Time Out Melbourne never writes starred reviews from hosted experiences – Time Out covers restaurant and bar bills for reviews so that readers can trust our critique.
Tucked away in the residential backstreets of Abbotsford is Molli, a neighbourhood bar and bistro just a stone’s throw away from stalwart café Three Bags Full. Funnily enough, the perennially popular brunch destination is an earlier venture of Nathan Toleman, owner of Molli and founder of hospitality conglomerate the Mulberry Group, the same establishment behind CBD restaurants Hazel and Dessous.
Molli is a warm and inviting space, belying its expansiveness as a 100-seater. Clad in dark timber and light-filled, with sage green walls adorned by still life oil paintings and vintage furnishings, Molli is simultaneously classy and cosy. Seating can range from tables and banquettes to a wraparound bar overlooking the open kitchen, where one can witness firsthand the flames of Molli’s prized Josper charcoal oven.
Get there between the witching hours of 5 and 6pm on weekdays to capitalise on Molli’s aperitivo hour, a delightful window in time when oysters are $4.50, select beer and wines are $10 and a curated list of cocktails are $14 each. Molli excels in reasonably priced daily specials, whether it’s their $30 pasta and vino lunch on Friday and Saturday or their $60 Sunday set meal. Adjacent sister venue Little Molli is a daytime café and deli.
Kayla Saito brings her extensive experience as bar manager at Dessous to Molli, with inventive cocktails like the Barracuda Spritz – a summer fizzer featuring housemade pineapple wine and apricot brandy. Courtesy of sommelier Andre Magneklint, the thoughtfully curated wine list blends classics with lesser-known varietals both locally and abroad. Chef Aleks Kalnins, formerly of Hazel and Matilda 159, is at the helm of the food menu.
As is the case with many a wine bar, it’s eclectic, borrowing influences from Japan, Italy and Spain and incorporating a hyperlocal approach that spotlights fresh produce from notable Australian suppliers like Brisbane Valley Quail, Ramarro Farm, Alpine Trout Farm and Portarlington Mussels. Sustainability is a keen focus of both the food and drinks menu, with tipples like carrot top vermouth crafted from wine wastage and leftover carrots and condiments like ketchup fashioned from Swiss brown mushroom juice.
The mini potato rosti is making an appearance at wine bars around Melbourne, most notably at fellow newcomer Elio’s Place. While Elio’s version is topped with trout mousse, Molli’s is covered in the lighter cod roe, an ideal complement to the rosti, itself sublimely crisp on the edges with a pleasantly sticky texture within.
The BBQ scallop doused in a buttery and piquant sauce of fermented bullhorn pepper is a highlight. Be sure to order some of the country loaf, purveyed by famed Collingwood bakery To Be Frank, to mop up the sauce.
Interspersed with cubes of cucumber and sitting in a pleasantly savoury saffron sauce, the swordfish tartare is a touch too unassuming for our palates after the richness of our previous entrée. The accompanying nori and brown rice crackers, tasty as they are, further overwhelm the mild tartare. Fresh and enjoyable nonetheless, the swordfish tartare would work better as an entrée consumed first.
Seaweed features again in the deliciously umami nori crumble blanketing the immaculately cooked octopus, served alongside a dollop of harissa aioli.
Strewn across with strings of stracciatella, the housemade casarecce in a fermented tomato sugo is akin to a subtler take on the ubiquitous vodka tomato pasta. The pasta is perfectly al dente and the sharpness of the grated hard goat’s cheese chevrano ups the ante, but the dish arrives curiously cold.
On the other hand, the Humpty Doo barramundi is faultless, perched on a bed of spring greens in a sea of lovage sauce.
More than worthy as sides are the smoked baby potatoes, once again topped with nori, and butter lettuce peppered with the sweet citrus undertones of lemonade fruit.
The chocolate and pickled cherry torte we enjoy for dessert is also good, even if upping the pickled cherries quotient would’ve resulted in a more complex, multidimensional dessert.
In essence, the vibes are unimpeachable at Molli. Barring a few minor quibbles with the menu, our experience bears testament to the thought and care that has gone into curating a space that is already beloved by Abbotsford locals and nearby visitors alike.