Restaurant Reviews
Our monthly guide to exciting openings, upgraded offerings and changing chefs.
What’s new (and hot) on the restaurant, bar and café scene
WA MAX VEENHUYZEN ↓ HELM
Upstairs, 42 Mews Road, Fremantle (08) 6215 1063 helmfreo.com Open seven days for lunch and dinner You’d travel to this airy dining room at Fremantle Fishing Boat Harbour for the views alone. But while floor-toceiling windows make the most of Helm’s harbourside address, chef Matt Powell has his eyes on the bigger picture. His modus operandi isn’t groundbreaking – get good ingredients, don’t stuff them up – but in the context of an eatery in a major tourist spot, this straight-shooting approach feels especially rewarding. Like the chatty staff, punchy bar snacks such as prawn sliders and Scotch quail eggs chime with Helm’s easygoing nature. To the menu proper: wood-grilled asparagus is teamed with a bagna càuda sauce, locally caught albacore tuna is the star of a horseradish-enriched crudo and housemade ricotta plays nice with (bottomless) baskets of focaccia.
↓ BILLIE H.
34 St Quentin Avenue, Claremont (08) 9384 0808 billieh.com.au Open Tuesday-Saturday for lunch and dinner There are neighbourhood wine bars and then there’s Billie H., a soignée address in an upmarket shopping area. While musician-owner Dan Goodsell is behind the bar’s name (a tribute to singer Billie Holiday), look (records on the wall; a restored drinks trolley) and strong drinks program (from new-wave wines to reimagined cocktails), recently arrived chef Skye Faithfull matches the boss’s smarts and style. The seasonally shifting menu makes allowances for the odd signature (grilled sardines on bread made with house-sprouted grain) but there’s plenty of scope for Faithfull to flex her creative muscle. Tempura-fried zucchini flowers are filled with juicy pork jowl, charred quail is teamed with Puy lentils and black garlic, while braised borlotti beans are showered with ricotta salata.
VIC LARISSA DUBECKI ↓ NAVI
83b Gamon Street, Yarraville (03) 9939 9774 restaurantnavi.com.au Open Wednesday-Saturday for dinner The food scene in Melbourne’s west finds its apotheosis with Navi, a 25-seat, dégustation-only fine-diner. Chef Julian Hills, whose modOz skills were previously showcased at Paringa Estate, is the reason it’s booked out two months ahead. A single scarlet prawn, glistening in a chicken and seaweed glaze and surrounded by prawn dashi cut with the subtle fragrance of rose geranium, is worth the price of admission. Other highlights include a textured duck chawanmushi that’s equal parts adventure and comfort, plus the thrill of being close to the action in the beautiful, cloistered space.
↓ LESA
Level 1, 122 Russell Street, Melbourne (03) 9935 9838 lesarestaurant. com.au Open Thursday-Friday for lunch and Wednesday-Saturday for dinner It was three years in the making but Lesa, new sibling to its ground-floor
flatmate Embla, was worth the wait. Continuing a love of open-flame cooking using fermented and pickled ingredients to up the interest ante, chef Dave Verheul is a making-the-old-new-again trailblazer. Look no further than his beef tartare, the bistro classic barely recognisable with flavour-bomb strips of fermented and dehydrated tomato over the top and a bed of nicely sour walnut burnt cream. Or witness raw flounder, dressed to the nines with fresh peas and blackcurrant leaf in mussel broth for a new spin on fish crudo. The drinks list carries the Embla DNA with a preference for natural and low-intervention wines – but there’s classic celebratory champagne should your tastes be more orthodox.
↓ IMA PROJECT CAFE
169 Elgin Street, Carlton (03) 9348 1118 imacafe.co Open Wednesday-Monday for breakfast and lunch A light-filled corner shopfront in Carlton is the latest addition to Melbourne’s neo-Japanese trend, this time lavishing the wonders of dashi, kombu and togarashi on the brunch part of the day. Former Supernormal and Quay chef James Spinks and his Japanese interior designer partner, Asako Miura, have made the perfect pit stop, complete with Proud Mary coffee and a menu that reinvents the city’s classic of avocado on toast with a Vegemite-esque lick of nori paste, crisp kale and housemade furikake.
QLD MORAG KOBEZ ↓ MR PERCIVAL’S
Howard Smith Wharves, 5 Boundary Street, Brisbane (07) 3188 9090 mrpercivals.com.au Open seven days for lunch and dinner Named for the pelican in the 1964 Australian novel Storm Boy, Mr Percival’s evokes the nostalgia and coastal charm central to the much-loved book and its 1976 film adaptation, with striped umbrellas and retro-style palm-print chairs. The breezy, octagonal-shaped overwater bar and restaurant takes pride of place in the riverside dining precinct, its menu focusing on seafood and spritzes to complement the beach-chic vibe – think freshly shucked oysters; kingfish sashimi with finger lime and chive; crab-stuffed zucchini flowers; and lobster rolls with gem lettuce and cocktail sauce.
