At one end of the long, elegant room, a table of silks roars at a joke from the senior partner. At the other end, the arts maven and the former premier collude on the banquette at half the volume and twice the intensity. This is a place for machers who like their dining fine, but want their whims to count for more than the chefs’ whimsy. Yet the food remains as accomplished as anything in town, with tight technique deployed to coax the best from a panoply of exotic ingredients. Sweet, firm yabby meat is sandwiched between the freshness of palm hearts on one side and the funk of tamarind and chilli paste on the other, biltong is the surprise accent in a silken scallop mousse, while a perfect canelé is more surprising still as the textural foil for duck and blueberries grilled over coals with surgical precision. Service? Variable. Wine? Expensive. The flavour? Unique.
Gourmet Traveller’s star-ratings, which range from zero to three stars, reflect reviewers’ first-hand experiences. The best-rated restaurants form our national Top 100. Our wine ratings, from zero to three stars, are made by wine editor Max Allen on the strength of the quality of the restaurant’s wine list. View our rating key here.
