Coda

Location: Basement 141 Flinders Lane, Melbourne, VIC 3000
Phone: (03) 9650 3155
Link: www.codarestaurant.com.au
Cuisine: Spanish, Tapas

It's been quite a long time since V and I went to Coda, but in keeping with the tapas theme of late, I thought I'd finally post up the photos, and add what commentary I can remember.

Coda is one of a number of tapas places slowly popping up along Flinders Lane, alongside Cumulus and Movida.

Syrahmi salami by Adam Foster

Not your ordinary salami, which generally taste mostly of salt and chilli, this one was delicate and had a hint of smokiness. Went very nicely with the bread sticks.

Hervey Bay scallop, pearl tapioca and Yarra Valley salmon caviar

My top dish of the night - fresh scallops cooked perfectly, sitting on a smooth pearl tapioca sauce and topped with salmon caviar that just popped in the mouth. Absolutely delicious and a nice balance of flavours and textures.

Crispy prawn and tapioca betel leaf

Another flavoursome dish, combining the crispy outer of the prawns, the juicy prawn meat inside a betel leaf.

Fremantle octopus, green mango & kaffir lime salad, roasted chilli & shallot dressing

V's favourite dish of the night - in fact, every time we go for tapas she constantly reminds me of how good the 'octopus at Coda' was. The octopus was grilled until tender, and sat on a bed of pounded chilli and shallots. sour green mango and kaffir lime provided a contrast to the fiery spice of the chilli and shallots.

Quail lettuce delight, lup cheong, shitake mushroom, coriander and water chestnuts

Probably the least stand out dish for me. The quail was cooked very well, but the construction was nothing special - a couple of Asian flavours stir fried together and poured into a lettuce leaf. After getting hit with all the wonderful flavours and aromas of the earlier dishes, this was a bit of a let down. There wasn't anything wrong with it, it just lacked the 'punch' that the other dishes had carried with them.

Souflle

Unfortunately I don't really remember much about this dish.

What impressed me most with the service at Coda was the thought that our waiter put into designing our meal. After leaving us to peruse the menu for a few minutes, the waiter we through the dishes we had selected, then designed an order in which they would arrive, so as to break up flavours and also to build into the whole experience that degustation feeling.

Overall Impression: 9/10