Melbourne Eats: Penny Young Review

Hello friends! Welcome back to another Melbourne Eats blog on Eats With Ash! If you’d like to check out some other ones, you can do so via the “Melbourne Eats” category. Today, we’re reviewing the restaurant Penny Young in Moonee Ponds, Melbourne.

Location: 22 Young Street, Moonee Ponds, VIC 3039
Opening Hours: Mon – Thurs: 3pm – 11pm, Fri: 3pm – 1am, Sat: 12pm – 1am, Sun: 12pm – 11am
Price Range: $40 – 60pp
Cuisine: Italian

All prices are in AUD.

What We Ate

Drinks

• Watermelon White Chocolate Martini $22
• Mango Chilli Margarita $23
• Limoncello Pallini $14
• Penfolds 20 YO Grandfather Port $16

Starters

• Arancini Quattro Formaggi $21
• Duck & Pork Croquettes $24
• Fries $12

Mains

• Ash – Gnocchi Sorrentina (baked gnocchi) $25
• Luke – Parpardelle $30

Desserts

• Ash – Chocolate Fondant $14
• Luke – Vanilla Slice $14

My Review

I’ve only been to Penny Young twice, but the two times I’ve been, I really liked it. The food is more on the expensive side; however, it’s really yummy! The atmosphere in the restaurant is inviting, and you’re made to feel super cosy and welcome there. The staff are lovely and want to make sure you have everything you need. And, it’s the one place I’ve been told to “get home safe” – usually it’s “have a good night” but that extra touch just made it feel so much more at home.

The chips (fries) were seasoned perfectly and they were OH so crunchy. We demolished them. The arancini was super good too but it’s hard for me not to like arancini. The duck and pork croquettes, on the other hand, were a bit strange. I think they would have been better just choosing one protein, and we weren’t sure if there were tiny bones left in them (accidentally of course – and I realise now how easy that would be to do). The taste wasn’t bad, but it just felt really heavy for a croquette – like when you think of a croquette you think of a beautiful golden crunchy croquette filled with potato and herbs. It needed more potatoes and cheese is what I’m saying. But really, one protein would work better as both duck and pork had such strong flavours.

In regards to the mains, I really liked both. So did Luke. They were everything I wanted for a winter meal, like so hearty and warm and who knew that oven baked gnocchi is soooooo good? The mains were perfect to me.

For the dessert, we ordered the vanilla slice and chocolate fondant. I think the chocolate fondant was the better of the two desserts – it was like a fancy version of a lava cake from Dominos – yep, showing how bogan I am hahaha JK JK. I think there’s only a slight difference between fondant and lava cake and it’s to do with the ratios. Anyway, I was very happy. Luke’s vanilla slice was nice, but it seemed more like Poh’s Milly Filly. The pastry was the best part, but it just felt a bit boring. Like, we wanted more gourmet.

As for the drinks, they were really good. I don’t think I’d had a watermelon cocktail before and I’d definitely order it again. Maybe watermelon and white chocolate could be an ice cream flavour for me to try.

I’d definitely eat here again, but maybe in summer so I can try more yummy cocktails! Overall, I give Penny Young a solid 8/10.

Thanks for reading! Where should we go next?

Ash x