Decade-old CBD favourite Embla is still as dynamic as the day it opened.
15.5/20
Contemporary$$
This week, with Melbourne Food and Wine Festival in full swing, I find myself getting lots of restaurant recommendation requests from out-of-towners and food industry folks. When queries like these arise, I often ask myself: What does Melbourne do best? What venues show who we are? Which chefs exemplify the specific magic that thrums through our city? I often come to the same answer: Embla.
Small, chef-owned, wine-focused? Yep, yep, yep. Sitting in its dark, unassuming space on Russell Street, Embla is an extremely user-friendly restaurant, as well-suited for a few after-work drinks at its bar as it is a serious celebratory meal, plus most things in-between.
I’ve sank thankfully into its embrace when I wanted a good meal after a show in the city, later than many other places serve a full menu. It is the exact right kind of casual: unpretentious, welcoming, but with a serious eye on quality and friendly professionalism. Everything feels easy here.
Can you believe Embla has been open for a decade? (Or close to it; December will mark that anniversary.) It certainly doesn’t feel like it in terms of the restaurant’s enduring relevance and how everything on this menu still seems completely of-the-moment. The truth is that this is one of the restaurants that ushered in the style of dining that we, as a city, all apparently crave.
There’s the open kitchen, the fiery hearth, the produce-driven menu that focuses on things chef Dave Verheul wants to eat – the type of food you might get at a friend’s house if your friend is a very good cook looking to impress. Wine is integral to the venue, not just in its fun, accessible and adaptable list, but in the way the food is engineered to go with it.
Flavours are clever but never overwrought – your Abrolhos Island scallop will be cooked in its shell to a perfect plump pop, adorned with butter faintly imbued with aji chilli, not so bold as to outshine the sweetness of the seafood but just enough to lend interest. A puree of pine nut gives creaminess to heirloom tomatoes, a base to the late summer fruit’s treble.
I often eat here and realise half way into the meal that I’m ordering like a vegetarian, purely thanks to the allure of the meat-free dishes on the menu: Braised zucchini flowers atop warm ricotta with oregano; a crisp chickpea pancake smeared with hazelnut and mandarin pesto, then crowned with thinly sliced, layered witlof dressed with mandarin shio and vinegar.
But the kitchen is adept at meeting your meat, poultry and seafood needs, too. Verheul is known for his way with chicken – it’s not often I’ll happily order a chicken breast at a restaurant, but there’s good reason half the people eating here order this one, currently served with romano beans, braised almonds and a healthy dose of basil.
A whole rainbow trout sits in a pool of tarragon and fennel with fermented potato, a dish that feels decadent and generous and simple all at once.
Everything on this menu still seems completely of-the-moment.
Embla is one of Australia’s great drinking establishments, from its cocktails (classic, made right) to its thoughtful beer choices, and of course, its wine list. Everyone who works here is exceedingly knowledgeable on the wine front, no one upsells or condescends, and no matter your proclivity you will be steered with confidence and clarity.
Sommelier Russ Keightley has an eye on value, too, with bargains and unexpected delights throughout the list. On nights when I eat elsewhere in the CBD and find my experience lacking, I often decamp to Embla’s bar to rescue the evening, looking to its reliable excellence and assured welcome to soothe my disappointment.
In a city as varied and exciting as Melbourne, any restaurant that feels vital is impressive. What’s more impressive is to embody that vitality for a decade. Embla is still as dynamic and essential as the day that it opened – if anything, more so, since it now feels integral to who we are as a dining culture. I hope it lives forever.
The low-down
Atmosphere: Dark, small, bustling, fun
Go-to dishes: Whole trout ($49); braised zucchini ($26); chickpea pancake ($29)
Drinks: Classic cocktails, medium-sized international wine list full of small producers – the French are particularly well represented
Cost: About $160 for two before drinks
Good Food reviews are booked anonymously and paid independently. A restaurant can’t pay for a review or inclusion in the Good Food Guide.
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