4.6. embla is sensational.
twosheds and friends dined here for lunch on a thursday. in the 1990s and early 2000s, this place was a pretty good italian pizza restaurant which we used to frequent. the premises have now moved up a serious notch. this is the type of place you walk into and feel immediately at home - dark wood interior with a lovely bar at the front and perfect lighting - i could have sat there all afternoon. it appeared as though that was exactly what a lot of people were doing! the staff are friendly, but the service is not obtrusive at all - and it is extremely efficient. i'd label the embla food as modern australian, french, italian fusion, in a really good way.
we decided on the banquet, which did not include dessert. beautiful bread arrived to start with a smoky, creamy butter. the friendly waiter advised me that the butter is smoked over oak wood chips in their own kitchen. it was amazing. we then started with blue eye trevalla carpaccio, followed by pickled cucumber sitting on a bed of dill feta, veal tartare with parsley and fresh peas and a chickpea pancake with globe artichoke topped with flat leaf parsley and parmesan (which twosheds suspected to be reggiano, the best of italian parmesans). while all these dishes were fantastic, my highlight out of this super set of dishes was the chickpea pancake - gooey in middle and crisp on outside. it was a textural triumph.
our main courses consisted of swordfish served with leeks, and half roasted chicken with a beautiful gravy and, as a side, asparagus sitting on a goats cheese sauce. the highlight here was the half roasted chicken. it was roasted to perfection, with crispy, flavoursome skin, and moist on the inside - the gravy a perfect accompaniment. one criticism here - the goats cheese was excellent, but the quite pungent nature of this particular goats cheese overpowered the delicate nature of the asparagus. the asparagus was also a little woody at the thick end - would have been nicer trimmed to spear only.
for dessert, we finished with coffee, alongside a chocolate and olive oil millefeuille and panna cotta with blueberries - two desserts shared between four of us. both desserts were stunning. the standout was the beautiful panna cotta. our lovely waitress advised us that the berries had been poached in their own syrup. the berries used to create the syrup were also presented with the poached items - dehydrated and raisin-like. the panna cotta had a beautiful sour finish on the palate - potentially made with sour cream - which finished off an amazing dessert. to boot, there was also crystallised elderflower incorporated in the panna cotta topping.
the only other criticism is possibly the wine list. while there were some beautiful wines on the list - which we drank (including a lovely yarra valley pinot noir) - we thought that the wine list could be expanded a little.
on the whole though, what a fabulous experience. i recommend giving it a try.
4.6