Longsong bar opens above Longrain in Melbourne CBD

A HISTORIC second-storey horse stables has been transformed into Melbourne city’s hottest watering hole that’s also serving some seriously good food, writes Dan Stock.

WHISKED into a cloud of sea-smoky depth, served with a side of ever-so-slightly charred house-made crispbread and generously topped with local salmon roe — if you had to capture Longsong in one dish, I reckon it’s the whipped smoked fish.

For it’s the perfect bar snack, delivering salty creamy more-ish crunch that sits happily next to a cold can of Moondog lager or a glass of Pizzini prosecco.

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It’s also the perfect quick-to-hit primer for those sitting down to a multi-plate meal.

It makes clever use of the wood-grill, highlights a low-waste ethos and is keenly priced. And it’s swipe-the-plate-clean outrageously good.

In one of the longer gestations in hospo history — spruiked for 18 months, on the drawing board much longer — Longsong, the sibling bar and restaurant above Longrain in the city finally, fittingly, opened its doors during last year’s Cup Carnival.

Longsong’s smoked whipped fish with flatbread. Picture: Nicole Cleary

Fitting because its lead time was due to the particular challenges of transforming these completely unique second-storey early 20th century horse stables into a workable bar and restaurant.

In the bar area, along with the arrestingly huge stag head ferns, you’ll notice the historic stone floor, wonky with age and uneven with drainage once used to flush out all the horse.

In the restaurant area, along with the impressive open kitchen and DJ playing smooth soul groove, you’ll notice artefacts lit under glass throughout the floor, nodding to the past in a very today way.

Sympathetic and stylish, it’s a magnificent makeover of a magnificent space, unlike anything else you’ll see around. The soaring ceiling, while cavernous, is filled with flickering lanterns from designer Jan Flook, lending just a hint of Thailand to the room that’s popular with a 30- to 50-something crowd.

Longsong’s transformation wasn’t without its challenges in the historic building. Picture: Nicole Cleary

It’s a similar buzz that welcomed the arrival of Longrain more than a decade ago (which remains as busy, as popular, and consistently delicious now as then) with owners John and Lisa van Haandel teaming up here with David Moyle. Moyle, who has worked for them in the past (Circa, the Pacific Dining Room in Byron Bay) most recently made his mark at Franklin as part of the second wave of chefs who have turned Hobart into a full-blown dining destination.

Here he’s in similar fire-flesh-and-fish territory, with things on sticks cooked over coal a mainstay of the menu both in the bar and the dining room, where bookings are taken, tables are set and service is, in the main, well-pitched for the space.

Leeks soft and charred and seasoned with togarashi (a Japanese chilli spice mix), aged chewy lamb with a powerful cumin-chilli salt, and plump shiitake mushrooms with a dusting of kelp, all show a keen hand on both the grill and the shaker.

Southern calamari is deftly handled, smoky and charry yet retaining its sweetness, while pickling the octopus before warming it on the grill is simply smart, supremely tasty cooking.

Leek and lamb skewers are a winner. Picture: Nicole Cleary

A Vietnamese-inspired salad of ox heart tomatoes with wild ginger, sorrel and mint. Picture: Nicole Cleary

Priced between $5 and $9 a pop, you could easily entree by working through the lot, but
the small-plate section features veg-focused dishes that shouldn’t be skipped.

There’s a brilliant Vietnamese-inspired tomato salad, where juicy ox hearts are dressed with shredded sorrel, mint, ginger and fried shallots. With a dash of fish sauce and a splash of sesame oil, it’s the salad of this summer ($16).

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Also impressive, a plate of raw zucchini — fat, mature slices, and little babies with their flowers — artfully arranged on a sharp curd with green olives and more togarashi ($16).

It’s food that’s made for drinking with, and the wine list is as clever as it comes. There’s
a focus on natural/sustainable wines, but it’s neither annoyingly in the know nor exclusionary.

David Moyle is the brains behind Longsong.

It’s almost exclusively Victorian, champions smaller producers and offers a great selection of wines by the glass — with some even (gasp) under $10. In the CBD.

Add cans of Melbourne Bitter for $6.50, a nice line in house spritz and sake-spiked French 75 headlining a short cocktail list, and you have a bar that raises it.

There are just a few bigger plates, including a whole john dory in paperbark, and 700g of dry-aged beef rib. Both leg ($22) and breast ($28) are offered of a duck, hung over the grill until smoky and tender. The latter was crisp of skin, with a lick of fiery depth, a light plum syrup providing a fruity foil to the rich meat.

To finish, just one dessert — a mango cheek charred warm on the grill with a daub of yoghurt and a single shiso leaf. Perfect.

It might’ve been a long time coming, but Longsong’s definitely on song.

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