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Navi

Deeply personal cooking from a thoughtful chef.

Pumpkin, wattleseed, sourdough.
1 / 9Pumpkin, wattleseed, sourdough.Ed Sloane
Inside the elegant restaurant.
2 / 9Inside the elegant restaurant.Justin McManus
Bonito cured in smoked honey.
3 / 9Bonito cured in smoked honey.Ed Sloane
Silky, sweetly nutty chawanmushi.
4 / 9Silky, sweetly nutty chawanmushi.Ed Sloane
It only serves 25 people a night.
5 / 9It only serves 25 people a night.Eddie Jim
Grilled pear, truffle ice cream and pear wafers.
6 / 9Grilled pear, truffle ice cream and pear wafers.Supplied
Duck breast with salted plum.
7 / 9Duck breast with salted plum.Bonnie Savage
Blue cheese cheesecake.
8 / 9Blue cheese cheesecake.Eddie Jim
Fermented autumn vegetables.
9 / 9Fermented autumn vegetables.Ed Sloane

Good Food hatGood Food hat17/20

Contemporary$$$$

As you sit and eat in Navi’s basalt-toned dining room, the term that springs to mind is not merely “interesting” or “inventive”, though those adjectives accurately describe chef Julian Hills’ tasting menu of nine-ish courses. What you’re likely to think, over and over again, is “delicious”.

There’s an ethereal quality to this cooking, as if it were created in a magical realm where everything is balanced, fragrant and delightful. Hills makes miso from bunya nuts. He pairs rock lobster with celeriac and salted grapes, and Murray cod with pine mushrooms he foraged himself.

He’s also a warm presence in the open kitchen, taking as much care with each guest as he does with the ceramic plates he creates for them to eat from. In the six years Navi has been open, it’s morphed from a loveable gem into one of the country’s best restaurants.

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Original URL: https://www.theage.com.au/goodfood/vic-good-food-guide/navi-20240513-p5jd9o.html