Tipo 00 is a modern Italian restaurant that has been trending and hyped for the last few years in Melbourne. They have many awards (#41 Best Italian Restaurant Outside Italy 2022 and more) and are often booked out during peak times, so its best to arrive an hour beforehand (5pm) if you’re doing a walk-in.
We dined here on Monday and saw the restaurant fill up by 6pm.
We dined here on Monday and saw the restaurant fill up by 6pm.
To start
It was Xtiner’s birthday and she was craving oysters so ostriche she gets. These were served with shallot vinegar for $6 each.
The complementary bread and butter was a house-made rosemary focaccia paired with a generous dollop of fresh whipped ricotta. It was delightful combo, with its warm, fragrant crust and beautifully creamy, airy spread.
Entrée
We got the special pan seared WA scallops for about $40. It was served with white asparagus, buttermilk and fennel. It had a gentle caramelised edge, pairing nicely with the subtle sweetness of the white asparagus. The buttermilk and fennel brought a light, refreshing lift, making the dish feel refined and well-balanced.
This lingua for $20 was grilled ox tongue, balsamic & pink peppercorn. We were intrigued by the use of ox tongue but it was kind of basic with all the other ingredients. The meat was chewy and the peppercorn was crunchy, making the mouthfeel mushy and off. And the tangy-sweetness of the sauce masked the flavour too.
This was another special: mezze maniche with scampi, mussels, confit cherry tomato, oregano for about $56. This pasta is a short, wide and tube-shaped with ridged exterior and an open centre, designed to hold the sauce well. The sauce was delicious: savoury, umami, and sweet. The scampi was fresh and gooey.
This was pesce, a barramundi with sugarloaf cabbage, kohlrabi & caper for $48. The fish was tender but the flavours were underwhelming and bland. The sauce drowned the fish, making the charred skin soggy, and the use of cabbage and kohlrabi added a bit of sweetness, but made the bite feel watery and too moist.
Service
The service was on fire, in a good way. They were quick, attentive and friendly. They also did a lot of selling of other dishes: “specials?” “desserts?” “more wine?”. We think they were more on point because we were a walk in at 5pm, so they were probably trying to clear our table before the dinner rush.
Review
The pasta was great but we found the dishes a tad overprice for the ingredients and flavours. We can see why this spot is trending but it was nothing gastronomically creative or outstanding to us. We would not return.
Thanks for reading. Happy eating.
Thanks for reading. Happy eating.
