Argo's on the Parade & Gelatissimo Norwood

A spur of the moment catch up with a friend led me to Argo's on the Parade at Norwood. Lucky enough to score a park right out the front it was evident the place was packed with a line of people waiting to be seated. Given we had driven around for a while looking for said car park we decided we would wait it out. The waitress informed us it would be at least ten minutes, but turnover was relatively quick and in all honesty it might have been five tops. We were seated inside, provided menus and told that orders were done at the counter. The tables were pretty close together, and it was on the noisy side but not so much so we couldn't hold a conversation, there was plenty of natural light and the windows/french doors were open so it didn't feel cramped. 

After pursuing the menu I decided to order an Argo's special salad, a combination of marinated lamb, fetta, tomato, cucumber, spanish onion, beetroot, chargrilled capsicum, Argo tzatziki and baby spinach leaves. My dining partner ordered the MJ burger which was grilled chicken, pancetta, caramelised onion, fresh tomato, provolone cheese, mixed lettuce and a lemon-mustard sauce. We also ordered a small sweet potato fries to share. 

First up my salad, I have to say this was an epically HUGE salad. I actually didn't eat dinner as I was still full. The lamb was super tender and had a greek/yiros type flavour whilst the dressing was creamy and in just the right quantity to not overpower the dish. The standout element for me though was the fetta, it was super creamy and not too salty, one of the best fettas I've eaten. I asked for the name of the supplier but unfortunately the staff on didn't know :( Overall this was a great dish, good combination of flavours and good value for money (but certainly not sized for those looking for a 'light lunch'). My friend's MJ burger was also decently sized. They described it as being really fresh, with a good combination of flavours and a nicely toasted bun. They particularly liked the lemon mustard sauce though, I did give this a try and have to agree. It was slightly tangy, mustardy but not spicy and really complemented the other flavours in the burger well.

The sweet potato fries were also a really huge serve for a small! They were served with a really nice sour cream and in a cute basket (this seems to be a popular serving trend at the moment). These were fantastic! The sweet potato was perfectly sweet and they were crunchy and crispy whilst still being fluffy on the inside like a good chip should be. They also weren't oily and were seasoned well. I would head back to Argo's just for these sweet potato fries! For drinks I ordered a Summer Dayz juice with added ice, which was a combination of orange, pineapple and strawberry. This was refreshing, had good balance of flavours (not to sweet) and was really foamy (which I personally like). My friend ordered the Raspberry Ripe milkshake, this had a really nice raspberry coconut flavour, and was pretty tasty as well. 

I would definitely go back to Argo's for lunch, they also do breakfast which I'm interested in trying. I would say if your not willing to wait to make sure you book a table as every time I've been by they are super, super busy. Service was quick and efficient despite how exceptionally busy they were and the food was good quality and value for money. For my paleo people Argo's are known for being pretty accommodating with dietary requests and plenty of the items on the menu could be made 100% paleo compliant :)



Given the weather was so beautiful and sunny I couldn't resist dropping into the new Gelatissimo store on the Parade for a scoop of chocolate, a scoop of choc mint and a good drizzle of hot Nutella. :) As always great gelato, but like at Gouger Street the service was a little lack lustre. It wasn't 'super' busy but the girls didn't seem to have a system to work out who had been waiting first and we were skipped over several times. I'll cut them some slack seeing the store has just opened, but good customer service is really important to me, hopefully next time I have something more positive to say!