Top chefs and foodies dish Melbourne’s top restaurants and eateries around the state
WHEN it comes to what’s hot on the Melbourne food scene, there’s not much these guys don’t know. Here’s what our top chefs and foodies rate around the state.
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WHEN it comes to what’s hot on the Melbourne food scene, there’s not much these guys don’t know.
Here’s what our top chefs and foodies rate around the state.
MATT PRESTON— MasterChef judge and food writer
RICE AND FLESH
Kangaroo tail finds its place in Melbourne’s hottest opening — Dinner by Heston Blumenthal — among a golden saffron risotto.
SHIRA NUI SUSHI BAR
Take a seat at the sushi bar at Shira Nui in Glen Waverley. Creative, explosively delicious nigiri from Hiro Nishikura. I first reviewed it 12 years ago and recently renewed my love affair with the place as it’s never been better. Go the omakase menu, where you leave the menu in Hiro’s hands. Not cheap but wonderful.
247 Springvale Rd, Glen Waverley
BLACK PEARL
Black Pearl, the newly renovated, two-storey cocktail bar in Brunswick Street has been a regular award winner both here and internationally over its 13 years. We love its elegant list and the fact that the very correct cocktails still arrive snappily.
TASTIEST TREATS: Victoria’s hot 100
SPECIAL SECTION: More about the food and wine festival
COOL CAFES
Currently I’m finding more culinary excitement in some of Melbourne’s cafes than restaurants. The likes of The Kettle Black (South Melbourne), Mammoth (Armadale) and the virtuous Heal.thy Self Co (Yarraville) are home to do much more than good coffee and avocado smashes, whether you are after fruit and flower-strewn coconut yoghurt, a lobster burger in a doughnut bun or bowl of roast pumpkin, black quinoa, tamari pepitas and sauerkraut that ticks more food fad boxes than a discredited “wellness” blogger but actually tastes wonderful.
LUNCH BY THE BAY
Donovans is still a great lunch spot. So glad to have it back.
donovanshouse.com.au
Matt will be presenting a Masterclass at Deakin Edge on March 6 as part of the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival opening weekend. Tickets $29 fromMFWF.com.au
SHANE DELIA— Maha / Biggie Smalls
LEVANTINE HILL
The Jreissati family have been dreaming of creating the Yarra Valley’s best wine and restaurant for as long as I have known them. That dream is now a reality. This lavish and breathtaking property sets a new standard in wine making and hospitality in regional Victoria. The menu and restaurant take direction from award-winning chef Teage Ezard. The service and food is faultless.
SUGAR PRAWN
It’s not often I come across a dish that makes me fall to my knees and give thanks to God there are still chefs who have the guts and skill to cook dishes like this. Soft, gooey, fatty and sweet bone marrow, cooked in the bone with some sort of soy caramel glaze. Paired with the biggest and best prawn cracker I have ever seen. Pure genius. It takes a lot of restraint not to order a second helping when I go to Sugar Prawn (Smith St, Collingwood).
sugarprawn.comblackpearlbar.com.au
LEONARD’S HOUSE OF LOVE
Just do the simple things right. A good milk bun, ground short rib and brisket, house-made spicy and sweet burger sauce, cheese and lettuce. You can’t go past the cheeseburger at Leonard’s House of Love. My only suggestion would be go the double up. So good.
facebook.com/leonardshouseoflove
I LOVE PHO
This is the perfect post-workout meal. Clean, fresh and easy. I have a big bowl of pho three times a week here in Richmond. Kim and the crew cook me up a special bowl of mixed chicken and beef. It’s a must to add a heap of fresh chilli, lemon juice and a good spoonful of the sesame chilli paste that sits on the table.
Shane Delia’s kebab shop, Biggie Smalls will host MFWF event Crawl ‘n’ Bite Northside Hip (Hop) on March 8. His CBD restaurant Maha will also participate in the $40 two-course-plus-drink Restaurant Express, March 4-13.
