Aaron Turner is a fine dining pit master whose elemental vision of cooking yields greatness across a mysterious six-course dégustation menu revealed only in the delivery. Conjuring fire, coals and smoke in the open kitchen, Turner has created one of regional Australia’s best restaurants in a prosaic Geelong laneway. His menu, which varies from day to day and even from table to table, is a leap into the unknown, but you could make a trip based purely on the opening snack salvo – emu bresaola, crisp chicken skin with taramasalata or tiny pickled vegetables leaning into their briny crunch – before the ante is upped with an innovative parade of road-less-travelled flavour and texture combinations. Harmonising with the menu, the wine list champions the local and the minimal intervention. Add the unflappable service of maître d’ and co-owner Joanna Smith and Igni is the best thing to happen to Geelong since the Cats won the flag in 2011.
This review was made independently for the Gourmet Traveller Restaurant Guide. The guide’s reviewers visit unannounced and pay their way.
Gourmet Traveller Restaurant Guide 2022
Our guide gives a yearly snapshot of the best restaurants to eat at right now. The best-rated restaurants, as judged by the reviewers’ first-hand experience, form our national Top 80.
Julian Kingma
