52 GOURMET TRAVELLER
Laura
Pt Leo Estate,
3649 Frankston-
Flinders Rd,
Merricks,
(03) 5989 9011,
ptleoestate.com.au
Licensed
CardsAE MC V EFT
OpenLunch Thu-
Sun noon-2.30pm;
dinner Thu-Sat
6pm-9.30pm
Prices
4 courses $120,
5 courses $130,
6 courses $140
Vegetarian
On request
NoiseA low
murmur
Wheelchair
accessYe s
MinusSome
ingredient choices
are puzzlingly far
from the Peninsula
PlusPhil
Wood polishing
Mornington
Peninsula’s bestTHE BIG CHILL
Some forward planning is called
for now that ex-McConnell staffers
(John-Paul Twomey, Andrew Joy) and
former Coda sommelier Travis Howe
have taken overCarlton Wine Room
(above). Relaxed sophistication is the
word and crowds are lapping it up.
Twomey’s food includes a cult-ready
dish of grilled broccoli tossed with
lardons, parmesan and shaved egg
yolk, potato focaccia teamed with
stracciatella and a rum baba. Howe’s
wine list is very Melbourne 2018, Old
and New World leaning to smaller,
low-interventionists.172-174 Faraday
St, Carlton, (03) 9347 2626ADVANCE AUSTRALIA FAIR
High Street in Windsor has increased
its One To Watch stocks withGalah. Its
downstairs bottle shop sells small-
batch, low-intervention Australian
wines to take away or drink upstairs.
The cocktails hold a flame for Aussie
spirits: The Bleeding Lime Larrikin is
a sour with West Winds gin, lemon
juice, lemon aspen and egg white with
blood lime. The snacks are less true
blue (apart from wattleseed-rubbed
kangaroo loin) but are sturdily cooked,
from tempura cauliflower to mountain-
pepper chicken wings.216 High St,
Windsor, (03) 9521 5325IT’S ONLY NATURAL
Natural Historyis worth a visit for
the taxidermy diorama alone. Morgan
McGlone (Belles Hot Chicken) has
partnered with Honkytonks’ designer
Michael Delany for this New York-style
bar and grill with flamboyant results.
The menu offers steaks, a wagyu
burger, a Cajun fish sandwich and
beef tartare. The wine is mostly natural
and the cocktails strong.401 Collins St,
Melbourne, (03) 9982 1811Above:
meringue with
lemon cream,
figs and cumin
ice-cream. Left:
the dining room.DetailsAND ALSO...vases of native flora, black-handled
Cutipol cutlery and Zalto glassware
conspire to form an impression of
urbane elegance. The backdrop is
all sculpture, paddock and sea.
The service team has impressive
credentials and proves calm, precise
and never over-eager. The wine list
displays similar confidence.
Bound in black leather, its
38 pages cover a lot. It’s democratic
in its approach to big-name and
low-intervention winemaking and
has Victoria as one focus, Estate
wines mixing with the likes of Mac
Forbes riesling and Best’s dolcetto.
There are sections devoted to Italy,
France, Spain, Portugal and Austria
but with no grandstanding. It’s
knowledgeable and trustworthy.
Wood’s last gig was at
Sydney’s Eleven Bridge, a fine
diner that showcased his impeccable
technique, affinity for seafood
and dedication to putting the tasty
ahead of the tricky. In addition to
calling the shots in the kitchen, his
role at Laura has another difference:
the Mornington Peninsula.
The focus on regional produce
is present in every dish. Brioche ismade with Taralinga olive oil
and served with Cape Schanck oil,
both from the Peninsula. Plump
mussels, cold smoked and mixed
with pistachio nuts, dried tomatoes,
seaweed butter and Peninsula corn,
are from down the road at Flinders.
The Peninsula is small though,
and its supply capacity limited. It
makes sense that some ingredients
have to be found further afield.
Nobody sane would begrudge the
imported caviar that’s teamed with
Yarra Valley trout roe to accompany
a superb slow-cooked local Dutch
cream potato doused in butter
sauce and miso cream. But pairing
Spencer Gulf prawns with perfectly
steamed John Dory or offering
oysters and abalone from New
South Wales seems a little out of
whack with the implied remit. But
it’s a small quibble in the face of an
original and enormously satisfying
dining experience.
Laura is one of the most exciting
openings of the year. Wood’s deft
twists and turns and gorgeously
composed flavours are the work of
an artist. He’s found a natural
home among the sculpture.●