Eating at Attica is almost like culinary stand-up. Few restaurants with this degree of fame, charging this many dollars, could equal Attica’s joke count nor land gags as successfully – or indeed meaningfully – as owner-chef Ben Shewry. Add the remarkable visual appeal of all 11 courses and a meal here’s definitively performance, not dinner. An opening round of native-ingredient-based snacks is called “First Foods”. “Thinking of Australia” is a map of the country made from lightly cured King George whiting; Tasmania shaped in a pile of pepperberry salt, the mainland states and territories each marked by an ingredient indigenous to them. “Saltwater Souva”, a crocodile-meat souvlaki with a sustainable message and a witty conceit is also, with its crocodile XO sauce and Geraldton Wax garnish, an indelibly memorable flavour bomb. Service, wine list, tunes and charcoal-hued décor all make for an assured and personable supporting cast, ensuring the food’s witty performance stays centred in the spotlight.
