Yak Italian Kitchen

Yak Italian Kitchen & Bar
150 Flinders Lane
Melbourne 3000

The Melbourne Food and Wine Festival Express Restaurant lunches are a great way to try a new restaurant (or visit an old favourite) on a budget. For $40 you get the choice of 2 courses, a glass of wine and coffee.

I generally like to try a new restaurant and so I met a friend at Yak Italian, on the corner of Russell Street and Flinders Lane. I have been past this corner many times but never really noticed this restaurant.  

To begin we were served warm bread with olive oil, balsamic vinegar and olives.  How gorgeous is the crockery! The speckled gold plates and bowls are beautiful.

My friend and I ordered the same items so unfortunately I don't have a variety of meals to show.  In the battle between what I want to eat versus what would be good for the blog post, the want won this time.

Handmade potato gnocchi served with a rich meat ragu

For entree I had the Gnocchi of the day.  It was divine.  The gnocchi were light and fluffy and very moreish.  The sauce was ok and to be honest not what I imagine when I read the words rich meat ragu but the gnocchi was really the star of the dish.

The other entree option was a Caprese salad.

Pan seared fish fillet served with a seasonal vegetables salad

For main, I ordered the Fish of the day.  The pan seared barramundi came with a selection of seasonal vegetables and fennel foam.  It was beautifully presented and the fish was cooked perfectly.  The vegetables were interesting, the fennel strands were quite crisp and the fennel foam was very tasty and perfectly complemented the dish.  

The serves weren't large but they were perfect for lunch.

I enjoyed a class of Little Vespa Pinot Grigio from the King Valley with my meal.

The alternative main option was Veal Ossobuco Milanese served with chargrilled buckwheat polenta.  I did like the sound of this however it was a really hot day so I decided to go with the lighter fish option.  I did not apply this logic to the entree because gnocchi!

Good coffee finished our meal.

For those with a sweet tooth the dessert offerings were Italian style doughnuts filled with pistachio ice cream, baked orange and cinnamon or Tart of the day.

Yak presents tasty, interesting food.  I'm glad I finally 'discovered' it.