233 Chapel St, Prahran, 3181
(03) 9510 0955

A cold, wet Saturday night out after a long 24-hour hen night. Tired and seedy and in need of sustenance, four of us sought refuge in the cosiness of Eau de Vie for an early dinner.

We warmed up and ordered some drinks: a couple of glasses of shiraz for myself and one other, water for everyone else. The specials sounded good, so we included a couple as we chose our dishes for the evening. The waitress considered what we’d ordered and suggested that she bring them out in complementary groups. Nice touch.

We started out with a small but explosively delicious plate of thinly sliced kingfish carpaccio, seasoned with rock salt,shallots and line leaf oil. A tiny morsel each, but that’s all we needed. Amazing.

Grouped together, they served us a tiny skillet of spicy chickpeas cooked in coconut cream, another sizzling dish of sliced chorizo baked with pear and cider, a generous portion of slow-roasted lamb with pumpkin and pinenuts, and a side of perfect crispy roasted potato bites. A bowl of rocket salad with parmesan and candied walnut completed the feast.

There was just enough of each dish to get a decent tasting between four people: as you know, I dislike sharing, especially  tapa-sized dishes with larger groups. We grazed until there was not a morsel of food in any dish, and left satisfied.

The only tiny gripe I would mention would be that we all found the lighting a little on the dark side. It was irritating reading the menu, and the beautifully-presented dishes lost a little at table because we simply could not see well enough. The other worry was that about half the seating was on simple wooden stools around trestle tables. I simply could not have sit comfortably on a little stool like that for long, and it would be a deal-breaker for me if they didn’t have a proper chair for me next time I went back.

I didn’t check it out myself, but I understand this little place offers free wifi as well – something that should be encouraged with our future business.