New restaurant openings in Victoria July 2023: Indian Accent pop-up at Tonka
Curry without spice? Celebrity chef Gary Mehigan says Melburnians are ready for a new approach to Indian cuisine — with one of the world’s best restaurants popping up in town.
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Celebrity chef Gary Mehigan says Melbourne is ready for an Indian food revolution.
The former MasterChef Australia judge has been visiting the subcontinent for work since September, devouring regional delicacies that extend beyond the familiar butter chicken.
“I was in Nagaland, in the far northeast, and there’s no spice in their cooking,” he said.
“They don’t use turmeric or coriander, and instead use flavours like fermented bamboo shoot or mustard leaf and wild ginger and foraged natives.”
And he reckons we’re ready to step out of our Indian food comfort zone.
“Of course we are. We get fed up with eating the same thing. That’s why Korean flavours took off so quickly a few years ago,” he said.
“You only need to look at ISH, Enter Via Laundry and what’s happening at Avani wines with it’s pop-up program.”
Next week world-best restaurant Indian Accent will pop-up at Tonka, with trailblazing chef Manish Mehrotra joining head chef Chanon Boriharnvanakhet to cook a nine-course feast.
The menu has been designed to challenge our perceptions of Indian cuisine.
Mehigan will host the three events, which coincide with Tonka’s 10th birthday.
Expect to try Mehrotra’s famous blue cheese naan, butter chicken kulcha and pulled lamb dumplings. Each course is paired with Brown Brothers wine.
“In Melbourne we’re hungry for everything and to get a first taste of regional cuisine – we couldn’t have picked a better city (for the event),” he said.
“Manish has inspired a whole new generation of Indian food, creating a buzz around the globe. His restaurant (Indian Accent) has accolades as long as your arm. People were flying in and out of India just to try his cooking.”
The pop-up is part of a special dinner series by Indian food tech company Conosh.
Indian Accent, August 11-12, Tickets $290pp including matched wines. https://bit.ly/Conosh-Tonka-Booking
Celebrity chef reveals next big restaurant move
Adam D’Sylva is opening a restaurant in the suburbs this summer.
After years of heading up Melbourne institutions Coda and Tonka, D’Sylva hopes to launch modern Australian eatery Decca at Alphington’s YarraBend residential development.
“We’re still finalising the details, but it’ll be called Decca; which has no meaning other than it sounds cool,” he said.
The 80-seater will include a wine bar, events space, and has been designed for all age groups.
D’Sylva said the menu was still being finalised, but will sling a dozen handmade pastas and other casual eats.
“It’ll be modern Australia, giving nod to some of my classics and Italian heritage,” he said.
“I hope to bring a taste of what I’m doing in the city to the suburbs.”
“I’ve been a local for 12 years. My kids go to school here, my friends and family live in the area. It’s what the area needs and something I’ve been looking for.”
D’Sylva will also be the culinary director of YarraBend precinct.
Decca, 55-57 Parkview Road, Alphington, summer 2023/24
Grand new French restaurant coming to CBD
“My ideal scenario would be to create a space where people want to come and sit – be it for a drink, a snack or five or six courses.”
Head chef Brendan Katich can confidently say Reine and La Rue’s main drawcard will be its location.
Katich could even sense the appeal during staff recruitment.
“People either want to work here because it’s the Nomad Group or the room,” he said.
The 130-seater French brasserie and quaint eight-seater bar will live inside Collins St’s old ANZ Building – and will be the group’s biggest project to date.
Executive chef Jacqui Challinor said it was hard to turn down the opportunity to cook in a heritage-listed building.
“The space is pretty mind-blowing,” she said.
“It’s such an honour to be given something so historic ... such an incredible space handed over to us, to let us put our own spin on it.”
Challinor and group owners Al and Rebecca Yazbek have been working on the concept since 2019.
Expect French classics with a punchy Nomad spin, across a traditional snack, entree, main, dessert format, though Katich says guests could get by sharing a few plates.
It’ll be the first time Nomad’s signature open kitchen will fire behind closed doors, made up for by an oyster bar and shucking station in the dining room.
Reine’s steak program will include Blackmore wagyu ribs, hanger steak and O’Connor grass-fed rib-eye cooked over coals, but Katich is obsessed with something else.
“It’s our side of mash – it’s potato and gravy on steroids,” he said.
“It’s a classic mash, but with a tube of roasted bone marrow and it absolutely blew our socks off.” The calamari with cafe de paris butter is also a firm favourite.
“The most special things are the simplest,” Katich said.
