Mukka– The Overview…
Food: Slow Cooked Goat Curry, Classic Dosa, Samosa, Gobi, Roti, Garlic Naan, Rice
Ratings:
Food: 4.5/5
Atmosphere: 4.5/5
Service: 4.5/5
Value: 4.5/5
The details…
Mukka is a small eatery perfect for casual dining. Pallet ceiling installations, reclaimed wood stools and quirky stencilling bring the Brunswick street charm you’re used to to this cosy and creative Indian.
The menu is pretty different from many Indians in Melbourne – it’s fairly small and selective and they’ve not shied away from putting traditional ingredients and dishes like goat and dosa on the menu. It’s cuisine you’d expect to see when exploring pockets of the outer suburbs and I’m delighted to see it popping up in trendy Fitzroy. Coming from Manchester, home of the curry mile – we’ve often found a lot of Indian restaurants offering a very “safe” and somewhat lack-lustre menu so we’re thrilled to visit our second great Indian place in a matter of weeks.
These venues are showing Indian cuisine is more than just curry and taking those fragrant spices and flavours to include them on a much wider variety of dishes. I was excited to try the dosa – reminiscent of many cheap eats as a student after being introduced to it by an Indian friend. It’s also been a long time since I’ve seen goat on a menu anywhere so that jumped straight to the top of the list. We paired these with some traditional samosa, the exciting sounding Gobi 65, a cauliflower based dish, and topped the experience off with a rose and cinnamon cooler (a lassi for vegans).
The cooler – a lassi made with almond milk instead of yoghurt was beautiful. There’s a real subtle perfume and spice through it and it lacks the syrupy stickiness you can often get which makes it feel too much like a dessert. I loved the opportunity to pair my food with a traditional drink and felt that it pleasantly rounded off the experience.
The Gobi 65 was amazing. It’s such a vegan delight. The cauliflower is simply flash fried in a blend of light spices. Its beauty is in that simplicity and it shows how you can create a very stunning dish with very little. It would be top of my must try when visiting Mukka and it’s not super filling so there’s no excuse not to add it on as a little extra or a light entree.
The samosas are light flaky pockets stuffed with their trademark spicy veg blend. Much bigger than I expected they’re excellent value for $5 each. I also just realised that I ordered an almost entirely vegetarian meal here without even trying. In a society where we’re trying to reduce meat consumption the fact that I was drawn straight to their delicious vegetarian dishes is amazing and a real credit to the wonderful menu Mukka has.
The dosa is a perfect cheap eat. I am always amazed how filling this dish is, and it makes a great lunch option or light dinner. The rice and lentil pancakes are filled with a lightly spiced dhal or curry and served with dips. It’s one of those dishes that’s fun (if a little messy) to eat and it’s definitely one where you’ll be eating with your hands at some point. There’s bags of flavour and options and it’s such an affordable choice.
The goat was beautiful, and all Lee’s reticence about ordering this slightly unusual meat disappeared as soon as he took that first bit. It just broke apart, bringing with it a beautiful rich, meaty flavour. The curry itself was quite a thick chunky curry, being both sweet yet nicely spiced. While it may be a little out-there for some people, you’d have some serious FOMO if you didn’t order this one. Make sure you grab some naan or roti (both are great, but the naan probably just has the edge) to dip in your leftover curry sauce as you’ll be wanting to eat every morsel.
If all this hasn’t got your sufficiently drooling, there’s a range of winter specials including a spicy vindaloo or melt-in-the-mouth kofta, and they boast a serious range of cocktails too! You’ve never experienced Indian food like this in Fitzroy!
Everything else…
Website: https://mukka.com.au/
Address: 365 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy
Opening Times:
Mon 5:30pm to 10:30pm
Tue 5:30pm to 10:30pm
Wed 5:30pm to 10:30pm
Thu 12:00pm to 3pm and 5:30pm to 10:30pm
Fri 12:00pm to 3pm and 5:30pm to 10:30pm
Sat 12:00pm to 10:30pm
Sun 12:00pm to 10:30pm
Parking: There’s paid parking on Rose Street, which is by far the easiest and most convenient option. There’s a fair amount of nearby street parking too, but it’s a popular area of you may need to allow extra time to find a spot.
Getting here on PT: It’s on the 11 tram route (alight at Leicester Street), and walkable from both Nicholson Street and Johnston Street trams too.
Disclaimer: We dined as guests of Mukka, Fitzroy. Reviews are honest and based on our own personal experiences. We cannot guarantee things at a cafe won’t change including, but not limited to, menu items and opening hours, so please confirm any details with the venue before visiting.