Experimental and delicious: Victorian restaurants pushing the boundaries of fine dining
FORTUNE favours the bold. And dining adventurers questing for restaurants pushing the boundaries of fine dining in Melbourne are bound to be rewarded.
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FORTUNE favours the bold. And dining adventurers who are prepared to go off Victoria’s beaten track in their quest for restaurants pushing the boundaries of fine dining are bound to be rewarded.
Embrace the foodie road less travelled and sample some deeply imaginative dishes from Melbourne’s most experimental chefs.
These are the most adventurous fine dining restaurants to feature in the delicious.100 list of Victoria’s best restaurants.
LUME
226 Coventry St, South Melbourne
03 9690 0185
Shaun Quade’s innovative, fantastical fine diner, Lume, is different from the first interaction — from prepaying your meal when booking to the unassuming frontage opening to a deep dining room decked out in peach.
Curious diners will love Quade’s maximum-impact dishes, up to 16 in a sitting showcasing his intricate, playful and deeply imaginative cooking.
The Road menu opens with the sea corn taco, its hero creamy crab custard masquerading as baby corn, and kicks on to petals of barbecued abalone with dry-aged emu in a kombu broth, and the signature “pearl on the ocean floor” evoking seaside holidays with its raw oyster, mussel foam and sea succulents.
Later, chewy ‘musk sticks’ of fermented passionfruit cleanse the palate, while olive oil ice cream fills the mouth with a lush wallop.
Interesting drink matching — both boozy and not — adds dimension to each course, as does eye-catching plating and delicate cutlery. Service is charming with a confident swagger (those staff acting lessons have paid off), though more explanation of each dish would have elevated the experience even more.
As for that gentle chanting from the open kitchen, that’s the chefs reciting orders in favour of a docket system.
Since the get-go, Lume has marched to its own drum. Follow its creative beat for a dining adventure embracing the road less travelled.
Must eat dish: Pearl on the ocean floor
Cuisine: contemporary
Chef: Shaun Quade
Price: $$$
Bookings: Yes
Open: Dinner Tue-Sat, lunch Sat
Instagram: @restaurant_lume
IDES
92 Smith St, Collingwood
03 9939 9542
Dinner at Ides in early Spring started with cucumber ‘boats’ bristling with pickled mustard seeds and ended (some hours later) with rosemary scented kiwifruit.
In between, we tasted a succession of dishes that had us marvelling at the ingenuity of its guiding light, Peter Gunn.
This Kiwi chef (ex-Attica, Royal Mail) opened Ides, his first solo venture, 18 months ago. The cooking and the service took time to settle. But Gunn, a restless experimenter, is now turning fewer dishes over and honing a vocabulary all of his own.
Composition matters. A single oyster is marooned on water splashed pebbles. A grapefruit bowl cradles honey, blood orange and freeze-dried truffle.
But Gunn’s big quest is flavour and he doesn’t need esoteric ingredients to find it. Smoked herring enriches roasted beetroot, black garlic lurks in baked barramundi, and beef short rib — cooked to perfection over 19 hours, is attended by grilled lime, spiced cream cheese and duck-fat carrots.
Gunn’s young brigade deliver the dishes, animating a sleek room upholstered with felt and leather, while sommelier Raffaele Mastrovincenzo is on hand to craft inspired wine pairings.
Most of the time, Ides finds that sweet spot where everything is in balance.
Must eat dish: Beef short rib, spiced cream cheese, carrots, grilled lime
Cuisine: Contemporary
Chef: Peter Gunn
Price: $$$
Bookings: Yes
Open: Dinner Tue-Sun
Instagram: @idesmelbourne
KISUME
175 Flinders Lane, Melbourne
03 9671 4444
Kisume is spread over three levels, into which Mr Chin Chin, Chris Lucas, has distilled decades of experience into creating his boldest, unashamedly ambitious, restaurant yet.
Set up as a many splendored thing — part chablis bar, sushi counter, basement restaurant, exclusive private dining room and intimate 12-seat kaiseki — Kisume is a modern Japanese restaurant that’s unmistakably Melbourne but with added New York attitude.
On the ground floor, a quietly industrious sushi counter is the place for flappingly fresh sushi served as part of a great value omakase (chef’s selection), or a deluxe sushi box made from a roll call of local fish, though the extensive menu ticks off dumplings and sashimi, elegant tempura from the fryer and wagyu from the grill, in a fashion at once familiar and unique.
Upstairs is Kuro Kisume housing the chablis bar (the best varietal to pair with sashimi according to these guys, and who are we to argue?), the private dining den and The Table, the crowning jewel of the lot.
It’s here that Korean-born, Tokyo-trained Chef Moon presents a uniquely Australian expression of kaiseki (the Japanese version of French haute cuisine), across an evolving 15-course meal that might include bonito broth served over abalone, fresh oyster with sea urchin, mud crab with caviar, and the prized o-toro tuna belly shaved, sliced and served with black truffle and foie gras in the ultimate expression of OTT luxe.
With master sommelier Jonathan Ross guiding the beverage journey across the venue and an army of white-jacketed staff ready to ferry those plates, Kisume is like nothing we’ve ever seen before. And it’s a glorious vision indeed.
Must eat dish: Deluxe sushi box
Cuisine: Japanese
Chef: KS Moon
Price: $$ / $$$$$ (The Table)
Bookings: Yes
Open: Lunch & dinner daily
Instagram: @kisume_au
MINAMISHIMA
4 Lord St, Richmond
03 9429 5180
Welcome to the gentle art of fine dining, where sublime sushi and a ringside seat to watch its creation provides an almost otherworldly experience.
It’s something special to pull up an armchair at the bar as Koichi Minamishima and his chefs handcraft rice and dazzlingly fresh fish from Australian and Japanese waters into Melbourne’s best sushi.
