Etta III

 June 13, 2024

   

I was away in Perth for my birthday, so we booked a late celebration at Etta. I had fond memories of our earlier visits and Rhys Nicholson's Off Menu appearance was a good reminder that we should return. They've got a brand new chef and we were there in the first week of the new menu - spoilers: it's phenomenal.

 

   

It's got such lovely vibes - the staff are charming and relaxed, the atmosphere is buzzy without being deafening and the kitchen hums away efficiently in full view of the restaurant. It's the kind of place where you feel immediately welcome and immediately ready to indulge - I dove straight into the cocktail list and got myself a dirty martini ($26), while Cindy went non-alcoholic with an R & R tonic (fermented raspberry, rosemary, molasses and tonic, $16). Cindy's tonic was sweeter than she expected, and she couldn't figure out how to drink it without the rosemary sticking up her nose. Both were delicious - it's great that places are offering up some grown-up booze free options these days.

   

We put ourselves in the restaurant's hands and ordered the 'leave it to us' option, which costs $100 and gives you a full taste of basically everything vego they have to offer. As always, things start with fancy bread and butter, which is always going to hit the mark.

   

The bread comes from local heroes Wild Life and the butter was burnt and whipped and just sublime. I would have been happy if the whole meal was just six courses of this, but of course things just got better and better.

   

First up were these skewers: brussels sprouts with spiced yoghurt and jalapeno. These were bursting with flavour: caramelised sprouts all sweet and smokey topped with spicy, tangy yoghurt - a brilliant start.

   

Next up was this plate of eggplant with sambal and crispy onion rings. I think this was the dish when I knew we were in for a special night - zinging with heat, but also rich with sweetness. The eggplant was melt-in-the-mouth good and the light crunchy bits on top just sealed the deal. This isn't on the a la carte menu, so you basically have to order the banquet.

   

Only a few weeks ago I tried to make our turnip cake recipe again, which was an abject failure, so it was a double treat to get this dish: turnip cake with kang kung and sesame dressing. This was another triumph, a great balance of textures and flavours - the turnip cake was nearly sweet while the dressing and garnishes were rich and savoury. 

   

After a little pause it was time for our main and sides. The centrepiece was the chestnut zongzi with charred and pickled shimeji mushrooms and tea eggs. This was another dish with really punchy flavours - spicy sauce and pickled mushrooms adding zing to the milder rice and chestnut filling in the zongzi. As if that wasn't exciting enough, the fried and wok-tossed salt and pepper potatoes came out alongside. As with the fancy bread at the start of the meal, getting a high end restaurant's version of spuds is always worth it - perfection. The cos lettuce, nashi pear and curried egg salad was the ideal accompaniment to the other two rich dishes - light and acidic and fresh. 

The set menu comes with just a single dessert option, but Cindy had a quick chat with the staff and asked if they'd let us try one of each of the two dishes on the a la carte menu. They very kindly complied and we got to try both!

   

First up was the chilli oil parfait with lychee and lime leaf sorbet. They're hoping this will become a signature dish at Etta and you can see why - the chilli oil doesn't really have a spiciness to it, but it adds a fun complexity to this dish that otherwise bursts with sunshine-y flavours.

   

We closed things out with a more classic dessert: a piece of ginger cake with chestnut miso caramel and creme fraiche. The perfect complement - this was rich and dense and perfectly satisfying. 

We had the most spectacular meal at Etta - when we were last there the food was pretty straight-up European-inspired mod-Oz food, so it was thrilling to realise they'd taken a sharp turn into Asian flavours under the last couple of chefs. This was a bunch of big flavours, sophisticated but fun and consistently impressive. I've been a bit off fine dining in the past few years, but Etta really knocked me out - I can't wait to go back again. 

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You can read about our previous visits to Etta here and here. Since we were there BLK's Food Blog has visited a couple of times (one, two).

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Etta

60 Lygon Street, Brunswick East

9448 8233

cocktails, non-veg "leave it to us" menu, a la carte winter menu

https://ettadining.com.au/

Accessibility: The entry is flat and there is one step up from the bar area to the dining area. Tables are moderately spaced and lighting is quite dim. We received full table service. Toilets are unisex and spacious, but we didn't notice handrails or other mobility aids.