Rare Steakhouse Midtown

RNIS was invited to the Rare Steakhouse and did not have to pay.

Rare Steakhouse is what replaces Squires loft in the city. Squires Loft was the old steak eatery but they weren't doing that well. For eight years now Rare Steakhouse is in its place.

Vegetarian Gnocchi

Sweet potato fries

And now they are really busy with lots of steak orders and a new two-course menu which is $40 and can only be ordered before 6:30pm. At the old Steakhouse, everything was really expensive and there weren't many vegetarian dishes on the menu. At that time I did not drink.

But now I do just for the enjoyment and I had a light Italian beer which was nice. I really loved the sweet potato chips. At the old Steakhouse, there wasn't a huge variety of wine on the menu. And now there is for everyone to enjoy. People can buy a bottle or a glass to drink.

I also love the hospitality here as it was warm and friendly.

The gnocchi was nice and moreish. It was the only vegetarian main on the menu. I would have liked there to be fewer nuts and more vegetables though. I couldn't finish the whole plate. The steak coming out of the kitchen looked good though.

I hope that Rare Steakhouse is featured in the Entertainment book as they are a great place to go to

Queen st Rescue

RNIS was invited by Dimmi and did not have to pay.

Queen st rescue is a nice place to relax after work. They are in fact a gastropub which has a lot of wine and alcohol. Here they have some weight watchers friendly meals such as Mushroom risotto and pasta. They also have specials such as $12 pizza and $17 curry.

I saw other people's meals and they were huge. I had too much snacks and beer at a launch event just before so I decided on something light.

The place is busy on a Friday night and you do need to book ahead.

The bathrooms are out the back and they have these cute doors: ladies is pink and men is blue.

The mushroom risotto was nice and I could have had cheese in there but since I had lots of cheese before I went without. But the truffle oil was the glue that held it together. This really did fill me up



I could have had ice cream but since I had it earlier today I decided not to have. The next time I come I will have to enjoy a drink and some fried goodness.

Hecho En Mexico

RNIS did not have to pay for the food but they paid for their drinks.

Hecho En Mexico is in South Yarra and it's their second store. The first one was in Fitzroy and it was not as good. The atmosphere there was really dark whereas South Yarra the atmosphere is quite nice and open. And they do have outdoor dining.

Oh at the bar it is really lively and the bartender seemed to know what he was doing.

For a Friday night on Chapel st they were really busy. Therefore it's a good idea to book ahead. We did that via dimmi. And for this restaurant Dimmi awarded us with a $20 food only voucher.

The bathrooms are out the back where the carpark is and they are always busy.

Here they have combo deals for those that love to try everything and Hecho's promo Tecate. And you can add either onion rings or chips and Tecate for $10. They have their usual burritos. A Tecate is a Mexican strong beer and the Mexicans like it with their burrito. Their Tecate was strong and I really enjoyed it with my fish burrito

I had the fish burrito with the onion rings. It was a huge portion. Here I really enjoyed the crunchiness of the batter and the fish burrito although cooked well, was not made properly. Some of the rice and fish filling fell out of the tortilla casing. It was really messy to eat. And I would have liked a little bit more of the onions and salsa in there. Or have them as a side. Oh and there weren't a lot of black beans in there which was disappointing as GYG I have had a lot of black beans and guacamole in mine and BayCity burrito was the same.

Do come by for a drink and I would love to try the Margheritas on offer.

Caffe E Cucina

RNIS got a $20 from Dimmi but spent the rest of it themselves.

Caffe E Cucina is a really small place in South Yarra. Running past I really wanted to go there. So when Dimmi offered me the opportunity I jumped at it. The inside of the restaurant reminds me of being in the tramcar as the ambiance was dimmed and it was cozy inside.

The toilets are out the back and are the cool and cozy place. It reminded me of the countryside.

The service was friendly and like an old school place they open your wines at your table. Nowadays they open the bottles at the bar. Hence I was able to see the bottle itself.

The complimentary bread roll was lovely and soft. The EVOO and balsamic was just as nice.

My gnocchi was just fine. At first they brought out the wrong dish, but then I casually reminded them of it. It was a beetroot flavoured gnocchi with pork crackling and walnuts on top which was quite nice.

Desserts were expensive and I'm not much of a dessert fan so I left without.

Altogether my bill was $23.90 which was not so bad for a pricey place. Thanks Dimmi for the voucher.