Reine, La Rue, 380 Collins St, Melbourne, opens August 1.
Unlikely fan of Tobie Puttock’s new move
Melbourne chef Tobie Puttock is hoping third time’s a charm for his new business.
The Jamie Oliver protégé is growing his ready-made meal line, Made by Tobie, recently landing a commercial kitchen in Alphington.
The project also has the support of his UK megastar mentor and long-time friend.
“He’s super passionate about what I am doing and he’s open for me to cook any of his recipes (for the meals) as well,” he said.
“I used his fish pie recipe and Jamie filmed a social media video, mentioning Made by Tobie.
I am really lucky to have some nice friends around me.”
Puttock was the executive chef of Oliver’s Melbourne restaurant, Fifteen, when it opened in 2006 and the pair has remained friends.
“We caught up and had dinner when he was in town earlier this year and he told me he liked the reason why I’m doing (Made by Tobie),” he said.
Unlike a raft of other Melbourne chefs who capitalised off the Covid meal kit craze, Puttock quietly launched his frozen meals after Melbourne’s final lockdown in 2021.
He’d been in the meal kit game since 2011, dabbling in the vegan and restaurant-to-living room realm, but the Covid pause helped him realise his true passion.
“Covid made me realise how vulnerable my work is and I wanted to sink my teeth into something,” he said.
“I didn’t want to run restaurants or freelance. I really love cooking and wanted to be in a position where I could cook, and not have to run a service, pay labour costs or open at night.
“I wanted to put a lot of focus into something that had wider reach, and Jamie Oliver has always been a huge influence for me.”
Puttock said Made by Tobie was about creating delicious, nutritional and environmentally conscious frozen meals using ethically-sourced produce.
Another unlikely supporter of Puttock’s career is former Victorian premier Jeff Kennett.
“Jeff has been helpful in giving me a lot of advice. I’m almost 50, but I still think I need to ask the grown ups in the room if I’m doing the right thing – and Jeff was that grown up for me. He pushed me to pursue this food brand.”
‘Accessible’ greenhouse eatery coming to Peninsula
Barragunda Dining isn’t aiming to be another touristy Mornington Peninsula kitchen garden restaurant.
The new eatery — located in a glass greenhouse at Barragunda Estate in Cape Schanck — will be former Coda chef Simone Watts’ largest project yet and will honour produce grown onsite and the farmers who make it a reality.
“The term farmer … has always been such a derogatory term, but these days farmers are heroes,” Watts said.
After a recent business plan rejig to make the restaurant not-for-profit, the 40-seater will open next autumn instead of this spring.
“It’ll be a small space, inside a glass greenhouse that overlooks the market garden,” she said.
“We’ll have a small team, too, and will open Thursday to Sunday for lunches … and dinner Saturdays.”
The Mornington Peninsula local, with the support of property custodians the Morris family, will invite farmers to lease part of the 444ha property to establish their businesses.
“We want people supporting farmers, and get the general public to buy direct from them, so they can have a sense of pride and ownership of the place,” Watts said.
She also wants to avoid opening another up-market, farm-to-table restaurant in the area.
“I didn’t want to cut off the experience to people who couldn’t afford it, we want this to be available to everyone,” she said.
The restaurant will have a set menu, with a focus on share plates and vegies, which will be sourced from the garden and orchard.
Barragunda Dining, autumn 2024, barragunda.com.au
Kariton Sorbetes opens Glen Waverley store
A cult Filipino ice cream shop has opened another Melbourne venue.
Kariton Sorbetes launched its new Glen Waverley store on Saturday in response to local demand.
The Springvale Rd shop is the brand’s third outpost since opening in Footscray early last year.
Co-founding chefs John Rivera (ex-Amaru) and Minh Duong (ex-Maha) also opened a larger store and production facility in Chinatown last September.
Best known for its Southeast Asian flavour-spiked ice cream, gelato and sorbet, Kariton Sorbetes uses ingredients such as ube (purple yam), durian and cassava.
Guests can expect 12 gelato flavours, including 10 of Kariton’s Filipino-inspired classic flavours, as well as two-fortnightly Asian-influenced specials.
Kariton Sorbetes, 2/265A Springvale Rd, Glen Waverley
Bendigo’s Bennett St Cafe returns
Bendigo’s famous backyard cafe has a new look.
Owner Darren Scoble and wife Adele will open local favourite Bennett St Cafe this Thursday, turning what was a temporary food truck into a permanent bricks and mortar venue.
The 60-seater will include indoor and outdoor spaces, new bathrooms and some kitchen equipment.
