Restaurant food menu

Giuseppe, Arnaldo and Sons opened at Crown Casino with great reviews and very fair prices. With that combination in mind we headed for the restaurant. There are no bookings so my group just rocked up for Sunday lunch.

We came to the restaurant but it looked close. We saw the menu on its stand at the front door but the doors were closed and it looked closed inside. You can’t see inside either as the outside is covered in art of old Italian buildings.

We walked passed it and around the corner. No open doors. We walked back to where the menu was on the stand and peered through the glass. We couldn’t see anything through the art on the doors. We looked around again. It looked closed. We decided to try the doors maybe they are open, why would they be closed? The giant glass doors opened and inside the restaurant was full.

This didn’t impress any of us. They should have the doors open inviting people in not keep them guessing. I wonder how many people wanted to go to the restaurant but seeing it all closed up thought the restaurant was closed and went elsewhere. This was the first of many disappointments .

The decor inside looks like large bathroom tiles from the seventies. The waiters look like scientist but are actually dressed as butchers. They wore jeans with a butcher coat. It is meant to represent the way the butchers in the old days wore the coats to prepare the meat. Hmmm…

On the table there are cutlery buckets which fit into each table. The knives almost look like machetes. The prongs on the forks were incredibly long. Everytime I tried to eat the sausage I ordered I kept biting those damn prongs!

The menu is on paper place mats. It is not easy to read. It is a little confusing considering the headings are in Italian.

I wanted something Italian and something different to what I normally order so I tried the G,A & Sons own Pork Sausages, Made from 100% Black Berkshire Free Range Pigs, Lentils and Pearl Onions.

My friend tried the Orecchiette Pasta, Cherry Tomatoes, Ricotta and Basil and my other friend tried the Hand Dived Wild Hervey Bay Scallops with Watercress, Radish Salad, Lemon, Green Chilli and Garlic.

It was disappointing.

My meal was served in a red enamel dish like the bushmen have in their napsacks in the outback. The meal was made for a truck driver with no class, it was all slop. It was three large sausages with lentils heaped on and three onions. It could almost be cheap prison food. The meal was incredibly salty and the sausages were dry.

The Hervey Bay Scallops with the the salad was poor. There were five scallops with scrapings of a little carrot, radish and juices. You come hungry and you leave hungry.

Unfortunately dessert wasn’t any better.

It’s always hard when you are lactose intolerant to find a suitable dessert to eat. I chose Chocolate Meringue, House Made Clotted Cream and Spiced Strawberry Compote.

It wasn’t a wise choice.

It was incredibly inelegant to eat. I was chewing on the meringue like a cow chews grass. It was hard to cut pieces with my fork. I was terrified my meringue would go flying across the room every time I tried to cut a piece to eat. The strawberries did not taste right. A few hours later the cream turned my stomach.

My friends decided to share the “Zuppa Inglese” My Trifle which is meant to be shared by two people or more. It wasn’t sweet. It was almost savoury. Maybe they should start a new category and put it under that. It certainly needed to be put under something.

And that is our first and last outing to Giuseppe, Arnaldo and Sons.

I love everything about Bistro Guillaume in Melbourne. I love the outside of the restaurant. I love the lettering of the restaurant name on the outside. It is a fairly small gold sign with the letters of the restaurant written in cursive script cut out. So simple and yet so elegant.

Stepping inside the first thing I notice is how wonderfully warm and whimsical it all is. I love the balloon skirts on the lights made of French silk. It is so original yet fun. Then I notice the chairs with the delightful black and white French print on them. The warm colours of the room all complement each other.

The fit out for Bistro Guillaume came at a cost of $10 million so you would hope everything would work together!

My group and I are warmly greeted and ushered to our table. Once I sat in my very comfortable chair I looked up and noticed blazing Las Vegas style lights screaming at me. (This may be because the restaurant is inside Crown Casino). It was one thing I didn’t like. It ruined the atmosphere of the room. They should have closed the dark coloured wooden venetian blinds.

