Coral Trout

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Yiaga is full of confidence – 10 months in

Nothing is left to chance with Yiaga showing maturity beyond its age

There’s no roars, but the whispers are at a constant hum, building a buzz that compels. For types like us who love great food, and the hype of a new entrant, it’s clear that trying Yiaga is going to be very high on our todo list.

From so many people those whispers have all had one main theme. Yiaga is very difficult to book. In a literal sense it is not impossible like many say, but if you have designs on a specific date good luck. The first few times I remembered to try at 10am on the first of the month (for three months later) all of the dates I wanted were gone.

This time as I was ready. It was April Fool’s Day. Bookings for July opened and I got in. Not for my preferred date, or second preference, and I had to take half of Friday off work. But I was in! With the pedigree of the executive chef and part-owner Hugh Allen, and everything I had heard from the few people who had actually been, it was an exciting time in the lead up.

Yiaga

Modern Australian

Fitzroy Gardens, East Melbourne
Dinner Wed to Sat Lunch Fri and Sat
+61396913800
hello@yiaga.au
www.yiaga.au
Reviewed 24 July 2026 Reserve a table →

There’s a theme to the service. Though diverse accents can be heard pointing to global reach, the ingredient that binds is the professional ease everyone has. The training regime must be strict and disciplined as there seems nothing is left to chance. It’s great to watch and superb to be the recipient of. Then there is the thoughtful and educational tour that is sure to be a highlight for any guest.

The space is beautiful. It reminds me of dining at a pavilion in Paris. There’s vantage points through the restaurant to the gardens outside. When they notice, most passersby look into the restaurant sheepishly, wondering what is inside. It is architecturally peaceful and purposeful. The kitchen is open. It faces only a handful of the tables, which are sparingly adorned, and beautifully spaced throughout the restaurant.

With any restaurant you want the finery, and the service, but you come for the food. Coconut and macadamia come together splendidly with the addition of N25 Oscietra caviar. The coconut is used instead of soy to make tofu, and the water is used to make jelly that tops it, with macadamia oil making itself prominent against the caviar. Dry aged coral trout with crisped skin sidles up to barely cooked king prawns and Jerusalem artichoke.

Perfectly roasted and slow cooked Sambar deer (venison) are enveloped in jus, with a disc of Tasmanian heritage apple to offset the richness. Green ants cover David Blackmore wagyu over a delightful pancakey bread. A tiny salad tart taunts those who cannot make friends with leaves. Mandarin sorbet somehow tastes more mandarin than mandarins.

Course after course leaves you in delight. Pearls of celeriac under a Tilsit cheese foam, covered in black truffles from NSW producer L’Air du Wombat, have you yearning for more. In a restaurant that is well temperature controlled, the herb ice cream dominated by sea parsley and finger lime begins proceedings with a cool burst. Multiple surprises scatter the lengthy degustation menu.

The sommelier has us partially reliving our time in Canada, where many of the finer restaurants give diners a taste of the wine for each pour, showing generosity. Although the wine is not cheap by the glass, it is not unreasonable, and has many enticing options, with the majority from Australia, but plenty from Europe too. We begin with the Geelong sparkling made by Nadeson Collis for Yiaga and it is delicious though at the price point it should be.

Marsanne Roussanne from Bendigo (Place of Changing Winds), and Chenin Blanc from Margaret River (L.A.S Vino), are both gorgeous whites. The Syrahmi Heathcote Mourvedre is a highlight, and the Italian Nerello Mascalese Blend by ‘I Vigneri’ I chose instead of a dessert wine feels like a great savoury alternative. Many of the wines are sourced from the Vue De Monde cellar, Hugh Allen having learned his wares from Shannon Bennett, and at Noma, over many years.

Artful modern Australian cuisine comes in many forms. Yiaga is serving up incredibly confident dishes that feel years in the making for this ten month old restaurant. With the open kitchen, intelligent restaurant design, and the flavour combinations and techniques, there are multiple times it feels like we are at Attica, Brae, or Orana, but there is no doubt Yiaga has its own style. There is almost no pomp, but a great deal of pride. Putting aside the expense, which is not easy to do, you would love to take guests from overseas here as their big day or night out.

Like the restaurant itself, it’s not a matter of making a song and dance of the experience, but when I put it all together I am humbled to be able to dine here. What a tremendous way to spend a cold wintery Friday.

