Coriole @ The Palace

505 City Rd
Port Melbourne, 3205

The Palace in Port Melbourne, it is very nondescript location for someone as well known as Luke Mangan to set up shop. Located next to a 7-11 and opposite a strip of garages and panel repair workshops it is barely the Paris end of Melbourne. When you consider anyone with a famous name opening up in town seems to open up at Crown it is hardly the location one would expect someone as well known as Luke Mangan to choose when building the up a Melbourne arm of an empire that extends across Asia in to Singapore and Tokyo. That's not to say that The Palace is a dump, far from it, the warm and inviting interior is more O'Connell's than The Newmarket.




The occasion for venturing to The Palace was to enjoy dinner with Coriole wines. For those in the know, Coriole produce a great range of wine including a number of Italian varietals such as Fiano, Sangiovese and Barbera all the way to their luscious Lloyd Shiraz. At $99 for 4 courses with matching wines it was an offer too good to refuse even for a school night.


New Zealand king salmon gravlax, fennel, crispy onion rings, avugar roe, lemon olive oil dressing

First course was salmon gravlax, not my first choice under normal circumstances, however, I found myself enjoying the dish a lot. Paired with a 2011 Fiano barrel sample there was some debate as to whether or not it was a bit premature (which it was) but it was also good to try a wine at it's very early stages of development.


Cinnamon cured duck breast, beetroot puree, vanilla dressing

Now I do have to apologise, the photography in this post are with my HTC Desire camera. I did have my Sony nex-5 with me, however, I left my battery at home so the photo's don't really do the dish justice. Shame really since it was not only a pretty dish, it was somewhat delicious. The perfectly cooked duck breast was enhanced by the cinnamon and complimented by the puree and quail eggs. Would travel back for this in a flash and was made more enjoyable by the pairing of the Coriole Sangiovese and Reserve Vita Sangiovese.


Beef fillet, mushroom pithvier, celeriac mash, maderia & horseradish jus

Final course of beef meant one thing, Shiraz time and Coriole know how to do it and do it well. Pairing the beef was the 2008 Estate Shiraz and 2008 Lloyd Shiraz, this food/wine combination is almost worth the $99 admission price alone. By this time in the evening, it was becoming clear that The Palace takes it's produce seriously. The beef was some of the tastiest beef I have had which I am sure was helped by the generous amounts of Lloyd on offer.

Wrapping up the evening with some cheese and Coriole Cabernet Sauvignon I was left with two conclusions, first the dinner was fantastic value and second I was impressed with The Palace. I wouldn't hesitate going back to The Palace, wouldn't hesitate at all.

The Palace - 15/20