Funny story: we walked two laps around the block before we found Cumulus because Mick wanted to rely on his memory from 2016 🙄. The good thing is his tastebuds did not forget because when he took me here today, I was impressed with how delicious everything was.
Cumulus Inc. pride themselves on providing the best seasonal ingredients Melbourne has to offer with shareable dishes, an open bar, and an intriguing historical century rag trade building. We dined as a group of 6 and shared all the dishes.
Cumulus Inc. pride themselves on providing the best seasonal ingredients Melbourne has to offer with shareable dishes, an open bar, and an intriguing historical century rag trade building. We dined as a group of 6 and shared all the dishes.
Entrée
Started off with an in-house baked bread. The Baker Bleu sourdough, cultured butter for $6 was fresh and airy, with a perfectly crispy crust. The butter was smooth and mild, not overly saturated with fat, and lightly salted 😙.
Of course, we got Sydney rock oyster, seaweed mignonette for $5 each. Simple and fresh, with an enjoyable zest from the lime. The seaweed mignonette was subtle.
The snapper crudo, finger lime, salmon roe, buttermilk for $26 had such a beautiful presentation. However, shared among 6 of us meant we only had one bite each and my greedy ass wanted more 😅🥺.
The fish was moderately flavourful, balanced by the acidity of the finger lime and the creaminess of the buttermilk. The crisp was delicate, giving a textural crunch to the soft flesh of the fish. We also loved the salty scatterings of the roe in the bite.
The fish was moderately flavourful, balanced by the acidity of the finger lime and the creaminess of the buttermilk. The crisp was delicate, giving a textural crunch to the soft flesh of the fish. We also loved the salty scatterings of the roe in the bite.
Oh man, if only I could eat Prosciutto ‘San Daniele’, Piel de Sapo melon every day but ya know, #health. This $19 dish was thinly sliced raw, dried cured Italian ham wrapped around a refreshing, sweet melon. I imagined myself on a hammock in Italy somewhere eating this under the sun – a perfect snack for summer 🤤🤤.
We also ordered the Salchichon ‘La Boqueria’, guindilla pepper for $18. The pepper was a pickled spice that burned down the throat. I found it moderately hot for my weak ass palate but thank goodness the freshly cut salami balanced it out.
This was another summery dish, the heirloom zucchini, housemade curds, fennel pollen for $19. The curds had been whipped up so nicely and well enough that it resulted in a light and creamy taste. The zucchini was finely charred and mild in flavour, giving an earthy element to the bite.
Main Course
For our mains, we got corner Inlet flathead, cucumber, Diamond clams for $48 which was cooked to absolute perfection. Delicious!
The fish was very fresh and tender, with a delightful bouncy texture. The garnish was beautiful too – a sweet and acidic flavour profile, with a buttery mouthfeel against the fish 😍. There were no bones, other than the spine and tail part. Everyone was practically licking their plates, hoping for some fish remnants.
The fish was very fresh and tender, with a delightful bouncy texture. The garnish was beautiful too – a sweet and acidic flavour profile, with a buttery mouthfeel against the fish 😍. There were no bones, other than the spine and tail part. Everyone was practically licking their plates, hoping for some fish remnants.
Action shot successful! The Milawa chicken, chickpea miso, sweetcorn for $44 was another cooked-to-perfection dish. It was soooo tender and succulent. Surprisingly, it had a very ‘clean’ taste and it didn’t have that heavy oil feeling one gets after devouring KFC – these Milawa chooks must have been grass-fed 🐔. The outside layer was encrusted with juicy flavours of charred and seasoning, making it so enjoyable to eat. This was a favourite around the table.
Finally, the 550g Dry aged Gippsland club steak, mountain pepper sauce for $88 was just melt-in-your-mouth yummmm. It was tender with a velvety mouthfeel 👌🏻.
The downside was this steak had only been dry-aged for 24 days so the flavour was not a strong cheese taste and was not as intense as we expected but it was still a delicious bite. As a group, we were happy to split this dish but if it was just Mick and me, we’d probably hesitate to order this again because we prefer dry-aged steaks to be at least 60+ days.
The downside was this steak had only been dry-aged for 24 days so the flavour was not a strong cheese taste and was not as intense as we expected but it was still a delicious bite. As a group, we were happy to split this dish but if it was just Mick and me, we’d probably hesitate to order this again because we prefer dry-aged steaks to be at least 60+ days.
Sides
We really wanted to order more of the roast potatoes, confit garlic & capers $10 because the seasoning was highly addicting. Each piece was a soft-firm texture, with a creamy potato taste and covered in a yummy coating of salt and garlic 🧄🤤.
Service
The service was friendly and efficient. They were very accomodating because we booked an hour prior to lunch, with an original table for 8 that got reduced down to 6 last minute.
Review
We enjoyed the shareable dishes at Cumulus Inc. Everything was well executed, simple and delicious. Mick enjoyed his first visit in 2016 hence the spontaneous reservation today. If you’re craving European dishes, highly recommend this restaurant for a nice lunch.
Thanks for reading! Happy eating 😏
Thanks for reading! Happy eating 😏
