Reborn Cutler & Co an instant classic

A RECENT refresh, including a reinstated bar, has left Cutler & Co looking as fine as it ever has, writes Dan Stock.

The spacious and elegant interior of Cutler & Co. Picture: Andrew Tauber

THE James Beard awards are the gongs the American food world aspires to.

Among the many categories — outstanding restaurateur, baker, wine program etc — the highest honour, outstanding restaurant, is only awarded to somewhere that’s been in operation for 10 or more consecutive years.

It’s a telling requirement that increasingly few Australian restaurants would be eligible for. Not even Cutler & Co, for while Andrew McConnell’s flagship fine diner feels like it’s held court on Gertrude St forever, it’s only eight years old.

But restaurants age quickly. McConnell more than any other knows this, and, more than any other, knows how to use reinvention as a force for good.

And this most recent refresh has left Cutler looking as fine as she ever has.

It’s a brave/visionary/foolish move to reinstate the Cutler bar, given all those golden eggs Marion next door is laying, but here it is, making the front of the room again a destination in its own right.

The blueberry vacherin, with a sharp blackberry sorbet.

Tonight there are as many here for a glass of something nice and some rather stunning seafood as are in the dining room, so it appears Fitzroy can never have enough options for the plan adverse.

The dining room, cloistered from the bar and open kitchen by archways of black-framed glass, is a candlelit vision of dark, sexy Melbourne that never forgets Fitzroy’s less salubrious past.

There’s enough spit on the polish to make the room shine; large leather booths on one side, duos by the emerald granite feature wall are opulently spacious and the pick of this room.

But it’s the back dining room where, come winter, Melbourne’s most coveted tables will be found. With carpet and comfortable couch seating, widely spaced tables — and a fire! — it’s another aspect of McConnell’s overarching vision that makes you sit back and go wow.

Undoubtedly intuitive so, too, is McConnell shrewd. While Cutler is wearing a new frock, Luxembourg down in St Kilda has gone the way of Golden Fields before it, with last rites performed last week.

But southside’s loss is Gertrude’s gain, with exec chef Chris Watson now looking after the Cutler kitchen, and he’s executing the “evolution not revolution” brief with elan. Watson’s brought with him the love of big bistronomy he honed down at Luxembourg, with an entree of aged pigeon as bold an offering as you’ll see this year.

The veal, served with smoky charred tongue.

Various bits of the bird — including claw — are roasted blistered crisp, the flesh underneath purple, rich and deep; it’s gamy nature dark but not overwhelming. Thick pieces of seared duck liver add iron-led creaminess, torched fig an element of sweet.

Across the lot, wisps of prized iberico jamon, that, when lightly warmed by the pigeon, melts into buttery decadence and provides light bulb moments of bliss ($34).

More restrained, the “duckfish” crudo reaffirms the rewards when chefs look further than kingfish. Pretty as you like, the excellent fish is thickly sliced and teamed with crunchy pickled radish and fresh wasabi. It covers a touch-too-heavy-handed mound of sharp cultured cream and salmon roe that provide pops of power ($26).

Earlier a duo of butter — whipped with nori, house cultured — is served with a large warmed cob to share that shows a sense of generosity from the kitchen; a zucchini flower snack, flattened and fried crisp, dotted with crème fraîche and finished with dill fronds, shows its technical smarts.

Come hungry, as main courses are generous. Two cuts of suckling pig, both gloriously crisp skinned and the meat rendered soft, has sweet and sour baby onions to accompany, along with a separate slice of potato cake so happily thyme heavy it could be a clock ($49).

A perfect end to the meal; the chocolate delice.

Milk-fed veal comes with smoky charred tongue (again with the bold), wilted spinach and a daub of macadamia cream that’s a nutty foil to the sweet meat. It’s magnificent ($49).

Liam O’Brien’s wine list remains a dense worldly work of considered beauty that’s aware of trends without being enslaved by them, and has great drinking at every level — for Cutler remains as welcoming to the saved-up-for-date as it is the architect on repeat.

It’s clubby though not exclusionary, where everyone still dresses up to impress a client, a date, the boss.

It’s surprising to see, then, glassware that tends to the functional and is at odds with the elegant rest. For if any group of staff could be trusted with the good stuff it’s the team here; calm, efficient, professional.

To end, the chocolate delice is a triumph of multi-layered textures and refined sweetness ($18), though it’s the blueberry vacherin — fromage blanc encased in a meringue ring, topped with fat blueberries with a hint of bay and a searingly sharp blackberry sorbet — that steals the show ($17).

Cutler is reborn. And it’s outstanding.

Cutler & Co

55 Gertrude St, Fitzroy

Ph: 9419 4888

cutlerandco.com.au

Open: Tue-Sun from 6pm; Sun from noon

Go-to dish: Blueberry vacherin

Rating: 17/20

Originally published as Reborn Cutler & Co an instant classic