Don’t let the name of this neo-bistro fool you; Porcine is more than a cathedral to pork. Sure, chef Nik Hill knows his way around a pig, from head – coarse foie-gras-topped rillettes served with thick slices of duck-fat toast – to a basket of emphatically crisp braised-and-fried tails. But Hill’s playful marriage of French precision and kitschy whimsy, epitomised at dessert by a puffy île flottante rising from a pool of custard, extends democratically to a far broader line-up of proteins. The hollow bone peeking out from the crust of a deeply savoury snail and ox tongue pie, for instance, releases a flood of sauce foyot, while a potato salad is dotted with briny bits of smoked eel. Choose a glass of something old-school French or new-wave Australian from the comprehensive wine list or grab a bottle from P&V Merchants downstairs, and prepare to – yup! – pig out.
Will Horner
