RESTAURANT NEWS
MELBOURNE
Kiwi chef Hayden McMillan has opened Etta on Lygon Street with his wife, Dominique Fourie McMillan (Cutler & Co) and former Rosetta staffer Hannah Green. The menu at the 80-seat bistro is mainly vegetarian, with dishes such as mozzarella pasta with zucchini and black olives, and charred carrots with smoked cheese and macadamia. IF Architecture is behind the room’s design, which features a statement bar, banquettes and a mural by artist Robert Bowers.
SYDNEY
After Sepia closes its doors on 31 December ahead of the lease expiring on its Sydney CBD site, Martin Benn and Vicki Wild will move to Melbourne and set up shop with veteran restaurateur Chris Lucas (Chin Chin, Baby, Kong, Hawker Hall). The new restaurant will trade under a different name, but the couple’s commitment to fine dining will live on. “Martin’s style is Martin’s style,” says Wild. The new restaurant is slated to open in Melbourne’s CBD.
CANBERRA
East Hotel’s dining options have been given a lift with Agostinis, a new pizza and pasta restaurant on the old Ox Eatery site. The menu bounces from focaccia al forno and frico, the potato and cheese roasted snack from Friuli, to traditionalleaning pizze, pasta and a one-kilo bistecca. The wine offering includes three Italian wines on tap and a house red made by Bryan Martin from Ravensworth Wines.
MARGARET RIVER
Aaron Carr, chef at Vasse Felix for a remarkable 21 years, will leave the Margaret River winery at the end of May to open an eatery in Dunsborough, 15 minutes from Yallingup. Carr says Australian producers will feature heavily in both the kitchen and the cellar at the new digs (he’s joining forces with new-wave wine label Snake & Herring for the venture) and cites Sydney’s Ester and Fred’s as inspirations.
The restaurant is tipped to open in November. Carr’s successor at Vasse Felix is yet to be announced.
NEW YORK
Former WD-50 and Alder chef Simone Tong has opened Little Tong, a casual Yunnan-inspired noodle house in the East Village. Mixian rice noodle pots are central to the menu, with half a dozen variations on offer including Grandma Chicken, with fermented chilli, confit chicken, and black sesame and garlic oil, and Little Pot, with minced pork belly.