Sardi
111 Church Street, Hawthorn
03 9818 6140
Cafe
$$
Food
- Nourish Bowl
- Sautéed Wild Mushrooms
- Oreo Waffles
The Good
Nothing.
The Mediocre
The Sautéed Wild Mushrooms were passable though lacked finesse. The mushrooms were universally over-fried, lacking in the burst of juicy goodness that’s normally associated with a bite of fresh and meaty mushroom. This was served alongside two polenta soldiers that were disappointingly bland, and only contained a hint of rosemary throughout. This was served alongside an oddly sweet truffle cream that most definitely did not work with the savoury components.
The Bad
The Oreo Waffles didn’t quite impress. The waffle itself was rather burnt, it’s dough crisp though lacking in fluffiness and much too sweet for our palate. Despite its name would suggest, the biscuit topping our waffle was not in fact an Oreo, but an imitation. Combined with berries surrounding the dish that weren’t very fresh, and coupled with a scoop of coconut sorbet that was overwhelmingly sweet, this one dimensional dish fell short of our expectations for sure.
The Nourish Bowl was sorely disappointing. Despite its stunning appearance, the bowl was incredibly bland and lacking in any kind of seasoning whatsoever. It was only after leaving the venue and scrolling through Zomato that we discovered a sauce as supposed to accompany the dish, which was obviously missing from our dish. The grilled chicken was dry like cardboard and just as chewy. Thankfully the rest of the ingredients were fine, though not overly fresh, and remained unadulterated given no actual cooking was required!
The Verdict
We can’t say we weren’t disappointed by our experience. While Sardi has been on our to-do list for a while, the rather recent change in ownership has certainly changed things for the worse.
The cheap substitute ingredients, poor execution and lack of attention to detail all made this a rather poor experience.
Would Penguin Eat Again?
One of the worst brunch experiences we’ve encountered for a while, and we probably won’t bother returning to be quite honest.
Penguineats was invited to dine at Sardi.