Sunday, December 12, 2010

Disappointment at Dell'Ugo Southbank

On a Friday night a few weeks ago, my mum received the good news that she had gotten a full time job!  This was fantastic news, and so I decided to take her out to dinner with my sister and great aunt.  I thought - let's go somewhere fancy!  Let's go somewhere expensive!  Let's feast on good food and guzzle good wine!  And because my great aunt has a unit at Southbank, I chose Dell 'Ugo (http://www.dellugosouthbank.com.au/).

I had tried the New Farm Dell 'Ugo some years ago for a Melbourne Cup lunch.  I really loved it - it was really high quality Italian food.  I remember ordering an amazing ravioli and a gorgeous rabbit terrine and thinking it was the best Italian food I had ever had.

Unfortunately Dell 'Ugo Southbank was a different story.  Opening the menu, it soon became clear that everything was very expensive but just didn't sound that appealing.  Plus, there was no veal on the menu - I mean what kind of self respective Italian restaurant doesn't have veal on the menu?

We started off by having the assortment of vegetarian dips served with toasted bread & eggplant cheese balls
Actually this was ok, but it did set us back $23.  $23 for slices of bread with 3 small containers of dip and 3 eggplant cheeseballs.  While the dips were unusual and the balls were quite cheesy and tasty, this appetiser did not score high enough on the yum-expensive matrix, that is, it was not delicious enough to outweigh the cost.

After a disappointing start, I was looking forward to the main.  I had ordered the pork cutlet filled with manchego cheese wrapped in prosciutto pan fried with sage and pork glaze served with potatoes and mushrooms ($38).
Yes yes, it came out on a cool rectangular plate and looked impressive enough at first.  But as I ate the meal, I realised that the pork cutlet was reaaaaally fatty.  And not in a good way.  I was spitting out gristle left right and centre.  And who's idea was it to put a pile of shitaake and enoki mushrooms on the side?  I wasn't sure how this fitted into the whole "Venetian Style Cuisine" touted on the menu.

But the final nail in the coffin for Dell 'Ugo Southbank was this pitiful side dish.
This set us back $12.  If I'm paying $12 for a side dish, I want it to rock my world.  I do not want the cauliflower to be overcooked and the beans to be shriveled beyond all recognition, like someone had nuked them in the microwave for 8 minutes.  For SHAME Dell 'Ugo. 

I will never go back to Dell 'Ugo Southbank.  It was very expensive and the food was average at best.  If you're in the area, try Piaf or Bamboo Basket and steer clear!!
Dell 'Ugo South Bank on Urbanspoon

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