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Irrepressible Perry’s masterpiece in Margaret

Margaret

Modern Australian / Grill

30-36 Bay St Double Bay NSW 2028
Daily from 12pm
(02) 9068 8888
themargaretfamily.com/venue/margaret
Reviewed 24-Jan-25

You could teleport from anywhere in the world and I feel experienced diners would identify they have arrived in Sydney almost instantly. There is a natural razzle-dazzle. It could be in the surrounds, the venue, the clientele, or a combination of all of them. If there is a coastal city of a similar size that utilises its vantage points, and expense account lifestyle more, I’d be interested to travel there.

Harder to instantly identify, but perhaps sensed by more experienced diners than myself, the now celebrity chef, entrepreneur, and innovator of 30 years, Neil Perry, has a feel associated with his restaurants that is not unlike his Sydney restaurant heritage. Perhaps he has opted more for the look of the venue, than the surrounds, but the clientele have always been of a high calibre.

Neil was established early enough that he never had to prove himself with Australian native ingredients, but always supported local and seasonal, without needing to voice its virtue. He has an intimate relationship with beef in particular which spawned the grill offshoot of Rockpool. Thinking back over the past almost 30 years, I have never had a meal at a Neil Perry restaurant that didn’t provide some sense of awe or grandeur, and often both in equal measures.

While Margaret is a tribute to his Mother. Perhaps the inclinations shown by Perry over many years have paid tribute to his Mum many decades into the past too. This feels like a modern day Rockpool. It is off the beaten track in Double Bay, rather than the old Rocks (and later Circular Quay backstreets) of Sydney. We caught the ferry here for an even more pleasant lead-in, on a beautifully temperate evening.

My risk to book an outside table for Catherine, Sydney, and myself, worked a treat, with a table directly to the left of the entrance, that was atmospheric and protected from the wind. We were in good hands with the floorstaff, and the sommelier was quick to act, while giving us some time to settle Sydney, which we have discovered is the most stressful part of our family fine dining experiences.

It was time to order and with a diverse, but not overly intimidating menu, we had a lot of attractive dishes to choose from. Balancing between trying diverse parts of the menu, and not over-eating (also known as being dessert ready), we ordered three dishes and a few sides to share. First up were the freshly shucked Merimbula oysters by Wheeler’s. Better matched to Catherine’s utterly delicious Lancelot-Royer Blanc de Blancs champagne, than my delightfully made Four Pillars Olive Leaf martini, the oysters fitted the brief of what you expect when dining at a top class restaurant in Sydney.

Next was the compelling Albacore Tuna sashimi dressed with avocado, nori, kombu, and brown rice vinegar. Not messing with the freshness of the tuna, the flavour combination is both classic and refined. By this dish we were drinking McLaren Vale Roussanne, and Petit Chablis, and everything was wonderful, as it often feels on a holiday, or a short break, as you make the transition from the working week.

We shared the coral trout as our main, with a side of green beans with anchovy cream. Having earlier taken a sample of Syd’s excellent chips, and addictive Baker Bleu sourdough, we were happy with our decisions. The coral trout is stunningly simple. There is a lot to be said about some perfectly cooked fish, nicely sauced, with some lightly cooked crisp vegetables.

All of this restraint now ended as we turned to dessert. Rather than narrow down the eleven sweet options, we chose four of them to share. Syd dug into the ice cream offering, demolishing it in quick time. He also assisted with the flourless chocolate cake, which was mousse-like in its lightness, and a clear winner. “Sam and Neil’s Wedding Cake” was a clear, but distant, second. The first few bites of the merengue in particular were divine, but the choice of multiple desserts probably meant the richness was a hinderance. Finally, the raspberry mille-feuille was the only weak dish of our entire meal. It was beautifully presented (although it did need to be taken back to the kitchen the first time as it fell over) and clearly fresh, but it desperately missed the sweetness it needed, and was not enticing whatsoever.

We certainly didn’t expect the perfection of a Rockpool tonight, but Margaret was measurably better than expected. Similar to many meals where I am pleasantly surprised (and talk incessantly about it) Catherine eventually told me to stop raving, so I wrote about the experience instead! Having had some great meals recently that were let down by the service, I could tell there is a fair bit to the training and experience of the floorstaff at Margaret. It wasn’t perfect, but for such a large and busy restaurant, offering a la carte instead of a tasting menu, it was certainly very impressive.

Margaret
https://margaret-group.netlify.app/venue/margaret/
30 Bay Street, Double Bay
Thursday to Sunday lunch and dinner; Wednesday dinner
info@margaretdoublebay.com
(02) 9068 8888