Saint Crispin Restaurant

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Having decided to do something different with our Friday night, the boyfriend and myself headed away from the water's edge and further inland to see what delights Collingwood had to offer. It wasn't until we arrived in Collingwood and asked a very friendly bartender where was good to go for dinner that we heard the first murmurs of Saint Crispin.

Sandwiched between an op shop and a wash house on Smith Street sits a trendy little restaurant with a welcoming vibe. The friendly hostess told us that we would have to wait for a table, this is normally a problem around dinner time, but neither of us was particularly hungry and having perused the menu we were willing to wait.



Much to our delight we did not have to head back out into the Melbourne drizzle as Saint Crispin has a bar above it called Thomas Olive. Mr Olive's bar has a very naughty prohibition-esque feel about it with it's shabby wooden floor boards, chesterfield sofas and dark walls lined with shelves storing bottles of various types of alcohol. Thomas Olive's offers a huge selection of drinks and, with the advice of the knowledgeable bartender, we decided to order some cocktails.

I opted for a Carrere, which was a beautiful combination of champagne, mint and cacao. My other half spent a little longer with his cocktail decision making as I suspect he was trying to order something that would not compromise his masculinity. He finally opted for the La Louisianne, a blend of Rye Whiskey, Italian Vermouth, Dom Benedictine, Peychaud's Bitters and Absinthe, also known as the most alcoholic cocktail on the menu. It was delicious.



A short while later, the hostess kindly came to fetch us to let us know that our table was ready. Saint Crispin has a very different vibe to Thomas Olive's. The décor is sleek, modern and minimalist which made a great contrast to the bar above. Having already studied the menu and worked up an appetite we ordered almost as soon as we were seated. We skipped the starters and headed straight for the mains.

I ordered bannockburn chicken served with cauliflower, fermented garlic and black barley, whilst my significant other went with the Wagyu rump and cheek served with oxtail spring roll and bordelaise. Both dishes were presented excellently and the portion sizes were perfect. The flavours were beautiful and not too overpowering. A great meal.



We were having such a great time enjoying the ambiance and the wines that we did something we hardly ever do, we ordered dessert. To share of course. We took a risk in ordering the variations of chocolate, beetroot and coriander seed dessert.

My logic behind this decision was that I love chocolate, beetroot is one of my favourite vegetables and coriander is alright too, so why not try them all together? Risky yes, but it was worth it. The dessert melted in my mouth and the flavours surprisingly really complimented each other.

Saint Crispin was a spur of the moment restaurant decision and those sort of decisions are oh so satisfying when you find yourself in a place with amazing food and a great atmosphere. Next time we head to Collingwood we will definitely be going back for more!

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#collingwood
#bars
#restaurants
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