It’s a busy night at Mr Humble. A function is enjoying the semi-private rear area by the colourful peacock mural, and others are enjoying a drink by the front bar, where the windows have been pulled aside, creating large open frontage for patrons to enjoy the weather. A single row of tables runs along one side of the restaurant, the other side being occupied by the bar area and the wood fired oven and counter seats where you can watch all the action.

It’s a warm and casual environment, we start our dinner with woodfired mushrooms stuffed with veal, pork and mozzarella. They’re flavour-packed and bursting with juices. There seems to be a touch of chilli too. Crispy fried cauliflower come coated in a thin batter and look a little like pop-corn chicken. Topped with parmesan shavings, and coming with a mustard garlic aioli for dipping, it was hard to stop going back to this tasty entree. We also order the crab, fennel and coriander croquettes. They consist mostly of chunky potato bits, and it was hard to find the crab, but the crumbed coating was nice and crunchy.

Today’s pasta special is a slow-cooked lamb shoulder, squash, green peas and mint penne. It needed a bit more seasoning, but it was a lovely light pasta with fresh flavours. Mr Humble’s wood-fired pizzas come with a thin and crispy base. Ours, the prawn and zucchini pizza with tomato, mozzarella, chilli, mint, parsley, didn’t have much protein in the topping, but the light and puffy pizza base is done very well and no crusts are left behind.

We finish with the hot, chocolate ricotta fritters with espresso chocolate sauce and chocolate soil. They might look a bit odd, but it’s a decandant eat that’s almost like we’re eating a rich, chocolate mousse. A bit more crunch from the chocolate soil would have added more textural variety to the dessert.

With great pizza and a nice selection of starters, Mr Humble is a convenient place to pop into for a good feed, being only a few metres away from the train station.

Disclaimer: I was invited to Mr Humble as a guest, however, opinions expressed here are purely my own, and are based on my experience at the time

Mr Humble
6 Railway Parade
Highett VIC 3190
(03) 9555 8812
www.mrhumble.com.au