I had been to Vue de monde perhaps two years ago and was so utterly disappointed by the food it never crossed my mind to retry. But Daftwho? recommended the lunches at Cafe Vue, sister restaurant and cafe version of the original, and especially pointed out the wagyu pie. So off we went Mr Z. and I. The setting is cafe style but I loved the white wood crinoline-esq canopy at the back where we sat. As we walked in we passed the desserts and macarons that were on display, immediately triggering a silent mental note to add them to the 'must try list'.
The Wagyu Pie was excellent - kudos to Daftwho?. Missed a good meat pie and this definitely fulfilled that craving. The pie came resting on pea mash and a caterpillar shaped potato mash on the side (I don't think the aim was to make it caterpillar shaped but that was what it reminded me of - luckily only in shape and not in taste). Again I feel the only sad thing about this and many wagyu dishes nowadays is the overuse of wagyu. This is excellent meat that I feel is best enjoyed where its own flavour shines and in a pie there are just too many spices and aromas that Angus beef would have been just as fine. Despite this personal pet peeve, I would still recommend this dish. Also would like to point out the little attention to detail with the plate design matching the Marie Antoinette inspired style of the cafe.
Mr Z. had the Vue wagyu burger with French fries. I was too engrossed in my pie to try this but he gave it a thumbs up. The burger was juicy and the melted cheese with slight elasticity added a creamy texture to the mix. However, given all the great bakeries around Melbourne, the bun was definitely sub-par and tasted a bit too much like it was from the mass produced frozen isle of the supermarket.
Of course I could not walk away without the macarons so I selected a few to try. The texture was chewy at first and yet soft enough that it seems to melt in your mouth releasing the individual olfactory stimulators trapped within. I didn't get one of each flavour, big big mistake, but the strawberry is always a staple that I test and it was okay - no Ladurée. The best of what I tried was the passionfruit which I gobbled down all too fast and am still craving today.
Overall I would definitely recommend Cafe Vue for a nice casual lunch and yes it has made me start to reconsider trying Vue de monde again.
Sidebar
Food: A little hit and miss but leaning more on the hit.
Must try: Passionfruit macaron, Wagyu Pie
Setting: Casual, Cafe style
Service: Excellent
Damage: The main is about $15 for lunches
Labels: Australia, Australian, Cafe Vue, Eat, French, Lunch, Macaron, Melbourne, Modern, Pie
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