We decided to have a casual dinner at Rub!con, a cute cafe/restaurant/bar on Errol street. It was really easy to get to because it’s right next to the city and there’s a tram stop just outside it. The interior was warm and welcoming with candles on each table and the staff were really friendly and casual, service was quick and on the ball.

We started off with some crispy hot seasoned potato wedges ($11.5) served with sweet chili aioli. They had a really nice crunch and the inside was steaming hot, the sweet chili sauce went well with the wedges although they may have given us more sour cream than necessary.

For one of our mains we ordered the risotto with chicken breast cooked with sauteed shiitake mushrooms, spinach, onion and garlic ($16.5) We really liked this dish, every mouthful was flavoursome, the sauce was pretty creamy and tasty plus it was also a cold night, so the garlic warmed us up.

We also ordered the Saltati penne pasta with bacon, semi-dried tomato, spinach, onion and garlic ($16.5) which was alright, it tasted a little dry, although the semi-dried tomato was aromatic and the bacon was a good accompaniment to the dish.

Rub!con’s wood-fired pizzas were another thing we wanted to try so we also ordered the Chicken pizza, which had marinated chicken, pineapple, garlic, mozzarella cheese and napoli sauce ($14.5) The pizza itself was done well, not undercooked and or burnt, it was filling and tasted pretty standard. Recommend trying a different pizza if you want something out of the ordinary.

Even though we were so full from the mains, we decided to have some dessert anyway. We ordered the home-made tiramisu ($11.9) which was really creamy. The sponge had just the right amount of coffee flavour and each spoonful melted in your mouth. After we devoured the cake between the 5 of us, we sat back completely satisfied. But wait! We’re not finished yet!

We also ordered their Gelati tasting plate ($8) starting from the top, the flavours were: Bubblegum, Peanut, Mango, Cinnamon and Blood Orange gelati. After trying all the different flavours we unanimously decided that the Blood Orange gelati was the best. It had a tangy strong orange flavour which kept you wanting more. Mango was also a favourite with it not being too sweet and artificial. The scoops of gelati sat on top of crumbed biscuit which was similar to a cheesecake base, the crunchy texture was just what you needed as it complemented the smoothness of the gelati. It was the perfect way to finish off our meal.

Rub!con has a lovely ambiance, waiters are really friendly, serving sizes were perfect for us and the food was enjoyable. It was a good night out, we were content and would come back again.

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(03) 9329 3389
www.rubiconcafe.com.au
50 Errol Street,
North Melbourne VIC 3051

Opening Hours
Tue-Fri 10am-10pm;
Sat 9am-10pm;
Sun 9am-3pm

Price range: entres/sides- $15, mains- $15 -30, assorted cakes/desserts- $8-12
Service: very friendly
Music: Oldies music
Vegetarian options: ✓
Gluten Free options: all risottos
Eftpos: ✓