↓ GRECA
Howard Smith Wharves,
3/5 Boundary Street, Brisbane (07) 3839 1203 greca.com.au Open seven days for lunch and dinner After sitting derelict on the Brisbane River for more than half a century, the bones of this 1930s warehouse have been transformed into a rollicking contemporary Greek tavern by Jonathan Barthelmess of Sydney’s The Apollo and Cho Cho San. The sprawling interior opens to a terrace, where olive trees in terracotta pots evoke a Mediterranean atmosphere. A Greca Spritz will get the party started and one of the three set menus is the way to go for the group gatherings for which this newcomer is already renowned. The Almighty Aphrodite menu hits all the high points, starting with olives, silky taramasalata topped with fish roe, sizzling pans of golden saganaki with
honey and oregano, plus plenty of rustic bread to mop up all that goodness. Then there’s the flaky spanakopita; the stunning simplicity of charredyet-tender calamari served with lemon and thyme; and deeply satisfying, fall-apart lamb shoulder. After all this – along with the usual sides – you may find a refreshing piece of watermelon with lime is the perfect end to an epic feast. But to miss out on Greca’s version of galaktoboureko would be a tragedy of Sophoclean proportions.
ACT DIANA STREAK ↓ BOFFINS
1 Balmain Crescent, Acton (02) 6125 5285 unihouse.anu.edu.au Open Tuesday-Friday for lunch and Tuesday-Saturday for dinner You’ll have to venture to the genteel garden campus of the Australian National University to find Boffins, with its stunning new décor and exciting reworked menu, but it’s worth it. Gone are the professorial timber booths and Oxbridge chairs. Now it’s all dove-grey walls, charcoal drapes, white tablecloths, discreet lighting, muted jazz and acoustics that make talking easy. Start with South Coast oysters and tender baby octopus, which arrives with broad beans, sugar snaps and a glorious sambal sauce. Pair them with a glass of refreshing Nick O’Leary riesling before moving on to another Canberra District wine, the sensational Maipenrai pinot noir produced by ANU vicechancellor Brian Schmidt. Duck lovers will fluff their tail feathers in delight, no matter which way the bird is served (it depends on the season). On this visit, the sous vide pan-seared duck breast was perfection with luscious mulberries and charred radicchio. And don’t leave without trying the sublime lemon curd with whipped coconut, puff pastry and chamomile jelly.
↓ TERRA
Shop G2, No Name Lane, 40 Marcus Clarke Street, Canberra (02) 6230 4414
terracanberra.com.au Open Monday-Friday for breakfast, Monday-Saturday for lunch and Thursday-Saturday for dinner It’s been wowing the capital’s daytime crowds for months with bold, producedriven lunch offerings; now Terra is open for dinner, taking “meat and three veg” to dizzying hipster heights. So what’s the deal? Anthony and Marcus Iannelli of The Food Forum, a fresh-produce supplier to Canberra’s top restaurants, have teamed with chef Sung Son to create a dynamic canteen-style joint that has customers coming back daily for the ever-changing menu. Build your own lunch box to eat in or take away with proteins flame-cooked on the custom rotisserie – charcoal chicken, smoked brisket or slow-roasted lamb shoulder. Add your choice of roasted vegetables and seasonal salads, as varied as they are colourful, from the 4.5-metre counter and plonk yourself down around the communal tables. Dinner guests enjoy relaxed table service of shared snacks or full meals, while the $58 chef’s “Feed Me” tasting menu is difficult to pass up.
TAS JO COOK ↓ LUCINDA
123 Collins Street, Hobart (03) 6288 8910 diermakr.com Open seven days for dinner This warm and inclusive new wine bar is an extension of one of Hobart’s
hottest restaurants, Dier Makr. While you sip, you can watch the kitchen plate up dishes such as blue eye brandade, ham hock terrine with piccalilli, ricotta, asparagus and comté gnudi (gnocchi-like dumplings made with ricotta) or a delightful chilled zucchini soup with goat’s curd. Finely sliced squid is tossed with blanched and sliced King Edward potatoes from Rocky Top Farm then seasoned with lemon and coriander seed. From a wine list that’s mostly European, biodynamic and natural, the Manon Peaches 2017 out of the Adelaide Hills is a local favourite. Cocktails have unique flavours: try the Kunzea Collins, a mixture of gin, lemon and a syrup made from the native plant kunzea, topped with soda. A Tassie drop on tap might be the refreshing Spotty Dog Portland pale ale.
↓ BREAD + BUTTER
89 Cimitiere Street, Launceston (03) 6124 2299 breadandbutter tasmania.com.au Open seven days for breakfast and lunch Tasmanian Butter Co.’s Olivia Morrison has ramped up production of her handmade cultured butter and expanded from a garage in Trevallyn to a warehouse conversion in the CBD that includes a bakery and café. On Sundays head baker Nic Boskell makes a special loaf such as whole spelt flour and fresh peach. The delicious coffee is
made from beans roasted in small batches by Single O and Provenance Coffee Co. and the ceramics are crafted locally. Choose a table with your own toaster so you can toast to your liking and add lashings of butter and seasonal jam (it might be a bright rhubarb preserve) or select extras such as freerange boiled egg, ham, pickles, sardines or nut butter. There’s Roman-style pizza baked in a tray and sold by the rectangle or bagels with fresh fillings that change daily. The croissants – made with Tasmanian Butter Co. cultured butter, of course – are a major drawcard.
