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Monday, August 16, 2010

Mockingbird Tapas Bar

129 Fitzroy St
St Kilda VIC 3182
Ph: (03) 9534 0000


To Kill A Mockingbird is the classic Harper Lee novel that I think most people have read at some stage in their life. This book was George Lentzos's mum's favourite book. So when his mum passed away a few years ago, he decided to name the bar Mockingbird in honour of her.

On a cold Winter's night, Sarah, Sandra, Ling and myself were invited to attend Mockingbird for some food and drinks. George greeted us outside and made sure we were comfortably seated inside. He then suggested some food and drinks for us, and we were more than happy to go with his suggestions. While waiting for the drinks and food, I had a look around the bar. It's a cosy small bar decked out in an old fashioned style with lush curtains, flowers in bottles along a wall and lots of To Kill A Mockingbird prints brought over from America for him by a customer.



When the first round of cocktails arrived, we were presented an array of cocktails from an Atticus Finch, a Caramel Martini, a Manhattan Cosmopolitan and Mockingbird's version of a classic martini, an Espresso Martini. Subsequent cocktails inclued a Twisted Mojito, Lychee and Passionfruit Martini and a Gin Aperol Sour. I especially liked the Manhattan Cosmopolitan (yes it's girly, so what) and the Lychee and Passionfruit Martini.



From Top Left Clockwise: Twisted Mojito, Espresso Martini, Atticus Finch and Caramel Martini.

For the food, we started off with a Charcuterie Board, which was full of delicious elements such as chicken parfait, sopressa, mussels marinated in strawberry, wagyu bresoala, taramasalata and pancetta. I liked everything but my favourite was the chicken parfait.


Mozzarella Aracini, Beer Battered Moreton Bay Bugs and Roasted Chicken with Polenta rounded out the savoury dishes. I really like the Moreton Bay Bugs, as they had a crisp batter and went well with the mayonnaise and capers. The chicken was very tender and I was surprised at how creamy and delicious the polenta was. Desserts of Ice Cream (coffee and burnt orange) and Creme Brulee were also excellent. The creme brulee was smooth inside and had a good crispy top, but if anything, the layer of sugar was a bit too thick for my liking. Otherwise, there wasn't much to fault of the night's drinks and food.



Mockingbrid Tapas Bar is definitely a great place for some after work drinks and some light food. Since it's so close to The George Cinema, it would also be a great place to meet up for some pre or post movie food and drinks. The cocktails are of a high standard and the food was suprisingly good too for such a small bar.

Thanh and Ling dined as guests of George Lentzos from Mockingbird, with thanks to Fiona Brook from Harvey Publicity for the invite.

Mockingbird Tapas and Wine Bar on Urbanspoon

6 comments:

  1. Aaah! It was a gin aperol sour! Was that the last cocktail you had before we left?

    I couldn't remember the name. :)

    Great post, love your pics of the cocktails.

    xox Sarah

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  2. when i see great places like this in Melbourne it makes me wonder why i'm living in Sydney :-)

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  3. Beautiful photos Thanh.

    I have to say that the food was brilliant, it is such a cozy place to catch up with friends and kick back especially on a Friday night.

    I loved the cured meats, and the mussels marinated with strawberry was not only new to me but I also enjoyed every savour of it. To sum it up, brilliant tasty food and drinks!

    Simon - that's very kind of you to give Melbourne some credit hehe.

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  4. Sarah, the gin aperol sour was the final cocktail that I had before we left. Thanks, I love the photo of the bartender pouring the cocktail.

    Simon, Melbourne awaits you :-)

    Ling, it is a very nice place, and the food and drinks were good.

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  5. i swear, following your blog too much... now my wishlist on urbanspoon is 50+ places =P
    sigh sigh...
    my poor poor wallet

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  6. Allan, that's a good thing. You'll always have an option of where to go no matter where you are. Once you're a doctor, you'll be rolling in salary sacrificed money. :-)

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