Restaurant review: Society restaurant fails to live up to the hype

Melbourne’s most-anticipated restaurant of 2021 paints a glossy image of celebrity, wealth and luxury, but after two visits Society wasn’t all it was cracked up to be.

Hype. It’s a blessing and a curse, a double-edged sword. And in the food world, a whole lot of it has been made about Society Restaurant.

If you’ve somehow missed it, let’s recap.

Restaurant tycoon and Chin Chin founder Chris Lucas and Sydney’s hospo golden couple Martin Benn and Vicki Wild unite to open a restaurant that will put Melbourne on the world’s culinary stage.

Benn, one of Australia’s best chefs, and his life/business partner, Wild, close their degustation diner Sepia, after a decade of success, to roll the dice in a new city under Lucas’s lure.

Society restaurant at 80 Collins St. Picture: Jason Edwards

Not only did the odd coupling have people talking, but then came stories from camp Society, media – and admittedly, this food critic – of how expensive, big and beautiful the venue at 80 Collins would be. Think floor-to-ceiling windows, sleek marble bars, dark timber floors, chandeliers and a massive kitchen, which Benn helped to design, complete with custom-made ovens hoisted in via crane. The hype was impossible to ignore.

Then on grand final eve, after only five days of trade, Society’s power thruple split.

I have slurped my share of Chin Chin curries, devoured The Fat Duck’s snail porridge and Dinner by Heston’s mind-blowing roast chicken. I’ve eaten Attica’s Vegemite rolls and am blessed in this gig to have dined at some of the country’s best restaurants.

Society, as it stands, is not one of them yet.

In a seeming contradiction, it’s casual fine dining, a choose-your-own adventure — where you blindly order expensive food — and, maybe, just somewhere cool to be seen.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s not all bad.

The pretzel caviar martini. Picture: Rebecca Michael

New executive chef Luke Headon and his brigade of talented chefs have delivered some great plates of food. The skill and technique applied in all dishes was faultless.

The global wine list is exceptional and that signature martini ($55) distilled in-house by cocktail whiz Orlando Marzo is a must, served ice cold with a two-bite caviar-topped pretzel. But there is something missing. Maybe the vibe, because there was none.

First impressions can be misleading.

Just to be sure, I made a second booking and our return visit was an improvement on the first, with the food much better.

I didn’t think much of those slippery sashimi tiles of white fish imperador ($42.50) nor the lobster ravioli ($49.50) — both nice but nothing special — but the aged beef tartare was a knockout ($37.50).

Aged beef tartare with artichoke and marigold. Picture: Jason Edwards

The meaty disc rests on a silky Jerusalem artichoke cream with razor-sharp hits of aniseedy marigold and a punchy fermented artichoke tuile that adds salty structure. Incredible.

An earlier sitting meant we didn’t miss out on the genius tuna creation ($42.50).

Those blushing-pink, velvety parcels of the freshest tuna you’ll try had brilliant smoky depth.

Worth the visit, even if just for this.

Larger plates include your standard proteins, vegetarian offerings and sides — and if you really want to break the bank, there’s luxe seafood, such as crystal snow crab and pearl meat with taramasalata.

The toothfish ($69.50) was perfectly cooked and balanced nicely with that burnt butter and zingy ponzu sauce, while the wagyu rib cap ($73.50) trumped its previous on-plate performance by showing spectacular twiggy resemblance to the dish peddled on Instagram.

Wagyu rib cap. Picture: Jason Edwards

Desserts are well thought out and complex.

The Maple ($39.50), which piles a flurry of autumnal-coloured leaves in the bowl, is by far the best. Dig beneath the delicate mess of raspberry and mandarin sugar creations to find spicy gingerbread biscuits, chewy and jelly apples and a decadent fromage blanc. Creative, clever and downright delicious.

The Maple with caramelised apple, fromage blanc, muscovado and gingerbread. Picture: Jason Edwards.

But after dropping almost half a grand at Society, I didn’t leave with the post-dining buzz or thrill felt at other fine establishments.

It’s not about the money, more that the experience I was sold didn’t match up to the underwhelming reality.

What is Society? I think it’s still being figured out. A work in progress. Watch this space.

A casualty of circumstance and a whole lot of hype, Society has style and substance, but no soul.

SOCIETY

80 Collins St, Melbourne

societyrestaurant.com

OPEN: Mon: 5pm-late, Tue-Sun: 12pm-late

GO-TO DISH: The Maple

TRY THIS IF YOU LIKE: Rockpool

COST: Entrees $32.50-$49.50, mains $46.50-$73.50, dessert $27.50-$39.50

RATING: 6/10