 Score: 18/20 "Six years after he opened his restaurant, Teage Ezard is finding new ways to enchant and astound us. Capable staff anticipate your every need and the cellar is exceptional. It's pricey, but for an exciting high-end experience that never, ever feels formal, Ezard is hard to beat."

The Age Good Food Guide 2006 score 17/20 2 Hats "Teage Ezard is a wizard of Oz cuisine, a chef who can take ideas from Asian or Mediterranean cuisines and transform them into something magical on the plate. His multidimensional flavours are big, assertive and almost invariably in perfect balance."

Gourmet Traveller 2006 Australian Restaurant Guide ** "Six years in the basement of the Adelphi Hotel have not dampened Teage Ezard's enthusiasm for big flavours and artisan plating. Eating here continues to be an exciting experience as Asian European flavours and techniques are tossed together in a skilful juggling act."

Gourmet Traveller 2006 Australian Restaurant Guide Best business lunches "If contemporary food is appropriate, both Ezard and Pearl maintain the same high standards, but with more of an edge in terms of what's on the plate and what surrounds you as you wheel-and-deal."

The Age Sunday Life, Australia's 20 best restaurants Mathew Evans 05 "A few years since establishing himself at the forefront of Melbourne dining, Teage Ezard has matured into a self-assured chef who has mastered his use of Asian spicing and techniques."

Herald Sun Eat Bob Hart 11/6/05 "From the day it opened six years ago, chef Teage Ezard's basement eatery has offered some of the hottest food in town - literally, at times. Teague is a culinary superstar and an original thinker. His food is fresh, skilful, at times unconventional, but deliciously consistent."

The Age Good Food Guide 2005 score 17/20 Two Hats "RESTAURANTS like ezard change your perception of the dining experience. Everything here from non-flecked salt on the table to the lance-trussed roof - conspires to provide a culinary journey reaching far beyond the palate."

Gourmet Traveller 2005 Restaurant Guide ** "One of Melbourne's most creative young chefs, Teage Ezard gravitates towards a style informed by Asia. Master stocks, citrus-or soy-based dressings, powerful aromatics and the use of seafood and raw vegetables give Ezard'sfood a lightness and power."

The Foodies' Guide 2004, Allan Campion,'Come and experience Teage's attention-grabbing modern Australian food.Asia and the middle East with classic European touches inspire the menu.Each plate is a work of art,as is the grooviness of this whole place.'

The Age, A2, 17/4/04, John Weldon,'for $105 per person ($175 with a wine matched to each course)you can treat yourself to the very best from his kitchen and cellar all in one go...it makes for a grand and extremely romantic,special occasion dinner.'

Herald Sun, citystyle, 23/3/04, Stephen Downes, Score 17/20,'a superior act. An important restaurant, it might be expensive in all respects. But you're getting here some of Australia's most advanced cooking in the national style.Service is perfect and the wine list is enormous and expensive. Nine table whites and seven reds are available by glass, and many half bottles are listed.'

Gourmet Traveller Restaurant Guide Australia 2004, 3 red stars, excellent wine list,'refined and mannered...radical Asian-infused food...at the root of all the dishes is a sound technique that creates basic, backbone flavours.Great staff, and an informed wine culture, makes this an extraordinary package for the adventurous eater.'

Age Good Food Guide 2004 18/20 three chefs hats

The Age, A2, 28/2/04, Matt Preston,'While praised as one of the unmissable restaurants in Melbourne, some foodies grumble about too many long-serving dishes on the menu.Thoe less regular at this crisp basement restaurant might applaud this conservatism because two of the city's best tastes-oyster shooters in sweet soy and mirin reduction and their impeccable crispy fried pork hock-still star.Add great service and a comparatively reasonable bill, and that unmissable epithet is fully justified.'

Vogue Entertaining & Traveller, March April 2003

The Age Good Food Guide 2003

The Sunday Age, Sunday Life, Eat Streets, 27/4/03, Dani Valent

The Sunday Age, Eat Streets, John Lethlean, 30/6/02

The Herald Sun (Weekend), 10.11.01, Bob Hart

The Sunday Age, 26.11.00, John Hindle Score: three and a half stars."

The Herald Sun, 21.09.99, Stephen Downes Score: 13 out of 20."

The Age, 07.09.99, John Lethlean Score: 16 out of 20."