Etta review 2023: Kara Monssen visits Brunswick East restaurant

This Brunswick East restaurant has been the talk of the town for its flame-powered eats and killer drinks list— but there’s another reason to visit that has nothing to do with food or drink.

Etta has some serious skin in the food and wine game. Picture: Annika Kafcaloudis

What is there to say about Etta that already hasn’t been said?

The fire-powered menu burns hella strong, and the cellars-deep wine list has serious skin in the game. Or no skin, if you’re a vino purist.

We know vegetables are given the grace and menu freedom they deserve.

The cocktails are taken as seriously as you’d hope.

A streetside table is just as perfect a place to settle in with a bottle of something special as the sunny front room, curved bar or chatty dining room out the back.

And that you’ll be showered by owner Hannah Green’s neighbourly and hospitable warmth.

What hasn’t been said?

Crab masala zucchini flowers are hot property. Picture: Annika Kafcaloudis

Those zucchini flowers are stupidly good.

Fried and generously filled with crab and tomato masala, they wield the same chaotic energy as an Indian summer night market. All curry spice and heat – what a treat.

The watermelon and Turkish delight rush of that “orange wine” with an identity crisis is also so deliciously worthy of this cooking and your time. Find him under rose by the glass.

Since Rosheen Kaul stepped in as head chef in 2020, she’s brought new life and style to the Brunswick East haunt.

She honours Etta’s wood-fired and produce-driven roots, while threading her Singaporean, Kashmiri, Chinese and Filipino heritage throughout her cooking.

Prepare for tingly szechuan chilli and sticky black vinegar fun. Picture: Annika Kafcaloudis

It’s a wild mix of temperatures and textures, bitter greens, clean proteins and creamy curds, with no shortage of richness and smoke-tickled opulence.

You have permission to gnaw the masterstock braised lamb rib ($14 each) off the bone in a very unladylike fashion to enjoy the tingly chilli and sticky black vinegar situation.

A knife and fork is needed for those zucchini flowers ($15 each), light fried batons tempered by a raita-inspired yoghurt chutney.

A match made in flavour heaven: abalone and lardo. Picture: Annika Kafcaloudis

An abalone and lardo skewer; at once delicate, chewy and smoke-kissed almost evaporates on the tongue in one swoop – and so does $16.

Now is as good a time as ever to mention Etta’s a rung up the quality ladder from your bog-standard wine bar, though with snacks in the mid-teens and $30-ish dollar for small plates, it’s edging away from that weeknight dinner vibe into special occasion territory.

You won’t regret your choices.

Kaul’s nod to Chinese tradition doesn’t go unnoticed in the tofu ($32), glossy and simple stir fried greens ride alongside pillowy egg tofu making meat-free days a breeze.

I felt underwhelmed by the enoki mushroom ($42) and cabbage roll number, as it’s about this time I hit my indulgence limit.

Like when you YOLO-it on holidays, eating chips and pizza for every meal, and get an undeniable pang for salad.

Though Etta welcomes freshness at either end of the journey: oysters tickled with pink peppercorn granita, and syrup-soaked lychees and lime granita ($16) in a chrysanthemum flower tea and lemon sorbet that’s plunge into an ice pool refreshing.

Respect also to the pastry team: the pandan, coconut amaretto frangipane tart ($18) adds another impressive feather to Etta’s cap.

Etta’s considered drinks program is sure to win hearts with its proper champagne list and spread of Australian and European new, back vintage and large-format pours.

This extends to the spirits program, which may earn you a cheeky nip of Sam’s coffee liqueur on your way out.

Perhaps Etta’s biggest takeaway is a sense of care and pride in all that it does. Enough said.