I've driven passed True South heaps and heaps of times, and always wanted to try it, yet never did…read more... until tonight. I am kicking myself that I never came sooner. It was really, really good.
The restaurant has a great vibe about it. For some people, they'd love to come in summer when out the front there are tables on the footpath and on the inner outside there are bar stools to sit and drink while watching the world go by. Inside, the restaurant has a clean, industrial feel to it. It was busy, but not overly loud. We were seated right away and your placemat is the menu, so you dive right into looking for things that grab your taste buds.
Many - if not all - dishes are great for sharing, so we started out with Chipas (mini cheese rolls, mandioca flour, cheddar and parmesan) and the Croquetas of the day, which were chicken and corn. Before those came, we were served up a mini bread roll each with an olive and ricotta dip. Very delicious. The entrees came out and they were heavenly. The Chipas were amazing and I could have just had several serves of those as my meal. The were like mini warm cheese scones. The croquetas were good; had a beautiful crumbing on the outside, but the inside was nice, though nothing to rave about.
For the main, I ordered my own Caviche de Salmon. It came with mango, cherry tomatoes, onion and plantain crisps. I didn't much care for the plantain crisps, and I hated the fact that there was coriander in the dish without it being listed on the menu. I would have asked for it without it, as I can't stand coriander. Yuck.
Of course, there was something that really stood out to me on the dessert menu, so I had to order it. It was a chocolate fondant, with banana and caramel ice cream. That sounded incredibly appealing and tasted really, really good. My only minor complaint about it, was that it was truly ICE cream. That almost ruined it, but the flavours were everything.
There was just a few things I didn't like about True South. One was the tables felt sticky. Two was that you could smell cigarette smoke from outside, even though it's illegal to smoke right outside an eatery. And three, because of the open shutters, it allowed for flies to fly in. Small things I guess in relation to how good the food and service was. Yes, the mains came out slowly, but they were really busy and food was continually leaving the kitchen.
Would I go back again?? YES, YES, YES. I really enjoyed the meal and it was something different to usual here in Melbourne. How authentic it is, I don't know. But if you want a great spot with good atmosphere, great food and reasonably priced meals, then this is the place for you. It's worth the drive.