You’re encouraged to use fingers to eat each exquisite morsel as it’s presented one piece at a time, be it John Dory with the citrus buzz of yuzu pepper, creamy octopus, luminescent calamari or meltingly good o-toro (tuna belly) gently torched to unlock its rich oiliness.
The $150 omakase-only menu also includes a seasonal entree and after 15 rounds of sushi, closes with sweetened omelette, broth and a traditional dessert.
Those in for the full extravaganza can up luxe by including specials such as fugu (puffer fish) with foie gras.
The wine list complements the cuisine, but why mess with tradition when we know sushi calls for sake? Be guided by a team whose service is formal but never stuffy in a room that’s austere yet warm.
Dining here is serene, surreal and stunning on every level.
Must eat dish: O-toro sushi (tuna belly nigiri)
Cuisine: Japanese
Chef: Koichi Minamishima
Price: $$$
Bookings: Yes
Open: Dinner Tue-Sat
Instagram: @minamishimamelbourne
AMARU
5/1121 High St, Armadale
03 9822 0144
Within a stylishly elegant, intimate 30-seat Armadale dining room, Clinton McIver is serving up one of the most exciting showcases of Australian innovation and produce.
Across a multi-course menu that has surprise and delight at every turn, an opening gambit of a single onion crisp loaded with smoked sheep’s yoghurt and garfish is a tiny powerhouse of flavour and sets the scene for a procession of clever, alluring plates over the next two-plus hours.
Spanner crab with oyster ice cream and shaved apple ice is a triumph of texture, temperature and taste, while translucent prawn on deeply honeyed caramelised sheep yoghurt, with its shell atop, fried to a crunch, are just two highlights in a meal that rarely misses a beat.
Salt-baked celeriac with tiny pickled mussels in a nasturtium broth is as inventive as it is inspired, but so, too, is the dusting of liquorice over a slice of dry-aged kangaroo paired with quince caramel.
A “dirty potato” bridges the sweet-savoury divide in bonkers/brilliant fashion — who knew dark chocolate and potato could be such good friends? — while a picture-perfect cheesecake dusted in gold and served with mandarin ice cream is a fitting finale to a meal that’s clever and precise, a little bit of fun and a whole lot of tasty.
Sharp service and a covetable cellar for when the mood to splurge strikes complete the Amaru package which, two years on, continues to evolve and delight.
Must eat dish: Meredith cheesecake
Cuisine: Contemporary
Chef Clinton McIver
Price $$$$
Bookings: Yes
Open: Dinner Tues-Sat; Lunch Fri-Sat
Instagram: @amaru_melbourne
ATLAS DINING
133 Commercial Rd, South Yarra
03 9826 2621
The world’s your oyster at Atlas Dining, 24-year-old chef/owner Charlie Carrington’s bold first venture having worked in the kitchens of Gordon Ramsay, Shannon Bennett and Lennox Hastie.
The schtick here is that the cuisine changes every four months, and within that period, dishes can change weekly, too. It sounds gimmicky but is clever and considered, ensuring the kitchen is never tired, and nor are diners.
Successfully parlaying his love of travel and cooking into fresh, fire-touched dishes derived from time spent abroad, Carrington has already had baton changes to Israel, Korea and Vietnam since opening last year.
His latest sojourn puts Mexico on a plate, opening with a thick-crunch tostada sporting springy chilli-edged tiles of kingfish and a hefty dose of avocado.
Serves aren’t huge, but nor is the bill at $65 for five courses.
Extend the adventure with extra dishes, like a charred octopus tentacle teamed with a salty chorizo rubble, or a clutch of sprightly salads to refresh a slice of pork belly with a beautifully smoky 37-ingredient mole.
Dishes are textural, technical and, above all, tasty. Staff offer warm welcomes and work the 50-seat room with ease, including presenting diners with a nifty leather knife roll containing the night’s cutlery.
The millennial menu touches down next in Peru, then France. Hitch a ride or you’ll miss it.
Must-eat dish: Pork belly with mole
Cuisine: Contemporary
Chef: Charlie Carrington
Price: $$
Bookings: Yes
Open: Dinner Tue-Sat
Instagram: @atlasdining
PASTUSO
19 ACDC Lane, Melbourne
03 9662 4556
This is a Peruvian party you definitely want in on.
Pastuso — named after Paddington Bear, who was originally an orphan bear from Lima before he was sent to England — has lost none of its energy and fun as it helps diners unlock the wonders of Peruvian cuisine, thanks to Peruvian-born head Chef Alejandro Saravia.
It’d be rude not to kick off with a pisco sour as you cruise the menu divided into ceviche, street food and hearty main courses cooked over fire.
Charred Queensland king prawns marinated in coriander oil or red snapper cured in lemon juice with sweet potato fly the flag for stunning ceviche, while a zingy salad of endive, pickle and apple cider vinegar sauce is the perfect foil for sweet and tender chunks of alpaca.
The parilla (grill) is pressed into service on the larger dishes, perhaps a whole baby barramundi, a half chook, or several cuts of aged grass-fed Gippsland beef.
Eye fillet was cooked to textbook medium rare, rested and sliced, and paired well with a side salad of red butter lettuce with candied hazelnuts.
The wine list keeps to the region, as do desserts, including a Peruvian panna cotta, all wobbly and tasting of dark toffee, with cinnamon sponge.
Add cheeky but charming service, a hip laneway address and a buzzy room with an open kitchen, and Pastuso’s colourful take on Peru is your boarding pass to good times.
Must eat dish: Camorones (prawn ceviche with coriander oil)
Cuisine: Peruvian
Chef: Alejandro Saravia
Price: $$
Bookings: Yes
Open: Lunch & dinner daily
Instagram: @pastusorestaurant
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