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Marion

53 Gertrude Street

Fitzroy

Often making it into the top spots for food and wine in Melbourne, Marion’s corner spot on Gertrude Street in Fitzroy is one of those places where you go for a glass with a friend and become enticed by the food floating around the place so you end up staying for dinner, or maybe that was just us…

The opening hours lend oneself to getting roped in to more too, open from 12-10pm every day.

Their sommelier recommended wines line is one whole wall as you walk in with a ladder to get the top picks.

When we drank through the last bottle of their Gamay, we got to see how extensive their wine selection really was as one of the very helpful waiters (among many) crawled deep into their cellar to try and find it for us.

An encapsulation of the standard of service. Another example was despite their two-hour seating times, when ours finished up they found another spot for us with no fuss at all making sure we could continue.

It’s Andrew O’Connell (Cumulus Inc, Cutler & Co, Supernormal, the Builders Arms) owned so you can just about guarantee it will be effortlessly cool and thoughtfully delicious.

He also owns Boujee Butcher and Meatsmith so naturally we started with the flatbread and meats, saison salami and prosciutto. The flatbread comes with a light and airy fromage blanc which is cloud-like cheese that we spread very generously.

We also tried, for $8 each, the lightly fried zucchini flower with a subtly spicy green sauce to dip, the sauce was so moreish I found myself spooning it onto the flatbread and all the other sides.

The WA octopus on toast was a crowd favourite at $9 a piece; skinny, toasted bread topped with tomato, pureed and rounds of octopus before being drizzled with chilli oil.

Gone in two bites, flat.

For mains, the mussels interlaced between nduja, fried bread and aioli got us started. The bread proved a little tricky to cut into but the rest of it read like a savoury eton mess, in the best way. The mussels were $24 for the bowl. 

We chose the cheaper steak in their O’Connor onglet for $49 and it was cooked rare, just how I like it. Charred outside, pink inside.

Ross, you and I have spoken many times before about how we don’t eat steak out anymore because we both have family members who make it better than any restaurant – this may be the exception. Complemented nicely with anchovy and chimichurri. 

The duck a l’orange had both the thigh and the breast on the plate as well as the sauce to drench it in. The thigh was roasted and cooked on the bone and was so juicy, it was the clear winner between the two choices but both needed for balance of richness.

Lastly, and maybe the surprise favourite of the meal was baked pipe rigate in vodka sauce. Broadsheet features the recipe in their most recent recipe book release and they talk about the “catchability” of the shape of the shell-like pipe rigate.

My favourite element was the crispy, lightly blackened bits on top ensuring every bite has a bit of that cheesy crunch.

Naturally, shoestring fries ($12) and house salad ($10) made an appearance too. 

Marion calls itself a wine bar but hits a lot harder when you include their unmissable menu in their arsenal.

It’s quintessentially Aussie and quintessentially Melbourne to remain so humble despite being one of Melbourne’s best restaurants.

What a pleasure it is to have a place like Marion in our radius in Melbourne.