Speakeasy Kitchen Bar
359 Chapel Street, South Yarra
03 8657 8556
American, Bar Food, BBQ, Contemporary
$$
Food
- Seared Spanner Crab and Sweet Potato Cake
- Speakeasy Fried Chicken
- Talk Green N Gold Burger
- Scotch Fillet
- Gen Y Caramel Tart
- Speakymisu Box
The Good
The Seared Spanner Crab and Sweet Potato Cake made for an astonishing start to our meal. With a slightly crisp and crusty outer, these crab cakes were delectable soft and moist within. The sweetness from the sweet potato perfectly juxtaposed the textured and well-flavoured spanner crab. Served alongside a beautifully runny scotch egg and a creamy sirarcha mayo, this dish most definitely delivered on flavours. The richer components of the dish were well contrasted by the pickles, which provided a refreshing tangy sensation which, along with the crunch of the prawn crackers, this all made for a well-balanced and appetising starter.
The Speakeasy Fried Chicken didn’t disappoint either. The light layer of outer crumbing was fried to a nice golden brown. Encased within was some tender and juicy chicken protein that was well-marinated and full of flavour. Served with a spicy mayo and some pickles, we found these drumettes very enjoyable and appetising.
We proceeded to the mains, namely the Scotch Fillet. Seared just so, the request for a medium-rare steak made for a pink and incredibly juicy inner. The pattern of charring on the outer offered up a pleasant smokey aroma, which was well complemented by the forward beef flavour throughout. White the protein itself definitely leaned towards the chewier side, the steak was overall enjoyable, with help from the amazing blue cheese sauce that was lightly pungent yet incredibly creamy. Alongside, we found a beautifully sweet tomato relish, which was well complemented by a sizeable potato hash as well as crunchy greens. The generous serves of both the steak and the sides made for a hearty and very satisfying dish.
The Talk Green N Gold Burger didn’t disappoint either. The first thing that caught our eye was the bright green matcha bun. Not to be missed was the whole smoked portobello mushroom that was sandwiched within, and this burger was further topped with a generous patty of soft, fluffy polenta. Holding it all together was a creamy and flavoursome miso mayo, providing a hint of savoury sensation that worked rather well with the rest of the burg. Unfortunately, the fries served alongside were lackluster at best, and felt much like an afterthought.
We concluded our meal with the Gen Y Caramel Tart and the Speakymisu Box. The trendy and cleverly named desserts didn’t disappoint one bit however, with the Caramel Tart the most outstanding of all. The buttery, crusty pastry was exceptionally complemented by the thick and rich caramel. Without being overly sweet, the smooth caramel was well juxtaposed by bits of crunchy walnuts embedded within, as well as the crisp banana chips topping the tart.
The Speakymisu itself was served in a novel way. Presented in a tall box, digging in reveals a soft spongy inner that was intertwined with layers of creamy mascarpone. With the airy layers well-soaked in espresso, the beautiful coffee aroma was forward and well complemented by the cocoa dusting on top.
The Mediocre
Nothing.
The Bad
Nothing.
The Verdict
Slightly off the main hustle and bustle of Windsor’s side of Chapel Street, Speakeasy offers Prahran a relaxed environment that’s great for drinks, but even better for American-inspired cuisine.
With the more-than-generous serves at very affordable prices, the meals here most definitely satisfied both our hunger and our tastebuds. It’s a shame we haven’t ventured into this neighbourhood gem any sooner!
Would Penguin Eat Again?
Most definitely. You can count us in for more, especially with specials running all throughout the week!
Penguineats would like to thank Speakeasy Kitchen Bar for inviting us.