Underbar
There are plenty of good things to know about Underbar, the fine dining restaurant making a mark in Ballarat.
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3 Doveton St North, Ballarat
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There are plenty of good things to know about Underbar, the fine dining restaurant making a mark in Ballarat.
That it’s pronounced “oon-de-bar”, which means “wonderful, delectable” in Swedish, for one. That it seats just 16 people, is open just two nights a week and that you’ll be seated along a single communal table, or at the kitchen counter, should you wish a ringside view.
The menu changes every week, and makes the most of hyper-local produce which chef/owner Derek Boath transforms into a procession of dishes that are at once clever and refined and delicious to a fault.
A terrifically tasty onslaught of bites – terrine of quince, a confit duck katsu sanga, a warming chicken broth – might segue into a steamed egg custard hiding salty vongole under buttery leek foam, then a spanner crab salad with sweet three-day dried tomatoes, or a chicken ballontine that takes all the flavours of a Sunday roast and transforms them anew.
Service is sharp, with wine matches across the multi-course, no-choice menu that are as clever as the bread served on hot rocks to start and the boozy wine gums to end.
But the only thing you really need to know about the restaurant is that reservations open at 9am on the first of the month for the following month.
You’ll have to be quick to get a spot at the table of one of Victoria’s most unique restaurants.
It’s worth it.
Must eat dish: Chicken ballontine
Cuisine: Contemporary
Chef: Derek Boath
Price: $$$$
Open: Dinner, Fri-Sat
Instagram: @underbarballarat