ALLA WOLF-TASKER AM— Lake House Daylesford proprietor and national delicious. magazine produce awards judge
THE FERMENTARY
Sharon Flynn and Roger Fowler produce a range of milk and water kefirs, kimchi and krauts. Capturing the global interest in living, growing, good bacteria as an aid to wellbeing, Sharon and Roger use time-honoured, slow fermented techniques. Their “cellar door’ is now in Fairfield but, having made their start in our region, we claim them as our own. Our guests at Lake House love the fig and ginger kefir, and their smoky jalapeño kraut is outstanding.
KENS
Yes we all know of the benefits of real free range chooks. But the breeds of meat chickens traditionally grown in Australia often have not been bred to cope with and thrive in true free range pasture-rearing environments. Enter Sommerlad chickens, a unique slow growing new breed. Unlike other eating chickens they are processed at 13 to 14 weeks and have a rich flavour and texture. Simply delicious — as I discovered the first time I cooked one, just over a year ago. At Milking Yard Farm, just a few clicks down the road from Lake House, they roam freely in forested areas and graze on a diet of wild grubs, seeds, grits, and organic feed.
HOLY GOAT LA LUNA
Two years ago when I last cooked in NYC I took along with me a terrific local organic cheese that even had jaded New Yorkers talking. Consistent winner of major awards and now a permanent member of various halls of fame, La Luna remains the brilliant flagship cheese of the wholly laudable Holy Goat enterprise.
YARRA VALLEY CAVIAR
Yarra Valley freshwater aquaculture farm takes a completely natural approach to rearing and milking its Atlantic salmon — refusing to use antibiotics or chemicals. Its fish are given plenty of space to swim in, are milked entirely by hand, and are then gently returned to their ponds in the pristine waters of the Victorian Alps of the Yarra Valley ranges. The result is a global standard product both in quality, best practice and sustainability.
SNOWY RIVER STATION SUCCULENTS
Years ago, for me, any coastal excursion was always an opportunity to do a bit of foraging for seashore succulents and seaweeds. Samphire, both the rock and marsh variety, was a real prize, adding saltiness and ocean flavour to dishes on our menus at Lake House.
Andrew French has since arrived with his left field solution for the salt-damaged portion of his grazing property Snowy River Station in East Gippsland. Andrew is one of only a handful of farmers in the world cultivating samphire. Branching out into beach bananas, two types of seaweed, sea spray, sea parsley and Warragul greens, Andrew continues to find innovative value-adding solutions to his farm.
JACK HOLMAN -Yarra Valley Dairy senior cheesemaker
SHAW RIVER MOZZARELLA
Summer is about salads and I love using the Shaw River mozzarella in salads — especially as our homegrown tomatoes are coming into season. Fresh tomatoes and mozzarella, yum.
BERRY’S CREEK BLUE CHEESE
I had a piece of the Berry’s Creek Tarwin blue the other day and it was a stand out. I love that these guys are producing exceptional blue cheese here in Victoria. Make sure you try their buffalo milk blue as well called Riverine blue.
L’ARTISAN
Another Victorian cheese I recommend is L’Artisan. I love their washed rind called “Mountain man”. It’s also fabulous melted over potatoes.
lartisancheese.com.au
The Urban Dairy is the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival hub at Queensbridge Square (March 4-13). A celebration of all things cream and curd, there will be a full program of events over the 10 days, including a tasting of cheese at various stages of maturation on March 4 ($35), hosted by Holman. MFWF.com.au
PAUL WILSON — delicious. magazine produce awards Victorian judge
NIXTAMAL CORN TORTILLAS
The nixtamal tortillas from La Tortilleria in Kensington are a must-try food experience. They are better than anything I’ve tried in the US and Mexico because they are made with GM-free Australian corn. The difference between nixtamal corn and wheat or cornflour tortillas is like single origin versus instant coffee.
