Fox and I met up on a very very chilly Friday evening to try the new Little Creatures Dining Hall on Brunswick Street. The warm bustling atmosphere was a welcome change from the bone chilling temperature of outside. We were greated by a friendly maître d' who, like all maître d' liked Fox's name. He directed us to the bar for a drink until a table freed up for us.
The Dining Hall is huge. We decided if they put in another floor, which they had plenty of room for, they could fill that too. Rows of tables, some communal, were full of people. Groups and families, noisy but not as bad as it could be in such a reverbitrating space.
We didn't have to wait long to be seated at a table by the open kitchen. The menu had typical antipodean bar and family fare. Fox ordered the mushroom pie, peas and mash, while I opted for the braised lamb shank and mash. This comforting winter food was served on white enamel camping plates. My braised lamb shank was so tender, it fell off the bone and melted in my mouth. Fox's pie was bigger than her face! The portions were generous but not over-th-top, which was good. The waitress happily supplied me with a side of peas, and my meal was perfect. Tasty, succulent and hearty. We don't usually have a dessert, but the offerings were too good to pass up. We shared a delicious bread and butter pudding which rounded our meal off wonderfully.
Although the place was busy, we felt no pressure to leave. The pace of the meal suited us well too, and while the waitresses where attentive and interacted well, they weren't overbearing or too chatty. We both really enjoyed our experience there and look forward to dining in the great hall again.