NSW ANTHONY HUCKSTEP ↓ ALBERTO’S LOUNGE
17-19 Alberta Street, Surry Hills albertoslounge.com Open Friday-Sunday for lunch and seven days for dinner From the team behind the subterranean French saloon Hubert comes a bustling, lively trattoria tucked away in the backstreets of Surry Hills. The Swillhouse Group has a knack of showing people a good time and here the service staff look to be having as much fun as the guests. Sit at the long timber bar and watch the pros mix drinks (while you enjoy a peep into the tiny kitchen) or grab a seat on a banquette and gaze upon a silhouette mural of the mysterious Alberto on the wall of the building opposite. In the kitchen, chef Dan Pepperell, just from Hubert and one-time panhandler at Italian heart-throb 10 William Street, delivers all the umami goodness of classic Italian dishes. Tuna crudo is tossed with chives and chilli plus a stern dose of salt and pepper, lovely pillowy gnocchi come lathered in pecorino sauce and a good pinch of cracked pepper (al cacio e pepe), while slowbraised tripe is cooked alla Romana, where tomato and peppery spice shine. Then a tender, rich pork neck cotoletta served simply with half a lemon steals the show. Alberto’s Lounge joins the recent throng of simple, sophisticated Italian restaurants to open in Sydney but few do it this well.
↓ EMPLOYEES ONLY
9a Barrack Street, Sydney (02) 8084 7490 employeesonlysyd.com Open seven days for dinner What do you get when you cross tarot card readings with classic cocktails and one of the best steak tartares on the planet? Yep, the Sydney outpost of New York’s famous bar Employees Only has landed and our nightlife is better for it. While the original is more bar with cracking food, the Sydney version has an extensive menu and a dining room that’s more lavish than most. A neon sign reading “Psychic” marks the entrance, compelling you to descend the stairs, past black-
and-gold astrology murals, until you step into a luxe space where punters bend the arm at a curvaceous brass-topped bar or park their backsides in moss green-upholstered bucket chairs at timber tables. You’d be excused for thinking you had stepped back to another era in a different city at another time but Employees Only is perhaps the future of late-night dining in Sin City. The signature steak tartare is cut thick and tossed at the table with egg yolk, truffled capers, shallots and a heavy splash of Worcestershire and Tabasco. Don’t think about it; just order it. Spanner crab ravioli wades in a fennel nage and is topped with a quenelle of café de Paris butter, while fried ras el hanout-coated Loligo squid benefits from ravigote sauce. Herb-crusted lamb rack with blistered tomatoes hits the spot and ’nduja provides a kick for Yamba king prawns. The food is good but the cocktails are better so start with an apéritif and finish with a nightcap.
SA NIGEL HOPKINS ↓ ORSO
36 Kensington Road, Rose Park (08) 8364 1008 orsokensington. com.au Open Tuesday-Saturday for lunch and dinner and Sunday for brunch Adelaide’s most exciting recent restaurant opening has been two years in the making by chef-restaurateur Andre Ursini, whose city offering, Andre’s Cucina & Polenta Bar, has long been a firm favourite. With head chef Will Doak overseeing a spectacular open kitchen, the menu treads new ground with the wood grill and Josper oven providing much culinary fire. Start with drinks and snacks in Willmott’s Gastronomia, a café-bar next to the restaurant, then order crunchy croquettes filled with creamy potato and taleggio before moving on to smaller dishes such as chargrilled octopus in ’nduja sauce with braised chickpeas or an original take on beef tartare made with Wagyu rump cap and served with preserved lemon and roasted hazelnuts. After all that, see what the Josper does with whole flounder or Wagyu rump. The engaging wine list will only increase your enjoyment.
↓ COCCOBELLO
209 Glen Osmond Road, Frewville (08) 7225 9599 coccobello.com.au Open Friday for lunch and TuesdaySaturday for dinner As the little brother of the popular Ruby Red Flamingo and Tony Tomatoes, you’d expect Coccobello to follow the same reliable path. And it does, with a menu of Italian staples cooked just like Mamma used to make them, albeit with its own personality. Sprawled across several rooms, Coccobello, despite its modern styling, feels old-school Italian, from its amiable and competent floor staff to classic dishes such as housemade tortellini in brodo, which looks simple but tastes fabulous. Another don’t-miss dish is the pan-seared wild barramundi stacked high with very good roasted tomatoes, red onion and croutons – and of course there’s a long list of pizzas from a monster-sized oven. Terrific value, lots of fun.