“We want to appeal to every sense when you dine with us,” said chef Federico Zanellato in a March press release for his new restaurant at The Star. “This is a progressive experience where you move around while you eat, discovering new dishes, sounds and sights each time you sit down.”
Oh no, say it ain’t so. A “progressive experience” sounds like food abuse on par with vegan cheese.
However, Ele (short for “elements”) has taken over the site where Momofuku Seiobo was awarded Good Food Guide hats for almost a decade and the spot is hallowed dining ground. I’ve been itching to know how it would be transformed.
Zanellato’s precise cooking demands attention too, especially when working alongside mate Karl Firla. The pair operate Restaurant Leo in the CBD, a quiet, bistro-style eatery mixing the modern Italian of Zanellato’s LuMi in Pyrmont with the innovation of Oscillate Wildly, the Newtown baby Firla operated until 2019.
Their new venue offers a tasting menu only; $230 for seven courses. Wine pairing is $170, including a high-end cocktail (rum, champagne, and bergamot sorbet) that would otherwise cost $30. Rising inflation hasn’t affected discretionary spending at the casino, it seems; Ele, a thriving ecosystem for Balenciaga sneakers and Gucci, was pumping both times I visited.
Your first stop is the bar in the foyer, a small, shiny space of black granite and mirrors. Starting snacks include smoked cod brandade, pressed millefeuille-style between vinegary potato crisps, and a two-bite tart of raw spot prawns sharpened with tomato dressing and yuzu kosho, the salty, citrusy chilli paste chefs can’t get enough of these days.
Some explanation from staff about the progressive format would be handy at this juncture. Customers unaware they’ll soon be moved from the bar to the dining room can be left feeling like fish on land: “What’s behind those curtains? I say, are there any actual chairs?” Many of the young floor team seem a little confused, too.
The movable feast concept isn’t explained until we’re ushered behind those curtains and into an area featuring video art “inspired by the concepts of earth, wind, fire and water”. The images are mostly slow-motion loops of glowing charcoal and foaming waves, while electronic music plays in the background.
It’s a smart use of the room. Momofuku was a wildly different experience depending on whether you were dining in front of its open kitchen, full of aromas and thrills, or with views of the burger shop across the hall. This new set-up means the casino is all but invisible. Squint, and you could be in a luxe Hong Kong nightclub.
A few dishes are founded on no-waste principles with tremendous results. Butter-poached marron is one of the most aggressively delicious things I’ve encountered this year, largely thanks to an accompanying custard made from the “mustard” found in the crustacean’s head. Dense pain perdu (French toast) provides a plinth for the shellfish, and a Grand Marnier emulsion boosts everything it touches.
More custard, made with 24-month-old parmesan, sits at the base of a lively corn souffle. It’s a cute little savoury-sweet number, although I’m unsure why it’s baked in a cup that looks as if it belongs at the breakfast buffet upstairs. Sydney isn’t short of ceramicists.
Dry-aged Murray cod is more slickly presented, perched on a vigorous cime di rapa sauce based on roasted fish bones. Fermented celeriac puree keeps the snow-white fillet’s plume of coastal succulents in place.
An exact square of charcoal-grilled wagyu follows, glazed with the heavyweight flavours of beef fat, marsala, and black pepper. It’s a mighty rich course and I’m a mighty big fan.
To finish, we’re relocated to the kitchen counter for a dessert doing its best impression of contemporary art. “Chardonnay from fresh to frozen” is a textural multiverse of compressed grapes, grape granita, grape jelly and grape sorbet, the latter shivved with toffee-like shards. Like many chardonnays, it smells of crunchy orchard fruit and lemon. It’s very good.
Australian hospitality’s critical staff shortage makes it easy to forgive Ele’s sometimes awkward, but always earnest service. However, the restaurant is pitching at the same level as Quay, Bentley and Zanellato’s own LuMi – fine diners where floor teams ensure a seamless experience. More seasoned staff may be needed to attract repeat visits from Sydneysiders.
With a stronger team, Firla and Zanellato’s high-voltage talent means Ele has every chance of becoming a destination diner like Momofuku Seiobo before it; no doubt the pair will continue honing their flagship’s ambitions over the next few months. Watch this progressive space.
Vibe: High-wire dining in a nightclub-style room
Go-to dish: “Chardonnay from fresh to frozen” dessert
Drinks: Highfalutin cocktails and a mid-sized cellar with plenty of white burgundies and New World drops
Cost: Seven-course tasting menu, $230 per person
This review was originally published in Good Weekend magazine