But after a few construction snags during the 10-week reno, the couple will hold off running a full breakfast and lunch menu until their commercial kitchen is complete.
Bennett St will open with its pre-reno offering, serving coffee, muffins, cakes and sandwiches from local George’s Bakery.
Bennett St Cafe, 79 Bennett St, Long Gully
T’Gallant reopens after one-year hiatus
A Mornington Peninsula favourite is back after a year-long hiatus.
T’Gallant, in Main Ridge, underwent a mega six-month renovation to transform the cellar door and restaurant sites into a Tuscan wonderland.
The outdoor space, cellar door, two restaurants, Cantina Felice and La Barraca, and outdoor bar, Spuntino, were given a makeover.
Melbourne interior design firm Bergman & Co, responsible for the flashy Mt Erica and Orrong Hotel refurbs, were on the job.
The menu has also been given a refresh.
Expect the estate’s famous rectangle woodfired pizzas, small plates such as arancini and burrata, as well as prawn linguine, roast pumpkin risotto and warm chicken salad.
T’Gallant Vineyard, 1385 Mornington-Flinders Road, Main Ridge
Stokehouse chef leads wine country pub revamp
A former Stokehouse chef will fire up Rutherglen’s hot new pub project.
Brendan Anderson has signed up as The Victoria Hotel’s new head chef, bringing more than 15 years of hospo experience in Melbourne and Canada to the fortified wine town. The Van Haandel Group alumni used to work at St Kilda’s acclaimed Circa restaurant, as well as Yarra Valley’s Chateau Yering.
Most recently he was in charge of Stokehouse’s new-look casual pasta bar.
Anderson’s flame-stoking tricks won’t be put to waste, with most dishes cooked over coals or flame-kissed.
A custom FirEnace Parilla grill and Italian woodfie oven have been installed in the pub’s kitchen to help his cause.
“I look forward to using the amazing local produce and working with a talented team to create a menu that highlights the best of the region and incorporates cooking over fire,” Anderson said.
The Victoria Hotel is set to open in spring 2023.
90 Main St, Rutherglen
Ready, steady, steak: Maestro set to open
Melbourne chef Adrian Richardson is opening a steak restaurant in Geelong.
Maestro will be part of the newly opened $200m Geelong Quarter development.
The first-floor eatery shares a meaty theme to the chef’s Carlton North stalwart, La Luna Bistro.
Developer and long-time fan Paul Franze approached the Good Chef, Bad Chef TV host to be part of the 15-storey tower project last year.
“Adrian is a regular to Geelong and the opportunity to create a signature steak restaurant must have won him over,” Franze said.
The restaurant is set to open early spring.
Geelong Quarter is made up of two towers with 124 apartments and a 180-room Holiday Inn hotel and suites.
44 Ryrie St, Geelong
Winery’s American BBQ rebrand
A Bellarine Peninsula winery is finally honouring its Texan roots, almost three decades after opening.
Bellarine Estate owners Peter and his Texas-born wife Lizette Kenny initially wanted to cook American BBQ when they bought the winery in 1996.
Instead they launched a fine diner, then a French restaurant, but after Covid the couple had a rethink.
“There’s a place for fine dining, don’t get me wrong, but it’s nice to go to a winery and have affordable options,” Peter said.
After testing the waters with a pop-up last year, low and slow smoked meats will now be a permanent menu fixture at the winery from America’s Independence Day on July 4.
In the family-run business, everyone has a role.
Peter plays “pitmaster” stoking red gum flames in his custom reverse-offset smoker, made from an old CFA firetruck tank.
Lizette creates new dishes inspired by her family’s recipes, with their famous salsa and brisket rubs in the mix.
Sons James and Julian Kenny are the winery’s general manager and chief winemaker respectively.
“We make all of our own charcuterie in house too, including prosciutto, beef bresaola and lamb and duck prosciutto … we also make our own sausages in house,” Peter said.
While most of the menu is traditional, Peter includes lamb and salmon for an Aussie touch.
“The barbecue board is one of our bestsellers – you get a bit of everything. It comes with takeaway containers because it’s a bit to finish,” he said.
Bellarine Estate, 2270 Portarlington Rd, Bellarine. Open Thur-Sun lunch from 11am.
Bug salt, milk mocktails? Spicy new Mexican shakes up Southbank
Don’t be scared off by the creepy-crawlies or milk-themed drinks — this fiery new Mexican boasts killer city views and approachable food and drink.
Beloved Ballarat pasta palace shuts for good
A popular Ballarat Italian restaurant is closing for good at the end of the month — six months after the city lost another major eatery.