August 21, 2026
We thought it'd be fun to go a little fancy on one of our MIFF outings, teaming Clarissa at Melbourne Central with Patsy's. Clarissa was a lavish adaptation of the Mrs Dalloway story set in contemporary Nigeria that didn't quite satisfy us, but Patsy's capped the night off just right. I really enjoy the wine bar style of this vegetarian restaurant - it makes fine use of an older building and isn't self-consciously chasing up-to-the minute trends.
We started with cocktails! Patsy's Sazerac for Michael ($28; whisky, cognac, pastis and bitters), while I chose the sweeter-but-still strong hazelnut sour (hazelnut liqueur, almond bitters and lime). Focaccia ($8.50) is always fun, but this one didn't rate among my favourites.
Roasted tomato and fava tortellini ($30) were tender and teamed with soft fennel, then supplied a bit of savoury crunch with pine nuts and pangrattato. Among the many cheesy dishes, we chose the Dutch cream potato and raclette cheese gratin ($30), which was served bubbling hot with a few cornichons.
Brussels sprouts were beautifully charred ($20), dressed with verjus and toasted almonds. Michael most loved the soft polenta with sauteed mushrooms, parsnip and washed rind cheese ($46) but the texture and pungency didn't appeal so much to me.
We shared caramel and brown butter tart ($28) for dessert. I liked it just fine, not really appreciating why the recipe has earned such popularity and imitation, and most enjoying the mezcal and prickly pear icecream for the contrast it supplied.
It seems unusual to me that, here in the 2020s in Melbourne, a vegetarian restaurant would serve so much dairy and not explicitly mark its vegan options. That said, we have previously enjoyed a terrific vegan set menu here in celebration of a birthday, so it's still worth a shot.
We finished out MIFF with the striking Elephants in the Fog and lunch at our old fave, Master Lanzhou.
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You can read about our first visit to Patsy's here.
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Patsy's
213 Franklin St, Melbourne
9328 7667
Accessibility: The front door has a small lip and there is a little landing inside that requires a pivot and a step or two. Furniture is medium spaced, mostly sturdy, regular-height and wooden with backs on chairs; there are also cushioned benches, high bar seats and outdoor furniture in places. We didn't visit the toilets. We ordered and paid at our table.
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