Melbourne Eats: Gradi

For our first meal in Melbourne, we met up with Mom's goddaughter, VF.  VF has been living in Melbourne for quite some time now, and rarely goes back to Manila.  So we visited her instead and asked her to tour us around.  But first, lunch!  Initially, VF wanted to bring us to a steak place near our hotel, but sadly, it was closed for lunch.  So we opted to just go someplace near the outlets, since we were planning to shop afterwards.  We ended up at the Crowne Melbourne Casino.  It was already about 3PM when we got there, and among the restaurants in that stretch, the tables in Gradi were still full.  We figured it must be pretty good, so we chose Gradi.

Patate Fritte

Erm... not so found of how their version of fries tasted.  I couldn't quite put my finger into it, but somehow it tasted off.  

Tagliata di manzo con infuso di olio alle erbe aromatiche

Eye fillet marinated with herb infused oil, chargrilled and sliced to serve

Very tender.  Look at how well they cooked it!  Perfect doneness!  It was a good thing it came out great because this was what 4/6 of the table ordered.  It would be a bad thing to see 4 disappointed faces.  Lol!  

Tortelli emiliani di carne in salsa di tartufo, parmigiano asparagi

Four meat filled tortelli Emiliani in a truffle and parmesan sauce with asparagus

My order.  I was expecting great things.  But ended up wishing I ordered the steak too.  The meat inside tasted bland and dry.  And the sauce?  Lacked truffle smell!

Tortelli insides

See?  You could tell it was dry even from the pictures alone.  Boo.

Cotoletta di vitello

Crumbed and fried Sicilian style veal cutlet served on the bone

Tasted like... Err... Breaded porkchop?  They even mixed up the orders so this was the very last one to arrive, after everyone was already finished with their own meals.  So not worth the wait.


So the verdict?  The only thing we really liked was the steak.  I've had better versions of the other dishes we had, so this was not am impressive meal at all.  Oh well.  2 out of 5 stars.
  

Gradi is at the Ground Floor, Riverwalk, Crown Melbourne, 8 Whiteman Street, Southbank 3006, Melbourne, Australia