Ôter
Ôter is a modern French restaurant located on Flinders Lane. This basement restaurant featuring a minimalist decor of concrete floor and pillars as we walking down the stairs. One side of the room is filled with individual tables covered with white linen table cloths and warm dim lighting. The other side of the room is filled with a long bar and the L-shaped black kitchen bar where we sat for the night enjoying delicious food, good wine while watching the seamless actions by the chefs.
The one-page food menu has a good selection of seafood, meat and vegetable dishes from starter to the main course. We chose the 5-course chef's selection without knowing what to expect... it is a nice way to embrace surprises.
Chicken wing and hot sauce
The texture of this piece of grilled chicken wing is so good... crispy skin encased the tender meat. The hot sauce is not overpowering just gives a kick at the back of your throat.
Nettle cracker and salted ricotta
Crispy cracker topped with nettle and salted ricotta... not the ordinary cheese, chive and crackers. This is the first time to have tasted nettle leaf. Just wowed by the flavours of the combination.
Sea bream crudo, buttermilk and dill oil
The raw sea bream is so fresh. The combination of buttermilk, dill oil and a light hint of citrusy note which goes perfectly with the raw fish.
Blue swimmer crab, pickled cucumber, hazelnut
The dish is an art itself... visually stunning! Again the freshness of the crab meat and the texture of all the ingredients which makes this dish so memorable in my culinary diary!
Blue eye, Jerusalem artichoke and wild garlic
The piece of meaty blue eye cod fillet is perfectly cooked with the complement of the herb sauce. The brown sauce adds a light sweetness to the dish which goes well with the roasted artichoke.
Kurobuta pork, confit celeriac and lardo
A piece of beautifully grilled black pork fillet must be cooked on the yakitori grill... succulent cut and delicious natural flavours. I guess the celeriac was cooked with the lardo... tender but not mushy, yum!
Poutine, chips with cheese curd and chives
OMG! The crispy hot chips topped with cheese curd and chives is so moreish! Nom nom...
Quince, almond ice-cream and lemon balm
No word, just delicious with the combination of flavours...
Chocolate marquise, beetroot sorbet and chocolate meringue
Beautiful to look at and delicious to eat... no word can describe our happiness!
The wine list at Ôter as you can imagine is impressive. If you have been following my IG food journey or my blogs you will probably know I am a big fan of Riesling, Vouvray and Sancerre. Thank you to manager Tom's recommendation of this bottle of stunning 2005 Foreau Phillippe Vouvray. Just an utterly delicious wine. The bottle of red we had for our main course was 2014 Trousseau from Jura which was nice to drink too.
The center kitchen... chefs in action.
My favourite savoury dish - Blue swimmer crab, pickled cucumber and hazelnut
My favourite dessert - Chocolate marquise, beetroot ice-cream and chocolate meringue
We had a wonderful meal at Ôter. Modern French cuisine cooked to perfection with high quality ingredients and amazing flavours. As the quote from the restaurant explains "the word ôter means “to remove” or “take off” and represents the dining and interior concept behind the restaurant. Diners will notice a pared back atmosphere, with all the unnecessary removed." The food is beautifully presented with simple orchestration so is the menu. Delicious food, good wine list and friendly staff... a lovely place for a romantic dinner or simply spend some good time with family and friends. Hope you enjoy the food there too!
Ôter
137 Flinders Lane Melbourne 3000
(03) 9639 7073
