Chef Joe Grbac hits the mark with Saxe on Queen St, Melbourne CBD
THE newest diner on Queen St diner is a return to feast-worthy form for a veteran chef, resulting in a restaurant experience royally deserving of fanfare and hype, writes Dan Stock.
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ADELHEID Louise Theresa Caroline Amelia. It’s quite a mouthful; doesn’t roll off the tongue as easily as Meghan Markle. But, just like the Canadian actor will do in May, 200 years ago Adelheid of Saxe-Meiningen married into the British Royal family.
But unlike Ms Markle, Adelaide eventually ended up as Queen and had both a capital city and part of the Hoddle Grid named after her.
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The nomenclature of Queen St has informed Joe Grbac’s smart new two-storey diner in the heart of the legal district.
For, in another nod to theme, arrestingly bright royal blue is a signature across the Samantha Eades-designed space, most dramatically as a high-backed soft (and supremely comfortable) banquette that runs the length of the upstairs dining room.
It’s a beautiful room of white, dark wood, brass accents and feature lighting that, despite the hard surfaces, remains conversation friendly during a midweek lunch (though no vouching for Fridays in December).
This is Joe’s first time as sole master of his own domain, having spent the past decade working for or with others including at The Press Club and, most recently, Collingwood’s Saint Crispin.
It’s there he honed the technical-yet-approachable signature that defines the menu at Saxe today.
And that experience shows through a restaurant that’s considered and mature at every turn, though it’s not even two months old.
It’s precise cooking with big, powerful flavours served across an entree-main format that will be embraced by the lawyers lawyering over lunch, yet at the same time is welcoming and flexible enough to warrant more casual visits.
Especially in the downstairs bar, where an all-day drop-in bar menu augments the upstairs a la carte offering that also comes in five- and seven-course degustation form.
Wherever you perch, you’ll start with excellent warmed bread on which to spread an alluring, textural cream of macadamia, dandelion root and saltbush. It’s a burst of slightly sharp, salty nuttiness that’s a welcome primer and sits alongside a chickpea panisse — think of it as a chickpea chip — dotted with fennel gel. It’s this type of attention to detail with a unique perspective that gives away the formative years Joe spent learning his craft under the esteemed Phil Howard at London’s The Square.
As does a brilliant plate of fresh from Koo Wee Rup asparagus, the fat stalks in whole, shaved and dice form the epitome of late spring. Served with a perfectly salty custard of grana padano, and a crunchy parmesan crumb atop, it’s completely confident and outrageously good — asparagus dish of the season ($19).
The same smarts shine through a plate of superb confit salmon ($20), a generous tile of velvet-soft fish that sits on a nest of nutty soba noodles flecked with fine slivers of calamari. Piped avocado is hidden under the puffy crown of salmon crackling, a little mound of dehydrated salmon roe adds on-theme seasoning.
Joe nails these classic flavour combos given the winning hint of a twist of today.
For what’s not to love about tiny diced chorizo adding smoky paprika heft to textural black rice that’s teamed with thick fingers of octopus and a fillet of sticky glazed swordfish? It’s a showstopper ($39).
And there’s just as much to love when snacking downstairs, whether stunning black pudding — crunchy-crusted and served with sharp green tomato pickle and pink peppercorn cream, $7 — or buttermilk brined fried chicken served with broccoli many ways that’s guilt-free fast food of the highest order ($14).
It’s food that’s made for wine, with a beautifully considered, peripatetic list delivering as much love in the glass by smart staff who know what they’re doing because they’ve been doing it for a long time (but, importantly, not too long). It’s exactly the type of list that will win over a regular crowd who like a bit of guiding chat before deciding on a bottle.
To finish, a faultless panna cotta with an oat crumble and punchy blueberry sorbet is a simple pleasure ($16), but is trumped by a Brillat-Savarin cheesecake served with mango in diced, puree and foam form, the sweet fruit playing off the heady, creamy cheese ($16).
Worthy of fanfare, Saxe heralds Joe’s return to feast-worthy form. Sound the trumpets.
15.5
Saxe
211 Queen St, city
Ph: 9089 6699
Open Mon-Fri lunch and dinner (all day bar menu from noon).
Go-to dish: Asparagus with grana padano
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