MELBOURNE DINING: A THREE WORD GUIDE.
Melbourne right now, in three words? Hands-on, Hospitality and Ham.
A quick re-appraisal of the ever-evolving dining scene in our great southern city, as a younger, more confident, ballsier approach to dining shapes the city in a different direction. A brilliantly diverse group of chefs and restaurateurs draw on their backgrounds to load everything with SO MANY IDEAS and SO MUCH FLAVOUR, you need to come up slowly after a few meals, or you’ll get the bends.
IMMEDIATE IMPRESSIONS:
Hands-on: Owners are invested, committed, on the floor, ever-present. It’s a Melbourne thing. You don’t open a string of places and go and live in Bali; you’re in hospo because you’re good at it and because it’s all you know.
Hospitality: It’s the welcome, the observance of small details, the anticipation of what you might want or need. And that they know their job is to create an environment that diners can mould to their own special needs and wants, and they respect those who do just that.
Ham: For someone who could live on various incarnations of bread and ham for breakfast, lunch and dinner, Melbourne is the place to be. It’s because their restaurateurs place as much emphasis on wine as food, and nothing hangs out with a glass of wine better than jamon, prosciutto, salami and friends. A plate of cured meat says ‘take it easy, we’re not going to rush you. Nor do we need to show off.’
SERAI Fire, Flavour, Filipino
Such an interesting place, playing fast and loose with the idea of modern Australian dining. The laneway location, troppo/tiki décor, loud music and super-speedy pace set up certain expectations, but the oomph/pow intensity of flavours straight off the coals, natural wines and the playful freshness of ideas from chef Ross Magnaye, change the game.
Take the McScallop, a big, fat Abrolhos scallop, battered and fried and stuffed inside a soft pan de sal roll with crab fat sauce and atchara (green papaya pickles) for tang. And the whole charred cabbage done in the style of tocino (sweet, cured pork), oh my goodness – it’s soft, melting, and virtually armoured with a caramelised crust. They could slow down the ruthless pacing though; there’s not much joy in getting your mains delivered while still on your break-the-ice cocktail. And to their credit, when asked, they did. 7 Racing Club Lane, Melbourne.
UMINONO Modern Sushi: Premium, Pre-order, Pick-up.
It’s a tight, post-pandemic concept: premium sushi boxes for take-away from a Prahran laneway. And it’s done very well: dry-aged fish, great diversity and structure, high-grade rice, small bottle of their own soy. Even the packaging is hat-box beautiful. It all augurs well for April, when Arnaud Laidebeur and team launch dine-in sushi. 24 Chatham St, Prahran.
ETTA Neighbourly, Nifty, Nice.
The combo of Hannah Green on the welcome mat and Rosheen Kaul in the kitchen makes Etta pretty irresistible. It’s that combo of warmth, humour and modesty, mixed with fireworks of flavour that are flamboyant yet have real roots.
There’s a skewer of greenlip abalone and lardo you can see in their pic above, oh yeah. And a crispy rice salad with red curry pork sausage and mussels, below, that’s unlike anything I’ve had before and yet tastes familiar. All this in an honest, high-energy Brunny East package that lets you use it in so many different ways – on the street, front bar, dining room, out the back. Nice. 60 Lygon St, Brunswick East. (Re-opens Jan 17)
FREYJA Nordic, Gothic, Mythic
Freyja plays its own tune in the heart of Melbourne’s CBD, with Korean-born, Michelin-starred (at Norway’s Re-naa) chef Jae Bang installed in the majestically tall-ceilinged 1890 Olderfleet building. It’s not your usual nostalgic, button-pressing Melbourne bistro environment; but cooler, and more thoughtful, with a real Scandinavian aesthetic that gives it a competitive edge.
At lunch, the smorrebrod is carefully designed and assembled, and at night, the Freyja waffle with trout roe and smoked sour cream is a stand-out. But there’s so much more delicacy and nuance going on with the proper dining here. Keep an eye on the chef, he’s very intriguing, and deserves to be pinging more radars. 477 Collins Street, Melbourne
HERO ACMI Art, Light, Food
The boundless energy and down-to-earthiness of Karen Martini has carved out a special spot in a huge dining space in the Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI). Somehow it quietly redefines the idea of a good art gallery restaurant by just being a good Melbourne restaurant instead. By that I mean the Chris Connell Design, mesmerising Christina Zimpel large-scale portraits, Michael Sapoutsis running the floor, Philippa Sibley doing puds, and great regional producers such as Ballarat’s Mr Cannubi doing mortadella. (Did I not mention that I order some version of ham every where I go?)
Hero is professional, flexible, and user-friendly. The menu is clever, with its signature tarama, roe and Thessalonikan koulouria bagel to start (below, not to be missed), its stracciatella with red capsicum and salad onion; and its roast chicken diavolo with charred bread sauce. Comfort food that won’t send you to sleep. Fed Square, Melbourne
MARCH Small, Sophisticated, Subtle
All hail the rise of the small neighbourhood bar with great food that comes from the same kitchen as the next-door fine-diner. March is Peter Gunn’s side note to Ides, and it’s a smart move for both him and for Melbourne.
It’s just the spot in which to sit up at a broad and beautiful bar and snack on chicken liver parfait canapes while navigating a Gibson from martini queen Hayley McCarthy and indulging in a superior version of one of Melbourne’s finest rituals – chatting to one’s bar-neighbours. 90 Smith St, Collingwood.
SOUTH MELBOURNE MARKET Hustle, Bustle, No-Fussle
It’s been going non-stop since 1867, and still looks as fresh as a bunch of parsley. Even on Christmas Eve, this much-loved market is enjoyable, navigable and good-humoured, as people scoff the famous dimsims, or sit down at a tapas bar for pan con tomate topped with jamon. Santa’s little helpers were on hand to keep cars moving and pedestrians crossing, and the whole thing became a lesson in turning what can be a list-driven nightmare of a day running from place to place, into a holiday.
It’s real strength: all the colour and influence of the early South Melbourne settlers, the Greeks and Italians, the Chinese, Lebanese, Spanish and Polish remain; their delis and stalls now magnetic hybrids of their heritages and their environment. I went off with a Santa’s sack of soft slippers of Italian ciabatta from Vangeli’s Deli, jellied brawn from My Polish Deli, chicken stock from Hagen’s Organics, a bunch of Victorinox knives from the Chef’s Hat, and a great, dense, fruit bread from Steve’s or Theo’s Deli, forget which, and wondered why Melbourne makes it so easy to live on good food, and Sydney makes it so hard (I love you, Syd, but it’s true). 322 Coventry Street, South Melbourne.
Special mentions to fabulous newish CBD bars: Pearl Diver for its cocktails, it’s ‘Oysters’ and ‘Not Oysters’ menu (Oyster Tower shown below), and its cheery attitude; and Martinis with Mancini, the totally charming martini jazz bar from Con Christopoulos and Tim Davey. Do the Amaro Sour (Montenegro, Maker’s Mark Bourbon, lemon juice, syrup, aquafaba) at the tail end of another great night in old/new Melbourne town. They even have little panini, should you decide you haven’t had enough bread and ham. (Put your hand down, Jill).
Thanks for dropping by! And thanks to my right-hand man, Terry Durack, for all the walks through the Fitzroy Gardens. We both grew up in Melbourne, so return visits are like going back but going forward, at the same time.
I would also like to acknowledge the traditional owners of the lands and waters upon which I work, live, cook and play; the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. I fully support the Uluru Statement from the Heart, and for an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voice to be enshrined in Australia’s Constitution. It’s about time, folks.