Review: Top Paddock

A post mid-sem exam catch up with my sister who was holidaying in Melbourne for the week. She chose this place, which was ideal as I have been meaning to try Top Paddock out for a while now and see whether the hype was well deserved.

One negative note: we had a terribly rude waiter, who showed no enthusiasm, no charisma and a lot of impatience. He did not smile at us once. However, another female waitress was very friendly and keenly took photos for us, so I would like to thank her for her warm hospitality (even though she won't read this...or know who I am referring to)

Mocha - $3.80
Decent price, was nicely surprised by the cute marshmallow.
Overall, the flavour was full bodied, and a bit too bitter, had to add sugar.
I also prefer more froth

Pan fried local snapper - $19.50
With chilli-fried egg, avocado, tomato, lime and a corn tortilla.
Although the salads were very generous, the two thin strips of snapper where just
not visually appealing.  In general this whole spaced out, big plate look isn't doing it for me,
as with the big breakfast below, it just makes the dish look empty and scanty.
In terms of flavour, the egg wasn't chilli, but I do have a high spice tolerance,
The snapper was also a bit dry in some parts, and would've much preferred
a whole fillet, it's sad when the main feature of the dish is so small.

Blueberry and ricotta hotcakes - $18
With berries, organic maple, seeds and double cream.
A must-have, signature dish that sadly I was disappointed with.
Visually it reminds me of Hammer & Tong's yoghurt, loving the
"berry picking in the forest" look. The purple sugar was also adorable.
In terms of flavour though, the cake was just way too sweet and dense.
It was definitely a cake, not a pancake. There was just too much maple syrup,
that had soaked through and created the denseness I believe, luckily the maple
flavour wasn't too prominent otherwise I would have ate less. The generous mixture
of fruit and nuts did add lovely texture and got my fruit servings ticked.
The double cream was also very light, however I am not a fan of cream because
of its fatty richness. I also would've preferred blueberries and ricotta swirled throughout the cake,
rather than big chucks here and there within the cake. The ricotta definitely cut the sweetness,
so would've preferred more.

Top Paddock - $22
Chorizo, grilled onion, peppers, basil, bacon, Adelaide green tomatoes, poached eggs & relish with toast.
Again aesthetically, the colours are bold and inviting, however, with the large plate you are left feeling
like you got less than you paid for. In terms of flavour, the chutney at first and a lovely acidity and punch,
but two spoons in, was too strong. The poached eggs were cooked well, the bacon, chorizo all
grilled nicely, the onions could've done with more softening and charring.