REVIEW
Elska requires commitment. The simply furnished, dégustation-only venue has just 12 tables and opens three days a week. Snag a dinner booking, and you'll pay $155 for 15-ish courses that vary by the day, furnished by foragers and micro-farms. It's worth the tenacity. Expect Nordic nose-to-tail cooking with an Australian bent, featuring flavour-boosting ferments like banksia-and-bottlebrush vinegar, wallaby garum and bunya-nut miso. Snacks kick off with locally shot wild deer, presented as a multi-layered venison fat pastry, gamey tartare and doughnuts with aged venison cream. Boar terrine, meanwhile, comes adorned with fermented black apple. Quail lands in the form of crumbed drumsticks and a breast accompanied by jus, riberries, green garlic and sweet blood bread blobbed with sour cream. All the while, friendly service ensures diners never feel out of their depth. It's a two-hour trip worth taking.
ABOUT
Chef Nathan Dunnell
Price guide $$$$
Bookings Essential
Wheelchair access No
Price guide $$$$
Bookings Essential
Wheelchair access No
This review was made independently for the Gourmet Traveller Restaurant Guide. The guide's reviewers visit unannounced and pay their way. To learn more about the process, click here.
