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V Rating: VVVV This is a tres groovy restaurant. I am not sure but I think the inside of the restaurant must have been designed to maximise the sound system, what with all the angled timber and oval shaped slits in the ceiling and the speakers sending out some of my favourite toons to waft around me. The door is tucked away in a corner of Level 3 of Melbourne Central - a black, wooden affair which slides open as you approach, admitting you to the world of SOS. Down the black and timber gold corridor and you enter into the restaurant proper, passing a stylised forest on one side. The walls are tastefully covered with the repeated image of the Napoleon Bee, which I think is the insect which Darwin first used as an example of his natural selection theory (but this brainwave factoid visited me after three hours of dining, so I am most likely cleverly wrong about it - at first I have to admit I wondered out loud why the moniker of such a chic restaurant was a squashed fly). Ok and now to the food. The restaurant’s menu philosophy is based on sustainability, so the only things on offer are sustainable vegetables and fish dishes - no red meat, no chooks. The vegetables are unique and beautifully combined. As a fish eating vegetarian who doesn’t do dairy, I was pretty punchdrunk happy with the menu. I had the calamari with pea puree and squid ink sauce for entree, and the goldband snapper served with zucchini flowers, vongole and oak leaves. Mmmmm. The straight vegetarian options were also appealing (I was going through a protein day so stuck to the seafood, but otherwise the risotto or cannellini ragu with ricotta gnocchi balls would have been MINE). Overall, I enjoyed the experience. There was something a bit new and off-puttingly expensive about the place - some part of me still thinks that eco friendly should also be generally affordable in order to be truly morally OK. But the excellent food turned a work lunch into an enjoyable afternoon.
Comments:
4 Comments posted on "SOS (Speed of Sound), Melbourne Central, VVVV"
kpounder on September 12th, 2006 at 9:21 am #
This sounds like a really interesting concept. Is this run by the guy behind Soul Mama’s? I thought I read somewhere that he’d also opened a sustainable restaurant. What rating would you give it?
Jackie on September 13th, 2006 at 3:01 pm #
I think Paul Mathis ran Upper+Lower House at Fed Square, not sure about Soul Mama’s…if you want to read The Age review of SOS see http://www.theage.com.au/news/restaurant-reviews/sos/2006/07/24/1153593262863.html My rating for it is VVVV because of the excellent quality of the food and the choice. But it falls short of Super V because of the cost and the slightly yuppy atmos.
Linda on November 28th, 2006 at 12:19 pm #
Paul Mathis does run Soul Mama.
The Editor on November 29th, 2006 at 7:04 am #
I went there last night and enjoyed it. Service was fabbo. I was asking about one of the wines and the waitress said: “It’s Spanish and it’s, you know, got balls. Big balls.” Only slight problem was the fish thing. Don’t eat fish and there are only two mains options and two or three entrees. However, food was amazing. Post a comment
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