siblings - 601 burwood rd hawthorn 3122 9819 5555

remember the caramel cafe review? well siblings is around the corner, owned by the same people and it does a very nice dinner. 'siblings' because he waits and she cooks - and there are cute pictures of them on the wall. as the name implies, the atmosphere is warm, intimate and feels a bit like home. (so long as your home has tea light candles and 'siblings' printed on the table cloth.)

so - what's the verdict? fucking smashing - i'll definitely be back. it more than lives up to the caramel cafe standard - with good service, good food and a very good wine list. i think it helped that the waiter remembered me (down to what i'd had for breakfast) from cafe caramel last weekend.

but first thing's first- i need to confess that my criteria for a good restaurant may be quite different to bigmouth's. whilst i am certainly a fan of talented waiters and all day breakfasts, I can't say the same about oysters or steak. i'll just come out and say it - i'm a vegetarian. so, just so we're clear on this - the availability of vegetarian meal options ranks high with me, okay?

the menu at siblings is more like a listing of meal suggestions (i love that) and changes often to accommodate the regular local patrons. (i think i'll join the club.) they do housemade bread with tasty stuff in it (a la globe. or is globe a la siblings - who can ever be sure?) for starters, but it ain't free - sorry bm. also managed to eat my way through a post-dinner creme brulee in long flat dish, which i thought was quite marvelous, because after all, the crackly top is where it's at, isn't it?

the meal prices are actually pretty reasonable and whilst the wine list might be on the pricey side, it's definitely all quality. naturally, you can byo if you want to, but the corkage is 8 bucks (on special, apparently.)

so that's it - a big yes rubber stamp from me- but did I manage to say fuck enough times?