ALTERED STATES
A table-side artwork, train station location and a secret address – these eateries delight in their difference.
Enter Via Laundry / VIC
A private dining room that seats just 10 people at a time with an address that’s only revealed prior to your confirmed meal. If you’re into dining with a difference, Enter Via Laundry ticks every box. This intimate dégustation is a mystery tour of regional Indian cooking delivered by self-taught Helly Raichura – and one taste of the ephemeral crêpes, folded in coconut cream with bush tomato oil and garlic flowers shows her exceptional skill. So, too, the Gujarat pork in black sesame sauce or a street snack of fried chickpea balls with lemon myrtle-spiked salsa. Where is it, exactly? You’ll be given the address before your reservation but we can reveal it’s in a particularly bucolic setting in Monbulk. To score a seat, register on the website to be notified when the next round of bookings opens. Good luck.
Address revealed after booking; entervialaundry.com.au; open for lunch or dinner on two weekends a month or on select dates
Faro / TAS
If you needed another excuse to visit MONA, the iconoclastic museum that put Hobart on the world map, look no further than Faro. Suspended over the Derwent River in the Pharos wing, it’s as visually spectacular as its gallery surrounds. All soaring curvilinear ceilings, glass walls and plush velvet chairs the same blue as the water, Faro shares the magnificent space with light artist James Turrell’s enormous spherical work Unseen Seen (you can book a pre- or post-meal excursion inside). Demonstrating a canny understanding of most people’s limits for experimental eating, the menu delivers a soft landing of Euro classicism. Whether it’s the traditional Spanish combination of jamón and romesco, a risotto blanco with blue swimmer crab and crème fraîche or mac and cheese with the indulgent addition of Tasmanian truffle, it’s the comfort cuisine you need before returning to the avant-garde.
655 Main Road, Berriedale; (03) 6277 9904; mona.net.au; open Friday-Monday for lunch and Friday-Sunday for dinner
Sage Dining Rooms / ACT
Bowral’s loss is Canberra’s gain with the arrival of chef James Viles following the much-lamented demise of his acclaimed fine-diner, Biota. Viles is newly appointed as executive chef overseeing the Harvac Group of restaurants and his first task is revitalising the august Sage Dining Rooms. He’s already installed erstwhile Biota head chef Corey Finch and injected his own brand of “thoughtful bistro dining” based on seasonal produce from the surrounding region. Expect jaffles filled with XO trout and bechamel, beef slow-cooked with Jerusalem artichoke or an ice-cream sandwich made with fig leaf parfait. “Much like I always did with Biota, it’s about celebrating what’s around us in a pared-back way,” says Viles. “It’s going to be fun to give such a Canberra institution a new lease on life.”
Gorman House Arts Centre, Batman Street, Braddon; (02) 6249 6050; sagedining.com.au; open Wednesday-Saturday for dinner
The Guardsman / SA
A modern reboot of the golden age of rail travel, The Guardsman gives you reason to head to Adelaide Railway Station without a ticket to ride. Traverse South Australia with a menu that spotlights Fleurieu Peninsula squid, chicken from the Barossa Valley, barramundi from Robarra and oysters from Coffin Bay. The parochialism extends to a drinks list of 20 SA beers, the state’s celebrated wines and local-leaning cocktails such as a Negroni mixed with craft spirits from Adelaide Hills Distillery. It’s a thoroughly modern experience but the three-year, $6 million renovation of the 1928 Grand Public Dining Hall – chequerboard floor tiles, green and gold leather booths and brass accents galore – is an engaging exercise in ye olde charm.
Adelaide Railway Station, 125 North Terrace, Adelaide; (08) 8212 2811; theguardsman.com.au; open Tuesday-Saturday for lunch and Friday-Saturday for dinner
Coppa Spuntino / QLD
Its move from the CBD to a riverside spot by Story Bridge isn’t the only change for this leader of Brisbane’s Italian pack. Take a seat on the broad undercover terrace and watch the Eagle Street Pier promenade with a frozen prosecco or Negroni from the newly debuted slushie machine.
Eagle Street Pier, Brisbane; (07) 3236 0187; coppaspuntino.com; open Tuesday-Sunday for lunch and Tuesday-Saturday for dinner
Nogi Lane / WA
Brunch is the most exciting meal of the day at this Dianella newcomer, thanks to former Vasse Felix chef Jason Nicholas, whose Burmese and Indian heritage throws a delicious curve ball. Pull up a seat in the smart, modern space decorated with timber and bright murals to savour his subcontinental spins: pulled organic beef, fragrant with clove and cinnamon, with a poached egg and cardamom hollandaise or chilli scramble with a pungent sambal kick. And don’t pass on the Insta-delights of a vanilla waffle cone adorning a fluffy banana pancake with honey butterscotch sauce and macadamia crumble. It’s almost too pretty to eat. (Almost.)
308 The Strand, Dianella; open seven days for breakfast and lunch