Woodfired Kitchen, Glen Iris

Tucked away from the main retail strip of High Street, Glen Iris is Woodfired Kitchen. It occupies two shops combined into one incongruous restaurant. Although it located right next to the train station, there is no visibility to commuters. The only free marketing it might have is from cars banked up at the level crossing while waiting for the lights to turn. The restaurant is the only one on the strip it occupies that is lit up during the night. All the rest are retail shops that are only open during the day. A tough operating environment indeed. 

The staff try their hardest to entice, captivate and coax the patrons, and from what I can see, it may be working. The owner is very friendly and very eager to please. I think we must have gotten at least 5 'how is everything's throughout the night. 

We ordered the Herb and Garlic Pizza Flatbread ($9) - the flatbread was tasty and the Grana Padano cheese was delicious. I wished there was more garlic though. 

For mains, I ordered the Braised Free Range Beef Short Rib with Roasted Shallots, Kipfler Potatoes and natural jus ($32). Isn't it pretty? The potatoes were very crispy and well cooked. The shallots was sweet and complements the meaty beef short rib well. As for the short rib, it was tender but a little stringy.

Gaz ordered the Slow Cooked Free Range Lamb Shoulder with Honey Roasted Pumpkin, Toasted Hazelnuts and natural jus ($30). The lamb was very tender and well cooked. The pumpkin was not peeled but I didn't mind it at all. Isn't it more nutritious to eat peels as well? And look at the plate... isn't it beautiful?

We shared our mains, and wished we had ordered one red meat and one white, like a fish or something for variety.

Although we were already quite full, Gaz ordered the cheesecake to share. The pastries and cakes are not house made. It was a tad heavy for the big meal we just ate and nothing really to shout about.

What was exemplary was the staff's good service - they were always on their toes seeing if we needed anything, or if we wanted to order more food. As nice as the staff was, I couldn't wait to get out of my seat - the booth seat is way too shallow and high for me. I found myself slipping out of my seat and hitting my knees on the table, which was too low. Very uncomfortable!