Omnia at Capitol Grand offers elegant accessible bistro fare
An elegant and accessible new bistro, Omnia at the epic Capitol Grand building marks a return to South Yarra’s heady days of glamour, serving a duck to die for and desserts that hit the sweet spot.
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This is not the first time a property developer has had a big vision for the corner of Toorak Rd and Chapel St.
Thirty years ago, Singaporean businessman Jack Chia transformed a full South Yarra block into The Como, with a shopping centre, cinema, restaurants and uber-cool boutique hotel in which one of Melbourne’s most famous fusty fine diners, Maxim’s, was found.
Today, it’s internet mogul-turned-property tycoon Larry Kestelman’s turn.
And whereas The Como’s luxe was hidden behind its doors, the Capitol Grand wears its architectural glamour loud and proud, the sculptural curved lines of the dual buildings, one of which rises 50 storeys high, making a definitive statement of intent that is, indeed, grand.
In time there’ll be retail consisting super-luxe fashion brands selling $10,000 handbags to the wealthy apartment dwellers above, but for now there’s nowt but a small David Jones specialising in pre-cooked, pre-chopped, everything-but-premasticated meals for the busy executive, and the bistro/bar Omnia.
The team has been working out the kinks for the past six months at a pop-up up the road – the luxury of having one of Australia’s richest men signing the cheques – and so squarely hit the ground running when the doors opened in December.
It’s a glorious room; a soaring atrium filled with light and hanging greenery and David Bromley prints giving way to a low-ceilinged, cellar-like moody space opposite the open kitchen in which a phalanx of staff get on with feeding the 100-seater.
A less mature, less self-possessed chef, freed from the shackles of cooking under a big name (Estelle by Scott Pickett) and the weight of history (Vue de monde) might be tempted to throw every learnt trick at their first menu. But Stephen Nairn knows restraint.
This is bistro writ bold but approachable, and, unlike those handbags, accessibly priced, with starters around $20; most mains sub $40, though there are a couple of big-hitting share dishes well worth shelling out for.
Spending almost 100 bucks on a whole roasted duck might seem excessive, but what if it’s the best duck you’ll eat?
A glorious bird is presented to the table whole then carved in the kitchen, its glossy, honey-lacquered, brittle skin covering deeply magenta flesh that’s tender as a whisper but with enough gamey chew to make it go-back-for-more irresistible, while a thin line of fat leaves the perfect amount of mouth-coating cuddle.
A couple of small roasted turnips, some bitter orange puree, and its legs, expertly confit with crisp skin and fall-from-bone flesh served alongside, finishes a dish that’s quite simply sublime.
Add a couple of sides — crunchy green beans ($12), creamy-fluffy pomme dauphine ($12) — and this $94 bird would feed three happily.
Excellent baguette and whipped butter replenished as needed (not whisked away, hooray) and simple snacks — white anchovy draped over grilled baguette ($7 each); ocean trout and cream cheese cigars ($7 each) — take the edge off before equally elegant starters arrive.
Fat, last-of-the-season asparagus spears are served with beurre blanc and brioche crisps, the powerful vegetal tang tempered by the decadent dairy ($19), while a spring tart with textbook buttery, flaky pastry is filled with pepper custard topped with a just-set smoked quail egg, tiny nasturtiums and pea tendrils — two oft misused garnishes that are in their right place here ($19).
Long fingers of agnolotti pasta filled with goat’s curd are tossed through strands of roasted capsicum lifted by slivers of pickled jalapeño, though I’m not sure the blitzed smoked almond cream underneath works — too similar in texture to the goat’s cheese, too unremarkable in flavour ($36).
Pork belly — soft and crisp everywhere it should be — comes with a cheek of roasted peach dusted with fennel seeds a disc of creamy boudin noir ($38). Great flavours, executed with class.
Leading the floor Kevin McSteen (ex Attica) is charm personified, chastely flirting with matrons of the leafy east while effortlessly guiding captains of industry into a $2400 Hill of Grace, though his young team ranges from faultless to fault lines.
The wine list is a delicious document that references the past for those big spenders while also supporting smaller, local guns making a mark (Fleet, Mac Forbes), but unlike the food it’s priced for deep pockets.
Desserts are a highlight: a frozen strawberry shortcake is all sorts of buttery, biscuity, cool creamy class while the “wet” cheesecake with a sharp blackberry sorbet to the side is a silken, custardy delight (both $18).
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Omnia is somewhere you’d happily come by yourself to have a whole flounder with capers and brown butter and a glass of chablis, but also where you could bring a date, the boss or your well-behaved kids. It’s bistro, elevated, and is utterly enjoyable.
From the team there’s a subterranean bar still to come, as well as a fine dining restaurant next year but for now, Omnia already marks the welcome return of South Yarra’s glamour days.
OMNIA
625 Chapel St, South Yarra
Open: Daily from noon (dinner from 5.30pm)
Must-eat dish: Roasted duck for two
SCORE: 15.5 / 20