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Let’s get one thing straight: I cringe so savagely at audience participation that I feel my rib cage crushing my lungs when a comedian calls for volunteers. How has it come to pass, then, that I’m holding a cowboy hat up high and twirling under pulsing purple lights, dancing with 21 strangers to cheesy singalong hits? I can only put it down to the relentless cheerfulness and positivity of Shelanous, a “fun dining” experience that’s only somewhat focused on food and drinks.

Shelanous is about connection, between staff and the 23 diners who are seated at one long table, whether they arrived knowing one another or not. Initially, it has the awkwardness of an office team-building exercise, but the waiters and chefs steadily erase the ick with an exuberant flurry of costume changes, chirpy banter and sustained good vibes, not to mention dry ice, lighting effects, flames and a mid-meal dance party. You could keep your guard up, but why not have fun?

Without giving away too much, the evening is designed around Vivaldi’s Four Seasons. The 18th-century composer was Italian, but Melbourne’s changeable weather means his violin concerti are on theme. The menu is structured around summer, autumn, spring and winter, and if you notice that the seasons are sequenced unusually, then consider that a pointer to the freewheeling spirit here.

Along the way, decorated table settings descend on a platform from the ceiling, headphones and blindfolds are provided for sensory play, there’s even a meringue canvas that you daub with edible paint. One of the sweetest things about this place is how handmade and occasionally hokey everything is, a combination of quirky craft and silly, two-dollar-shop kitsch.

The food is a tasty and satisfying procession of small bites. Kingfish is topped with nam jim, there’s a mini campfire potato with glassy, crisp skin, blue-cheese tortellini are scattered with rosemary crumble, and barramundi taco is layered with avocado cream and tortilla bites. Vegans and vegetarians are happily accommodated.

Owner Rony Parienty grew up between France and Israel. Since he was 14, he’s dreamed of creating the restaurant that Shelanous has become. After training in hospitality in Switzerland and Israel, and working as a chef and bartender at places such as Club Med – always leaning towards the interactive and theatrical – Parienty moved to Australia in 2017.

He launched his concept two years ago in a Caulfield synagogue before moving Shelanous (a hybrid of the Hebrew shelanu or “ours” and the French nous or “we”) to Port Melbourne early in 2024. It was originally kosher and halal, but Parienty’s new Caulfield restaurant, Shelly, which opened early November, is now catering to those dietary requirements.

One of the sweetest things about this place is how handmade and occasionally hokey everything is.

All kinds come to Shelanous: old school-friends, double-daters, Geelong tradies, solo cynics like me, even singer Katy Perry, who booked the place out while on tour recently. The restaurant is sold out weeks ahead with tickets bought in advance as though for a concert. Prepaying helps curate a feeling of celebration rather than transaction: no one’s splitting bills or calculating tips.

Theatre restaurants aren’t new, of course, but Shelanous is contemporary, reflecting our multitasking millennium: eating, drinking, partying, socialising and entertainment are all layered into one experience. It’s not for everyone but, if you let yourself go, you, too, might find yourself twirling under purple lights.

This review was originally published in Good Weekend magazine

Good Food reviews are booked anonymously and paid independently. A restaurant can’t pay for a review or inclusion in the Good Food Guide.