Anyway…the sommelier came around to see what we would like to drink. My friend and I love sweet white wine and the sommelier suggested a delicious wine. He also chose a great wine for my other friend who was equally impressed.

Looking through the menu I noticed a favourite in the entree section - oysters, freshly shucked oysters with shallots and red wine vinegar. My friend
prefers Oysters Kilpatrick but they weren’t on the menu.

Being the bold person that I am I asked if they could accommodate her and they certainly did. My friend was ecstatic and we were truly grateful. That is top quality service right there. The oysters were divine. They made my mouth water they were so good.

Our waiter who was an incredibly good humoured gracious young man helped us with the menu. It was mostly in French. Well it is a French restaurant.

For dinner I decided to try the Steak frites, (steak and fries) with la bordelaise sauce. I do believe I pointed to the barnaise sauce but I got la bordelaise sauce. I was a little disappointed. I also asked for the meat to be well done.

The meat came out looking well done but inside it was rare! My sister said she could still hear it mooing which was very naughty of her but I tried it and found it to be delicious. The meat was very tender.

Being Greek well done means cooked inside and out so this was new to me. I am happy to say it was delicious and the fries were French fries which were crisp and delicious as well. Most of them eaten by my sister I must say. I also loved the leaf salad on the side with lovely olive oil. It was all delicious. I was ecstatic.

My sister and her friend got the Risotto with field mushrooms and Reggiano parmesan which they said was very earthy, a little heavy but delicious. The other friend ordered the Duck confit with Brussels sprouts, speck and mustard sauce. It didn’t look like a big meal but he said it was delicious and more than enough.

An order of pure de pommes de terre, mashed potatoes, and saut spinach with garlic and extra virgin olive oil was placed as well.

The potatoes were missing in action but the spinach which I love, I am serious I love spinach was delicious. It was also very garlicky.

It would have kept a vampire a million miles away. It would have also killed any germs I might have in the near future for one year at least!

I always look forward to dessert. Its hard being lactose intolerant to ever find a dessert without dairy products in it.

I decided to try the Marquis au chocolat, glaçe à la pistache which is a rich yet bitter chocolate mud cake with pistachio ice cream.

The ice cream was quite nice but the cake was incredibly bitter. I couldn’t finish it.

My sister decided to try the Tarte au Citron which is a lemon citrus tart. It had such a sharp lemon taste. She couldn’t finish it. I tried the crust as that is always the nicest part. It was delicious. It tasted like homemade Greek shortbread - kourabiedes.

Tarte aux fruits de saison, a tart with fruits of the season (to state the obvious!) with creamy vanilla ice cream is what my friend had. It was incredibly sharp as well. She loved it and finished it.

Philippa Sibley is the highly respected pastry chef at Bistro Guillaume who makes these treats. I think someone needs to speak to her! Less tart more sweet.

All up though this was a wonderful experience. I loved the balloon skirts on the lights, they made me smile every time I looked at them.

The food was incredible as well. I thoroughly enjoyed myself and what I ate.

The staff were incredibly friendly, helpful and very well dressed. The atmosphere of the restaurant was so homey yet luxurious. The colours were soft and warm. (Other than the blazing Las Vegas lights that came through the shutters.)

A little side mention are the toilets. They are a wonderful space age, James Bond design from the seventies! They are incredibly spacious and original. I was absolutely intrigued by them.

Bistro Guillaume is classy, sophisticated yet warm and homey at the same time. I can’t help but smile. It is absolutely delightful.

I loved this restaurant and am sure to return and soon too!

I love everything about Bistro Guillaume in Melbourne. I love the outside of the restaurant. I love the lettering of the restaurant name on the outside. It is a fairly small gold sign with the letters of the restaurant written in cursive script cut out. So simple and yet so elegant.

