Veludo

The challenge of eating on Acland Street is not finding a place to eat (there a dozens!), but finding a place to sit. If you're lucky enough to score an outside table at lunch time, the rest of your afternoon is sorted! When we first arrived at Veludo (about 3pm on a Saturday afternoon) we begrudgingly sat inside as no outside tables were available. But as luck would have it one of the benches outside freed up, and dropping everything I made the mad dash outside, destroying all obstacles in my path (not quite), and triumphantly claimed the table. In celebration I ordered a glass of Tyrell's premium brut which was so tasty I ordered a couple more... I'd had a late breakfast so wasn't very hungry. The breakfast/lunch menu was still being served so I ordered the Sicilian calamari salad with tomato, capers, red onion, ciabatta croutons, raisins and red wine vinegar dressing. The raisins were a nice touch and the calamari was lovely and tender, not stringy, but for $17 I thought it was quite expensive for what it was.

Sicilian Calamari Salad

My boyfriend ordered the wagyu beef burger on turkish bun with caramelised onion, cheddar, tomato relish, gem lettuce, dill pickles, chips and aioli, which lead to a serious case of food envy. The burger bun had been 'branded' with a V which was pretty cool and the patty had a lovely texture and was still pink in the middle. The aioli was delicious - I was dipping my calamari in on the sly... The only negative of the experience would be we asked for water on two separate occasions from two waitresses but never received any. Their tapas menu sounds really tasty so I'm planning to return on a Wednesday night when they do BYO and no corkage. 

Wagyu Burger