The oysters arrive at the table in an earthenware pot. The lid is removed dramatically, releasing a waft of ethereal smoke, like the mist rising from some mythical lake after a spell has been cast.

"You're definitely going to want to film this," the waitress had warned us, a directive that gave me pause – often, dishes engineered specifically for their theatrical visual aspects are better on Instagram reels than they are on the tongue. But this dish has it all.

The fat oysters ($36 per ½ dozen) are nestled on a bed of pine needles, adding to that witchy, foresty vibe. Bathed in buttermilk, warm and just barely cooked, the oysters retain their creaminess while taking on a slightly firmer texture than if they'd been served raw. The oceanic tang, cooled by the buttermilk, is punctuated by lime leaf and Geraldton wax. This isn't like any smoked oyster you've had before.

There's an intensity and clever austerity to the cooking at Freyja, the new occupant of the Olderfleet building on Collins Street that's marketing itself as a modern Nordic-Australian restaurant. If you're not sure what that means, don't fret – I'm not sure anyone would.

Thankfully, in this case, it means the inventiveness and cool, clear flavour profiles that Nordic cooking has come to represent, made all the more delicious with ingredients available only in Australia.

The Nordic part of the equation is mainly thanks to chef Jae Bang, who comes to Melbourne after years as the head chef at Re-naa restaurant in Norway. A native of South Korea, Bang spent his early career in Spain and the US, under chefs such as Daniel Boulud, and with large high-end groups including the Waldorf Astoria Hotel.

At Freyja, he's working in a space that couldn't be any more perfect for the project. The brooding dining room is located in the restored historic Olderfleet building, the heritage facade of which fronts a strikingly modern 40-storey office tower. The restaurant is dark, with contemporary art in dusky hues adorning the walls, the dramatic arched front windows becoming the focal point of the room.

Bang's cooking is also occasionally dramatic, and not just in the visual sense. There's so much flavour packed into a plate of four mussels ($16), served cold and in a thick brown liquid made from yeast and white balsamic vinegar. About four different levels of tang are present in each mouthful, a sense that you're eating the earth, the ocean and possibly the sky.

A tin of trout roe ($38) comes over a layer of sour cream and a tangle of mixed herbs, with a crisp waffle for scooping.

Beef tartare ($28) manages to retain its vital, meaty essence, despite being dolloped with tarragon emulsion, Tasmanian mountain pepper, horseradish, quandong and nasturtium leaves.

This style of cooking is often defined by an elegant heartiness, punctuated with the thin, reedy high notes of vinegar.

That is certainly the case with a side of seasonal and preserved vegetables ($14), all crunchy and charred and pickled, Bang managing to squeeze out the best and most interesting attributes of each ingredient.

It's also true with a main course of confit lamb shoulder ($46), served over nutty barley with gooseberry and chive.

The one place where I wished for a little more Nordic influence was on the wine list. This may be an issue of supply – the products of Swedish, Danish and Norwegian viniculture are not making their way to Australia in great quantities, which is a shame, because there are many fantastic wines coming out of that region right now.

Freyja's list has a few Austrian wines (not a Nordic country, but close), and many bottles that suit the style of the food. But I'll be hoping for more literal representation in the future.

And look, this place is pricy. There's a $38 cauliflower dish on the menu! But I'm coming around to the fact that eating out is just an increasingly expensive game these days, a luxury that many of us won't be able to afford nearly as often as we used to.

Ingredients and labour are so costly. Transforming a heritage building into this dark modern room was undoubtedly extremely expensive. And unlike many flashy new spots opening in Melbourne, this restaurant is unusual enough, smart enough, to feel worthy of its expense.

That is mainly thanks to Bang's cooking, but also thanks to floor staff who are just plain lovely, led by manager Deborah McKay.

In many ways, Freyja is a restaurant built on contradictions. It feels rustic but modern, restrained but generous, strange but comforting. Maybe most thrillingly, it feels different, a refreshingly unique vision in a sea of very good but awfully similar openings around town. And that alone is worth the price of entry.

Vibe Brooding, modern, but comfortable

Go-to dish Smoked oysters, $36 per ½-dozen

Drinks Cocktails that look and taste as though they were forged from the icy Fortress of Solitude, good wine list

Cost $175 for two, plus drinks