BLACKBOOK THE SMART
BLACKBOOK THE SMART GUIDE WHERE TO EAT It’s a flaming affair at Matilda (matilda159. com), acclaimed chef Scott Pickett’s new venture on the ground floor of the same architect-designed building that houses United Places. No gas is used in the cooking process here – instead everything on the menu is cooked over a fire or coals, offering a sense of theatre for anyone seated at the long timber kitchen bar. The steaks are a signature dish here – especially the onekilo rib-eye (to share, naturally) – but first tuck into a starter of smoked spanner crab with prawn butter and wonderfully charred flat bread. Melburnians are mad for it. Just as they were for wine bar Embla when it opened in 2015. Now, the same team – chef Dave Verheul and Christian McCabe, who runs the floor – have headed upstairs and opened Lesa (lesarestaurant.com.au). It’s very different to its buzzing sister, with a more subdued space, furnished with antiques, and a set four-course menu. Seasonal dishes might include chicken porridge, almond milk and black chestnut or cultured butter ice cream with koji, brown butter and nashi. For wine lovers, the list offers a huge variety of old and new world wines with some unusual styles and rare vintages. Wine might not be the most obvious accompaniment to Korean food, but you’ll find a progressive list of natural varieties at Restaurant Shik (restaurantshik.com). Set in a pared-back, Scandinavian-inspired space in a narrow lane, the first restaurant from Peter Jo – better known around Melbourne as Kimchi Pete – features a menu of modernised Korean dishes like pork belly pancakes with fennel and native river mint kimchi, and wagyu intercostal with soy pickled king brown mushroom and coriander. Inspiration for another newcomer comes from across the Pacific: Natural History Bar & Grill (naturalhistorybarandgrill.com. au), with chef Morgan McGlone at the helm, takes its cues from the great steakhouses of New York – with just a touch of the Deep South. By far the best spot to check out the action is from the tables beneath the 15m-long diorama, complete with about 20 stuffed animals. If unique design is high on Above, from left: the lively bar at Heroes; one of Trinket‘s signature cocktails; below, from left: inside United Places; the hotel‘s architect Chris McCue and director Darren Rubenstein with chef Scott Pickett of Matilda WHERE TO DRINK The enormous crystal chandelier sets the tone at Trinket (trinketbar.com. au), a new two-level Art Deco bar where classic cocktails are given a sophisticated twist. The effortlessly polished Congress (congresswine. com.au) offers more than 50 wines, most of them Australian, along with modern share plates in Collingwood. Above Board (aboveboardbar.com) is a tiny place – there is room for just a dozen guests at the island bar – where, due to a lack of space for endless bottles, bartender Hayden Lambert offers only a short list of wellcrafted cocktails. Sharp, sophisticated and European – such is the aesthetic and atmosphere owner Joe Mammone hopes to achieve with the soon-to-open cocktail and wine bar Tetto, upstairs from Bar Carolina (barcarolina.com.au). PHOTOS CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: EUGENE HYLAND, LADY DREWNIAK, © UNITED PLACES (2) 38 CENTURION-MAGAZINE.COM
PHOTOS CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: TIM GREY, GARETH SOBEY, CHRISTIAN CAPURRO, © NGV PHOTOGRAPHIC SERVICES Scenes from Matilda, Scott Pickett‘s latest restaurant, located in United Places The finest work from living Australian artists is at Buxton Contemporary your priority list, Heroes (heroesbar.com.au) will appeal. Set over three floors, the style is eclectic Oriental gone wild. Tuck into Singaporean style skewers and barbecue, sip on cocktails like the Chai a Lil‘ Tenderness (Sailor Jerry spiced rum, chai, condensed milk and preserved mandarin) on the rooftop, then belt out a classic tune in the open karaoke room. WHAT TO SEE View the finest work from living Australian artists at Buxton Contemporary (buxtoncontemporary.com), a new gallery located at the Victorian College of the Arts. Designed by local architecture firm Fender Katsalidis, the gallery has four interior spaces as well as the country’s largest outdoor screen dedicated to showing moving-image art. It’s the result of one of the largest acts of philanthropy ever seen in Australia, when, in 2014, Michael and Janet Buxton donated their entire collection of local contemporary art, along with the funds to build a gallery, to the University of Melbourne. Artists and architects are also coming together at NGV International (ngv. vic.gov.au) for a southern hemisphere summer blockbuster exhibition. About 160 works by Dutch artist MC Escher, dating from the start of his career in 1916 right through to 1969, will be shown in a space created by Japanese design studio nendo and designed to manipulate space and perception. This creative and immersive exhibition, Escher X nendo: Between Two Worlds, opens on 2 December. While you’re there, visit the gallery’s garden space to see the 2018 NGV Architecture Commission, a work called Doubleground designed by Melbourne firm Muir and landscape studio Openwork. Inspired by the key architectural features of the Sir Roy Grounds building, it’s the winner of an annual competition to find a design that activates this outdoor space. Each summer, a temporary architectdesigned structure is built in the Queen Victoria Gardens, and this year MPavilion (mpavilion.org) has been designed by Barcelona-based architect Carme Pinós of Estudio Carme Pinós. Open until February 3, it is a cultural hub, hosting a series of free events that span talks, workshops, performances, installations, interventions and gatherings. Another summer opening worth waiting for is Lyon Housemuseum Galleries (lyonhousemuseum.com.au). This extension of architect and collector Corbett Lyon’s home, which he, wife Yueji and their children have opened intermittently to art lovers, will house a series of spaces that can be used for major exhibitions by local and international artists. It will be open to the public six days a week from the beginning of 2019. From left: stained-glass ceiling of the Great Hall, NGV International; installation view from No one is watching you: Ronnie van Hout from Buxton Contemporary FOR MORE ON MELBOURNE, GO TO: CENTURION-MAGAZINE.COM 39 CENTURION-MAGAZINE.COM
