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Eating Out: Espy Kitchen

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On the weekend I headed to a part of town I don't frequent very often, St Kilda. The reason for me being in St Kilda was to see musician, Joshua Radin perform down at The Espy.
Given that there are no shortages of trendy cafes for all the St Kilda yuppies to have their skinny soy chai lattes with a shot of vanilla, whilst a snack sized dog sits patiently in their handbag; I wasn't really sure of anywhere good to dine. I whipped out the Cheap Eats guide and found the Espy Kitchen, which was at the venue we were going to.... convenient? I think so. 12 people on Urbanspoon had also voted, and with a rating of 100%, we knew where we were going for dinner.


Whilst walking from the carpark about 1km away from The Espy, it's hard not to notice when you are a non-smoker, the constant haze of nicotine in the air. But forgetting that, the sun was shining (thank you daylight savings) and we were close to the ocean; gorgeous.
We had tried to call up and book, but the friendly woman on the phone said the manager wanted to keep the place fairly open that night, as there was a John Farnham concert going on down the road. We wondered in, and wondered around for a few minutes and secured a table outside. Then when we went to order there was a table vacant inside, so we migrated inside.


Seafood Basket - $17.50
Battered & crumbed fish, calamari, prawns and scallops served with fries, lemon & cocktail sauce


Being near the beach, sitting around in the sun; I wanted a no fuss meal. The lamb shank risotto did sound fantastic, but I went for a simple fisherman's basket instead. I hadn't had one in quite some time, and I remember always getting them when visiting my grandparents up in the country.
This fisherman's was perfect. The chips were just the way I like them; slightly bronzed. The prawns, scallops & calamari were nice and crispy, the fish was coated in a crunchy thick batter. I managed to pull the fish out of the batter really easily. Probably a good thing because I didn't want to eat all of that batter and clog my arteries too much.


Caeser Salad With Fried Egg + Chicken -  $16.50

A caeser salad was ordered; this time with chicken! We learnt that lesson from being ripped off at the Coffee Club a couple of weeks back.
The only complaint was that there could have been more caeser dressing on the salad. It looked impressive though. Another good portion size.

There is a great variety of food on the menu, with options for vegetarians, vegans and gluten free meals clearly marked.
With lots of nice sounding things on the menu, friendly staff, a great view; I'm rather looking forward to going back for the food.


The Joshua Radin concert was fantastic... despite the fact he started playing at 11:30pm at night... standing for 3.5 hours killed my feet.

Espy Kitchen, Esplanade Hotel on Urbanspoon

I'm off to Tasmania tomorrow for 5 days of foodie adventures. I will try and post whilst I am away.. I hopefully have internet access. I know I have a backlog of posts for you all to see. Given that I will be away for:
- 5 dinners
- 4 breakfasts
- 4 lunches
- morning and afternoon teas
I will have ALOT to blog about when I come back!

8 comments:

The portion sizes look quite good for the price and there looks like a lot of chicken in the caesar salad!

Have a fabulous trip!! Looking forward to all your photos from Tassie!

I agree with Rilsta, the portions look plentiful and I must admit, the batter looks VERY inviting...it must be all the oil in it!`

Mmmm lotsa chicken in that there salad, by the looks of it.

My sister and I spent a morning in St Kilda when we were in Melbourne and we saw Sonia Kruger there. Lamest celebrity spotting ever.

Have fun in Tassie! Don't freeze!

I've been to the Espy numerous times for concerts and to see Rockwiz - but never thought to eat there! The ceasar salad looked really good! enjoy tassie!

Have fun in Tassie!! If you're after good wine then there's plenty down there - including my parents winery in Dover ;-)

Hi Esz - Thanks darling! I am too :P

Hi Eirene - ahhh... oily batter.... :P It's low fat right? :P

Hi Conor - Yes! LOTS of chicken! HAHA Sonia Kruger :P
Thanks love, weather looks pretty good =)

Hi Imasugarjunkie - Next time you are down there, pop into the kitchen! Food is great!

Hi Esz - Thanks babe! Oh wow! Your parents have a winery? My parents are really drinkers of alcohol, but I'd love to check it out, perhaps the next time I'm there. I have quite a bit on my list to do already!!

Ooh! I saw Joshua Radin in Sydney!
Love love love him and his crazy story telling :)

Hi A Girl Called E - Ah! I knew at least 1 person would say something about Joshua Radin =D Thanks for being that someone. He does tell some crazy stories!

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