LIVE CRAB AND OYSTERS
D & K Live Seafood in Footscray transports you to the fish markets of Southeast Asia. Here you will find the freshest retail seafood in Melbourne. There is an abundance of shellfish, in particular live crab and oysters.
28a Leeds St, Footscray
HERITAGE BREEDS
You can taste the integrity and husbandry of the farm when you eat Warialda belted Galloway grass-fed beef and the heritage pork from Greenvale Farm. Farmers Allen and Lizette Snaith at Warialda, and Anthony and Amanda Kumnick at Greenvale all farm for flavour first with slow-growing, ethically raised breeds of livestock Victoria should be proud of.
wbgbeef.com.au; greenvalefarm.com.aulatortilleria.com.au
OCEAN EIGHT WINES
While Victoria is blessed with so many incredible wineries so close and accessible, the Mornington Peninsula is still my favourite region. There are so many considered cellar doors, breweries and food experiences across the peninsula but it’s the peaceful and elegant artisanal wines of Ocean Eight sets the standard, a world-class drop that celebrates the best of Victoria.
NATALIE O’BRIEN– Melbourne Food and Wine Festival CEO
STINGING NETTLE AND SALTBUSH RISOTTO
One of the most delicious and celebrated dishes served in Melbourne in recent years. True signature at Tipo 00 pasta bar in the city.
RAMEN! RAMEN! RAMEN!
It’s all about the authenticity and freshness of the slow-boiled broth (pork bone) which is prepared each day and unique to each establishment, all claiming to have a special recipe that is kept secretive. One of my favourites is Little Ramen Bar in the CBD.
MATTERO PIGNATELLI– Matteo’s restaurant
THE D’ANNA FAMILY
For their wonderful Yarra Valley winery Hoddles Creek, their newly renovated Boccaccio Cellars store on Burke Road, Balwyn, and their continued support of the restaurant industry.
WESTERN PLAINS PORK
At Western Plains they rear healthy pigs without the use of any artificial stimulants and produce pork using simple, ethical and environmentally sound production systems at their farm in western Victoria.
BOTANICAL CUISINE
The certified organic, raw, vegan products from Botanical Cuisine in Collingwood are great. In particular their “cashew cheese” which comes in a number of flavours, like lemon and dill, and paleo olive. They also make a lemon cheesecake and other dips.
ESTELLE
By far my favourite restaurant at the moment is ESP and Estelle Bistro. Lots of respect for Scott Pickett and for Victorian young gun chef Josh Pelham.
Matteo’s is offering a two-course express lunch menu, with matching drink, during MFWF (March 4-13) for $40.
matteos.com.au
SEBASTIAN RAEBURN – Heartbreaker bar and drinks tsar
THE BOILERMAKER HOUSE SOLERA
OK, this is a must-see bar in Melbourne. More than 500 single malts arranged alphabetically behind the bar, late night food, knowledgeable staff, great atmosphere. But the highlight for me is the six-barrel cocktail solera mounted on the wall opposite the main bar. It is a gorgeous creation of oak and copper, and the Boilermaker guys have a barrel aged cocktail continuously ageing through the system. The new cocktail is added to the top of the solera, where it mingles with the older batches. The team decant from the bottom barrel as needed, to serve as either an old fashioned or a blazer. Delicious.
SUNDAY SESSIONS AT MADAME BRUSSELS
This is now a Melbourne institution and cocktails by the jug matched to amazing food collaborations with local restaurants such as Bar Lourinha, make this Sunday session a Melbourne tradition.
IRON BARTENDER
This is an industry event where the best cocktail bartenders in town compete to create a cocktail with the ‘mystery ingredient’. This industry party night is fantastic — crazy drinks featuring insane mystery ingredients like mushrooms, sesame seeds, or even cheese. Every event is themed. Look out for details on the Lily Blacks Facebook page.
