Lesa / Embla

A year on and Lesa – the quieter, more refined upstairs yin to ever-bustling Embla’s downstairs yang – has shaken its little sibling status and is proudly making its own mark

eetroot with olive and elderberries at Lesa

Lesa / Embla

122 Russell St, Melbourne

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lesarestaurant.com.au

A year on and Lesa – the quieter, more refined upstairs yin to ever-bustling Embla’s downstairs yang – has shaken its little sibling status and is proudly, definitively, making its own mark on the world.

The dim and moody space by night is wonderfully light and bright by day where Dave Verheul’s refined, creative and unique dishes are teamed with co-owner Christian McCabe’s worldly cellar filled with small producers marching to the beat of their own vines.

LESA, upstairs from Embla

Lesa’s fermented potato bread with shiitake oil and macadamia cream

Fantastic fermented potato flatbread hot from the wood oven, swiped through macadamia cream and shiitake oil, is a non-negotiable opener, perhaps followed by equally swoon-worthy raw scallops served with horseradish and tiles of crunchy Japanese turnip. A pretty-as-you-like terrine of beetroot that blends from white to deep purple is countered with salted elderberries and olives, while velvety soft cabbage, teamed with black chestnut and a pine mushroom XO, is so outrageously good you’ll never look at brassicas the same way. A richly satisfying beef short-rib might precede a bright and refreshing dessert, such as spritzy feijoa with blackcurrant leaf ice cream.

Pretty, delicious: beetroot with olive and elderberries

That it’s just $88 for four choose-your-own courses makes it one of the best value meals in town.

Of course, Embla remains the ever-reliable go-to for impeccable charcuterie and woodfired fare and knockout bread paired with a glass of something funky. It makes for an all-class one-two double act that’s as Melbourne as the MCG.

Must eat dish: Beetroot with olive and salted elderberry

Cuisine: Contemporary Australian

Chef: Dave Verheul

Price: $$$ [Embla – $$]

Bookings: Yes [Embla – lunch only]

BYO: No

Open: Lunch Thur-Fri from 12pm; dinner Wed-Sat 5.30pm-late

[Embla – Mon-Fri 12pm-late, Sat from 3pm-late, Sun 12-10pm]

Instagram: @lesa_melbourne