[content_slider]
[content_slide]
[/content_slide]
[content_slide]
[/content_slide]
[content_slide]
[/content_slide]
[content_slide]
[/content_slide]
[content_slide]
[/content_slide]
[content_slide]
[/content_slide]
[content_slide]
[/content_slide]
[content_slide]
[/content_slide]
[content_slide]
[/content_slide]
[content_slide]
[/content_slide]
[content_slide]
[/content_slide]
[content_slide]
[/content_slide]
[content_slide]
[/content_slide]
[content_slide]
[/content_slide]
[content_slide]
[/content_slide]
[content_slide]
[/content_slide]
[/content_slider]
MELBOURNE | Etta has made quite the impression on Melbourne food lovers since opening in autumn 2017, with its vegetarian friendly, produce driven food attracting a lot of attention. The space looks quite small from the front, with floor to ceiling doors opening the lounge and bar area to Lygon Street. It’s a long space though, and behind an open arched passageway is the main dining room – a no fuss, timber, concrete and brick affair with low lighting and a bit of greenery.
The restaurant is owned and operated by head chef Hayden McMillan (ex Roving Marrow), his wife Dominique Fourie McMillan (ex Rosetta) and Hannah Green (ex Attica). Between the three they being a wealth of experience to the food, wine, and front of house operations. The wine list is fun and experimental, with big focus on small batch, minimal intervention wines. In fact, natural wine guru Peter ‘Kimchi Pete’ Jo of Restaurant Shik helped put together the list. An example of the dedication to interesting wine is the house blanc de blanc – a batch of winemaker Dom Valentine’s Yarra chardonnay, laid on lees for six years. For those not into wine, there’s a nice selection of spirits, cocktails and craft beer.
When it comes to food the menu is modern Australian, with a few Japanese influences here and there. The focus is on local, seasonal produce – in particular vegetables. When Etta first opened the plan was for around 70% of the menu to be plant based, but these days it’s about a 50/50 split between vegetarian and meat options. In any case, vegetarians and vegans will happily be able to eat very well at Etta. We opted for the feed me option, which is fantastic value at $65 a head (and even better value if you’re vegetarian, at $55 a head). It gets you 8 courses that showcase the variety of what the restaurant offers.
Malty, thick cut sourdough comes served with an almost caramel-like whipped burned butter and is fantastic. Delicate yet dense cuttlefish, served with apple and verjus, is another highlight. Tamari and brown-sugar-roasted buttercup pumpkin served with a dairy-free sunflower cream is a thing of textural and flavoursome beauty. For meat, the Western Plains pork belly with cabbage and preserved lemon is super juicy and tender. For dessert, a creamy cheesecake with mandarin, and ginger caramel stands out as one of the best sweet things we’ve eaten all year. It’s all very good.
If you’re just here for a drink and sitting in the bar, there’s a smaller bar menu on offer with things like cheese, oysters, sourdough and burnt butter, a suckling pig sandwich with slaw and yuzu koshu mayo, and globe artichokes with a chickpea fritter and sorrel.
Etta
60 Lygon Street
Brunswick East
Victoria 3057
Australia
Telephone: (03) 9448 8233
E-mail: [email protected]
Website
Open
Wed – Fri: 5:00pm to 11:00pm
Sat – Sun: 12:00pm to 11:00pm