THE CRAFT & CO
If you like local, handmade, then this is a must see place. They have amazing wood-fired pizza, with charcuterie made on premises, cheeses made on premises, matched to a beer also made in house in their brewery, and if that hasn’t made you want to check it out, they also have a food and equipment store, and a 120L alembic pot still in the window that will soon be distilling
Sebastian Reaburn will host MFWF event Rutherglen Muscat Mixology, which explores classic cocktails reinterpreted using Rutherglen muscat as the key ingredient. March 8, tickets: MFWF.com.au
JOHN LAWSON – Chef
THE LAKE HOUSE
An amazing country hotel in Daylesford, which inspires me every time I visit with its produce-driven menu and philosophy.
GLENORA HERITAGE PRODUCE
They are consistently producing the best organic vegetables in Victoria.
KOO WEE RUP ASPARAGUS
I love that the whole town (which is very small) is a massive asparagus-producing machine at this time of the year.
DANIEL WILSON– Huxtaburger
FITZROY TOWN HALL HOTEL
The newly renovated Fitzroy Town Hall Hotel is a place I love to visit because the food that Sean Donovan and his chefs cook is always on point and very good value. The place looks amazing now and there are great beers on tap. The use of seasonal and local quality ingredients really allow Sean to show his skill for our wonderful craft.
SHER WAGYU
I love supporting our Victorian farmers. Nick and Vicki Sher of Sher wagyu produce amazing animals that are a pleasure to cook with. We have such amazing produce on our doorstep it is a crime not to use it.
Daniel Wilson and Hong Kong’s May Chow will come together for a night of fast food infamy, as part of MFWF’s International Chef Dinner series on March 8. Tickets: MFWF.com.au
MIKE BENNIE – Wine and drinks journalist
MAC FORBES WINES
Mac’s exploration of the Yarra Valley is one of Australia’s most exciting wine projects. Wines he produces come from vineyards he and his crew farm meticulously, with an eye on best fruit hitting the winery to create scintillating expressions of site, but also personality imbued wines that thrill drinkers. Keep an eye on his ‘Experimental Batch’ (EB Range) wines too.
MAIDENII VERMOUTH
Australian vermouth benchmark. Produced from local botanicals and wildly expressive, these iterations of various vermouths are wonderful to drink over ice garnished with zest of various citrus fruits, or complement mixers perfectly. Great to see these produced in Victoria.
VIGNERONS SCHMOLZER & BROWN
Put these guys in the top part of your wine ‘to-do’ list. A fledgling producer barely into the third year (though their winemaking careers prior are relatively long), working from their home base in Beechworth. While they’re waiting for the vineyard they planted by hand to grow up, they’re making delicious wines from places around their neighbourhood. Keep an eye out.
SIMAO & CO
Young winemaker Simon Killeen comes from a generational winemaking family of Rutherglen, but itchy feet and a smart/curious mind has seen him release a ballistically good range of wines from various vineyards around the north of Victoria. His wines are vibrant and expressive and seriously good drinking.
SORRENBERG WINES
The Morey family define the word humble, and their wines sing true of their biodynamically-grown vineyards. Be it their fabulous, lithe gamay or their complex, barrel-matured semillon sauvignon blanc blend, or, arguably, one of Australia’s greatest chardonnays that they produce, their wines are a joy to drink and thrill aficionados or uninitiated drinkers alike.
Mike Bennie will be taking wines and spirits to the next level with MFWF event Extreme Drinks on March 5, and presenting an interesting combination of wine and delicious snacks with Acqua Panna Perfect Match on March 6.
mfwf.com.au
MATT STONE – Head chef at Oakridge
UNDERWOOD (right)
This is the friendliest wine bar in town. Great Australian wines, with cheese and charcuterie
to match.
LEE HO FOOK
Consistently awesome. This is modern Chinese food at its best.
Matt will be hosting Art of Butchery event on March 8 and 10 at Oakridge as part of MFWF.