Stepping inside the first thing I notice is how wonderfully warm and whimsical it all is. I love the balloon skirts on the lights made of French silk. It is so original yet fun. Then I notice the chairs with the delightful black and white French print on them. The warm colours of the room all complement each other.

At a cost of $10 million you would hope everything would work together!

Bistro Guillaume is classy, sophisticated yet warm and homey at the same time. I can’t help but smile. It is absolutely delightful.

My group and I are warmly greeted and ushered to our table. Once I sat in my very comfortable chair I looked up and noticed blazing Las Vegas style lights screaming at me. It was one thing I didn’t like at all. It ruined the atmosphere of the room. They should have closed the dark coloured wooden venetian blinds.

Anyway…the sommelier came around to see what we would like to drink. I love sweet white wine and the sommelier suggested a delicious wine as did he choose a great wine for another friend at the table who duly wrote it down.

Looking through the menu I noticed a favourite in the entree section - oysters, freshly shucked oysters with shallots and red wine vinegar. My friend
prefers Oysters Kilpatrick but they weren’t on the menu.

Being the bold person that I am I asked if they could accommodate her and they certainly did. My friend was ecstatic and we were truly grateful. That is top quality service right there. The oysters were divine. They made my mouth water they were so good.

Our waiter who was an incredibly good humoured gracious young man helped us with the menu. It was mostly in French. Well it is a French restaurant.

For dinner I decided to try the Steak frites, (steak and fries) with la bordelaise sauce. I do believe I pointed to the barnaise sauce but I got la bordelaise sauce. I was a little disappointed. I also asked for the meat to be well done.

The meat came out looking well done but inside it was rare! My sister said she could still hear it mooing which put me off a bit but it was delicious. The meat was very tender.

Being Greek well done means cooked inside so this was new to me. I am happy to say it was delicious and the fries were French fries which were crisp and delicious as well. Most of them eaten by my sister. I also loved the leaf salad on the side with lovely olive oil. It was all delicious. I was ecstatic.

My sister and her friend got the Risotto with field mushrooms and Reggiano parmesan which they said was very earthy, a little heavy but delicious. The other friend ordered the Duck confit with Brussels sprouts, speck and mustard sauce. It didn’t look like a big meal but he said it was delicious and more than enough.

An order of pure de pommes de terre, mashed potatoes, and saut spinach with garlic and extra virgin olive oil was placed as well. The potatoes were missing in action but the spinach which I love, I am serious I love spinach was delicious. It was also very garlicky. It would have kept a vampire a million miles away. It would have also killed any germs I might have in the near future for one year at least!

I always look forward to dessert. Its hard being lactose intolerant to ever find a dessert without dairy products in it. I decided to try the Marquis de chocolat with pistachio ice ream! I love pistachios and the ice cream was quite nice but the chocolate mousse cake was incredibly bitter. I couldn’t finish it.

My sister decided to try the Lemon Citrus Tart. It was incredibly tart. It had such a sharp lemon taste. She couldn’t finish it. I tried the crust as that is always the nicest part. It was delicious. It tasted like homemade Greek shortbread - kourabiedes.

The fruit tart with creamy vanilla ice cream is what my friend had. It was incredibly sharp as well. She loved it and finished it. Philippa Sibley is a highly respected pastry chef who makes these treats. I think someone needs to speak to her!

A little side mention are the toilets. They are a wonderful space age, James Bond design from the seventies! They are incredibly spacious and original. Definitely one of a kind.

All up though this was a wonderful experience. I loved the balloon skirts on the lights they made me smile every time I looked at them.

The staff were incredibly friendly, helpful and very well dressed. The atmosphere of the restaurant was so homey yet luxurious. The colours were soft and warm. (Other than the blazing lights through the shutters. Remember this restaurant is inside a casino.)

The food was incredible as well. I thoroughly enjoyed myself and what I ate and hope you do too.

I am sure to return and soon too.