Absolutely no doubt, Vue de Monde is the best degustation restaurant I have ever been to. Twelve courses that play with flavours, textures and presentation over two and a half hours, in a glittering venue, 55 floors above Melbourne.
Arriving at the Rialto towers, you travel in an elevator that shoots up like a rocket, assuredly thrumming and counting up to the 55th level. As you ascend, the lighting inside the elevator becomes subtly bluer and you can feel the change of pressure in your ears.
Service was brutally efficient and was my least favourite part of the degustation. It was too rehearsed and too efficient, like a play or concert, where repetitive sessions had removed the excited immediacy that happens when you show off something you are proud of. I can see now why Adelaide’s Restaurant Botanic is so highly rated. Their four hour plus service was leisurely, natural and warm, never feeling transactional or business like. At Vue de Monde’s worst, it was being asked what alcohol you’ll be having the moment you’re seated. For drinkers, this would probably be great service, but for me, it felt like a high pressured up sell. However I am really splitting hairs as there were also many other great moments such as the nervous trepidation of Bethany, one of the chefs who came over to present her meat dishes and PJ, the proud head chef who gave me the kitchen tour and poured liquid nitrogen into my bare hand as a demonstration of its safeness.
Food wise, the degustation resembled the most exquisite pleasure of being edged. Every course (except two) was a perfect portion that left you wanting more, but excited for the next. I will remember these dishes for a while yet, but my favourites were an oyster with an assortment of real wasabi in various forms, a refreshing apple sorbet served with interactive liquid nitrogen frozen oxalis and an eel tofu served with blue caviar and cucumber. I savoured these with a huge grin on my face as I looked out over the incredible city views of Melbourne at night.
All of this was thoughtfully paired with an amazing collection of non alcoholic drinks. They varied greatly in richness and taste and as a non drinker, I really felt like there was no way a wine could have competed against them. When they say a wine is fruity or aromatic, how can that really compare to an actual fruit juice, expertly and effervescently composed? I’m clearly biased, but the effect was like drinking cocktails all night. They even managed to make a savoury olive oil and capsicum drink taste good, which other degustations I’ve dined at have attempted and failed miserably at. Also, special mention must be made to the glassware that the drinks came in. These felt like elven crafted glass bubbles with the most sensuous mix of curves and lightness that accentuated the sophistication of the drinks. At times, this made me feel like I was drinking out of vessels made of air.
All this refined food and drink had me absolutely stuffed, resulting in something I thought would never happen to me at a degustation – me leaving food behind on the plate! This was not because the food was bad, but because I was so full and occurred during the cheese course just before dessert. Consisting of six cheeses, lavash, fruit bread, honeycomb and pickled walnuts, I simply could not have eaten all of this knowing there were still three dessert dishes to come. I actually asked if I could do take away but they would not allow me – disappointing as I was imagining eating some really bougie cheeses during my Jetstar flight to Hobart!
Location
55 Rialto Towers, 525 Collins St, Melbourne VIC 3000