22 Jul Rubira’s, North Melbourne

Rubira’s is a popular and busy seafood restaurant that had its beginnings in Port Melbourne, and was expanded to North Melbourne nearly a year ago. It was started up by fourth generation hotelier, Paul Taberner, and restauranteur and third generation fish monger, John Rubira. John himself gets up in the early hours of every morning to get first pickings at the fish markets. For the North Melbourne branch, this wonderfully fresh and high quality seafood is prepared by Adam Barge, who came over from Port Melbourne to head up the kitchen.

A wide range of wines and other tipples are also available to go with all that seafood.

Seafood is obviously something Rubira’s does well and is famous for, but if you happen to not be in the mood, there are alternatives like steak, veal and duck. Being dependent on the quality of produce available that day, there are plenty of things to choose from the daily specials board. You might find calamari, scallops, scampi or crayfish. And of course, oysters. It’s a great time of year for oysters, and oysters were the main focus today – it was time for Rubira’s annual oyster night!

Sourcing oysters from all over Australia, John expertly matches the individual characteristics of the oysters from each region to particular preparations.

Oysters au Naturale

One of the best ways to appreciate oysters is au naturale. With just a little squeeze of lemon, or a touch of red wine vinegar dressing, the sweet, plump and fresh oysters were a real treat. It was difficult to get a photo of the full platter as they disappeared almost as soon as they came to the table!

Oysters Kilpatrick

Oysters Mornay

Champagne Oysters

There were other classic oyster preparation like flavoursome and tangy oysters kilpatrick, oysters mornay made with a combination of gruyere and parmesan, and champagne oysters.

Beer-battered Oysters

We loved the addictive beer-battered oysters, which had an incredibly crispy coating, but still seemed to retain all their juicy goodness.

It wasn’t all about oysters though. We were also treated to some other amazing seafood like:

…half-shell Hervey Bay Scallops with a gorgeous, simple but tasty dressing, topped with chilli…

…crumbed fish fillets with sweet chilli sauce…

… crispy, juicy and piping-hot beer-battered Tiger Flathead fillets and chips…

Calamari

… and tender, lightly floured local bay calamari.

A private function room with a tailored dining menu is also available for booking, with enough room to accommodate 50 people seated, or 80 people standing. The quality of seafood really was top notch, and expert handling of the produce allowed us to enjoy the seafood at its best. Whether you’re after a location for a function, or just wanting to sample some of the wonderful seafood we have in Australia, Rubira’s is an option you should consider.

Disclaimer: I was invited to Rubira’s Oyster Night as a guest, however, opinions expressed here are purely my own and not influenced by them in any way.

Rubira’s
480 Victoria Street
North Melbourne, VIC, 3052
(03) 9329 1634
http://rubiras.com.au/