Australian Gourmet Traveller - (04)April 2020 (1)

AND ALSO...

Omnia

625 ChapelSt,

SouthYarra,

(03) 8080 8080,

omniabistro.

com.au

OpenDaily

noon-late

PricesSnacks

$5-$9,entrées

$19-$24,main

courses$36-$54,

desserts$18

Vegetarian

Twoentrées,

twomains

NoiseLively

butcontained

Wheelchair

accessYe s

MinusLengthy

winelistcould

useanedit

PlusExpertly

pitchedSouth

Yarra local

Details

MIXITUP

JessiSingh(HornPlease,Daughter

InLaw)hasmovedintoFlinders

LanewithMrsSingh. AnIndian/Euro/

Aussie/Americanmash-up,it’salsoa

baranda bottleshopwitha modern

winelist.Themenumixesingredients

in sometimeswackycombinations,

perhapsoysterswitha green-mango

picklebutter,a lobsterrollwithcurry

chipsorprathaservedwithchilli,

corianderandagedComté.It’s

irreverentbutit works,asdothe

cocktails(above),flavouredwith

chaiorrosesyrup. 88 FlindersLn,

Melbourne,mrssingh.com.au

SOUTHOFTHEBORDER

Mary’sfinallyhaspermanentdigs

inMelbourne.They’vesetupshop

neartheQueenVictoriaMarket,a

barelymarkeddooranda redlight

theonlysignsoflifefromtheoutside.

Insideit’slarge,loudanddimwith

a 100-strongwinelistandcocktails

includinga BloodyMarythatfeatures

meltedcheese.Themenuis a copy

ofitsSydneycounterpoint:brilliant

burgers,chicken,veganoptionsand

raucoustimes. 167 FranklinSt (enter

FultonLn),Melbourne, marys69.com

HAPPYTIMES

Theflashofcolouryouseeon

HoddleStreet?That’sTheHappy

Mexican, a brightyellow-painted

shopfilledwithhangingpiñatas

andMexicanfood.Highlightsfrom

thetwo-pagemenuincluderich

beef-tonguetacoswithpasilla

chilliesandcrispaguachiletostada,

allcitrusyprawns,cucumber,

onionandavocadoona corn

tortilla.Therearefourvarieties

ofMargarita(themezcalversionis

excellent). 108 HoddleSt,Abbotsford,

thehappymexican.com.au

pommesgaufrettesandraw

yellowtailkingfish,slicedtoorder

andliftedbyanappleandmakrut-

limejellyandseasucculents.

Theattentiontodetail

doesn’tendwiththesmaller

courses.There’sa sectionof

thingstoshare,whichincludes

a superbsmokedorganicMilawa

chicken,servedasa halfora

wholebird,slatheredwitha

greenchimichurri-stylesauce.

Nairn’sskillscometothefore

witha barramundiandgreen-

tomatodish.Thebarramundi

is filletedandcookedinthe

Josperovenina brothmade

frommushrooms,applejuice

andthefish’sbones.Thebroth

takesona smokyflavourthat,with

themushrooms,makesit almost

meatyandgreatfriendswiththe

salty,vinegarytomatoeslaidontop.

It displaysgreatbalanceandthat’s

repeatedwiththedry-aged,roasted

porkbellythatcomescapped

withcracklingandservedwith

black pudding and roasted peach.

There’sbalancewiththeservice,

too.LikeNairn,front-of-houseguy

KevinMcSteenhasa CVfullof

finedining(Attica,ElevenMadison

Park) andadaptsthoselevelsof

attentiontodetailtothelooser

setting.Descriptionsofdishesare

mercifullyshort, witlevelswell

judgedwitha relaxedapproach

laidovera foundationofefficiency.

Thewinelistcoulddowitha

trim.There’sa lotofworthystuff,

includingseveralvintagesofGrange

andimpressivelistsofchardonnay

andpinotnoir,butitslengthand

breadthfeelslikeit gotlosttrying

tofinda fine-diningrestaurant.

Dessertsmightincludea

verysatisfyingplum,raspberry

andhazelnutpieor,a soft-centred

cheesecake,a versionoftherich

Basquestyle,that’sservedwith

a tartblackberrysorbet.

Withitsdouble-heightbar,

marble,mirror,leatherandtimber

finishesandhangingfauxgreenery,

Omniacertainlylooksthepart

ofaswankySouthYarralocal.The

bestnewsis thatit alsoplaysthe

partanddoessoconvincinglyand

confidently.It’sa greataddition

to the neighbourhood.●

GOURMET TRAVELLER 41

Melbourne review

PHOTOGRAPHY JAMES MORGAN (INTERIORS & PORTRAIT), PETER TARASIUK (MRS SINGH) & HARVARD WANG (FOOD).