Meat fruit parfait.
Back to restaurant reviews
Level 3, Crown Towers, Whiteman Street, Southbank, 9292 5777
My score: 4/5
Have you ever wondered what people ate in England over the past 600 years? No, me neither. I assumed it was mushy peas with the odd partridge and kipper thrown in. But lo, apparently there was more to it, and chefs Heston Blumenthal and main man Ashley Palmer-Watts have discovered what made Blighty mighty, digging into fusty recipe books then developing modern interpretations of old-timey dishes. They’ve been served at Dinner in London since 2011 and here since October in a flash dining room that picks up where the Fat Duck left off.
Dinner is a wonderful restaurant with great service and precise, delicious food. It’s an instant and worthy contender for business dining and special occasions. I wasn’t entirely swept away by it though because I feel like it’s a little out of place and time.
Dinner does dinner (or lunch); don’t expect Fat Duck-style theatrics. The names are the most way-out aspect of the dishes. There’s salamagundy (a plated salad rendered with succulent chicken fillet, wobbly marrow and pickled walnuts), frumenty (medieval porridge, turned into a seductive grilled octopus dish with smoky broth, seaweed and spelt), butter-tender ‘powdered’ (that is, brined) duck breast, and meat fruit (chicken liver parfait cloaked in mandarin jelly). The must-have dessert is tipsy cake, a lovely soused brioche.
Steaks are just steaks; they’re served with the triple-cooked chips that were a special project of Heston’s. Mine were shatter-crisp husks; I wouldn’t have minded more spud. Everything is cooked with unimpeachable method; sauces have arresting clarity and depth.
There are many things to enjoy here. The wine and glassware is delightful. The service is a miracle of anticipation, though there are so many waiters that it would be weird if someone didn’t swoop to attend to every whim. The cosseting is part of it: this is a luxurious restaurant, the soft edges of scalloped booths and round tables contrast with the glassed-in kitchen, gleaming like an operating theatre.
But to my niggles. The menu is almost exactly the same as in the UK, which I found disappointing. The Fat Duck can get away with serving the 8-year-old Sounds of the Sea (seafood plus iPod seaside soundtrack) because the dish is a modern icon, an important stepping stone on the tricksy pathway of modern cuisine. The revivified recipes here are artfully rendered but more meaningful in London than in Melbourne, a city which shows less and less interest in the British portion of its heritage. The meat fruit is probably the only dish that lays claim to icon status; it’s a very cool trompe l’oeil and a lovely pate to boot.
Other flourishes seem dated, like the roving ice cream trolley which freezes custard tableside using liquid nitrogen. This was thrilling when first done but is now a more mainstream excitement, accessible at numerous ice cream shops around town. The showcasing of Proud Mary coffee at the end of the meal was odd: there’s nothing wrong with serving it, but I can get my fill at dozens of cafes around the country.
I don’t mean to spoil your Dinner. This is an excellent restaurant. Melbourne, however, has many special places, doing great food with spirit, energy and creativity, and cheaper too. Maybe try them first.
See their website.
More Iconic Dishes:
Marios, 303 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy, 9417 3343.
A lot of great Melbourne conversations have been had over the spaghetti bolognese at Marios, often with hefty sips of red wine as punctuation.
Abla’s, 109 Elgin Street, Carlton, 9347 0006.
Abla Amad’s cabbage rolls stuffed with lamb mince, rice, garlic, mint and tomato have been served at this unassuming and heartfelt Lebanese restaurant since 1979.
Ladro, 224 Gertrude Street, Fitzroy, 9425 7575.
The Badabing pizza is a spicy classic in modern Melbourne’s pizza pantheon; it’s judiciously topped with provolone, pork sausage, oregano and chilli on a tomato base.
First published in The Age, 20th March 2016.
Leave A Comment