Admitting that I’m confused about a tasting menu is not something I would ordinarily like to do. I feel I need to, as Parcs is the kind of place where what you’re eating makes sense, until you try to begin writing about it.
This is a tiny restaurant by CBD standards. I counted 22 chairs if you include the barstools, making for a warm and intimate room. Only a handful of staff is possible in such a small venue, and the concentration makes for excellent service. This is a model I really like.
The floor staff are complimented by the executive chef, Damien Neylon, who delivers around half of your courses. He’s not one to embellish but you can tell the pride and the deep consideration behind what is on your plate. The level of care extends to a wine list that is exemplary.
There is a strong and intentional theme here at Parcs. It’s new and with that comes a high degree of learning, which I believe will only make the menu stronger from this point. It is not perfect, but there are many excellent dishes, and no poor ones. The staff don’t speak about the theme of sustainability a great deal. Perhaps talking too much about sustainability would take away from the excellence in the ingredients and their treatment by the kitchen. I find the balance impressive.
An example of ingenuity comes in the form of beetroot that is treated like gravlax. There’s a familiarity in the snack though the beetroot itself is quite unique. Another highlight is sweet potato that somehow tricks the mind into thinking it is salmon. The crustacean sauce is incredibly delicious, and the accompaniments are novel, but somehow work. Those accompaniments are potato with bonito cured in juice pulp placed on top, in between lying the green leftover pulp that was used (direct from the local juice store), and some fermented potato, honey and garlic bread.
Even with the substantial amount of food there was no way I was leaving any of that potato bread, and we finished the savoury courses with beautifully cooked cockerel (young male chicken). At this stage there was equally no way I was leaving any of the substantial final course in the form of imperfect strawberries and rhubarb. The flavour packed strawberries must come into the kitchen resembling an ugly duckling, before they are marinated, and used to generously cover an oat meringue, with plenty of kefir cream thrown into the mix, along with kombucha scoby, which is the starter for turning sweetened tea into kombucha. There is a genuinely exceptional degree of experimentation here, and it rarely doesn’t deliver.
One dish that didn’t work for me, but was still enjoyable, was the tuna cured in bull kelp. It didn’t fall apart with that tenderness you often experience with high quality tuna, and the diced belly was not as flavoursome as I would expect. What did work for me was the wines we were trying. As if teasing me to try each wine by the glass, they seemed to be one-upping themselves. From a superb Aligote by Dubois Bernard et Fils, to a deeper and softer Chenin by Bobinet, followed by a Gamay by Chateau Cambon which is such an underrated varietal when well made, finishing with a Petit-Roy Pinot Noir from Burgundy. These are unashamedly fine French wines, well sourced by the restaurant, and all in keeping with the sustainability theme.
I feel like I’ve raved about Parcs. I believe it will get even better than the experience Catherine and I enjoyed. It would be great if it was just a little bit bigger for a casual wine and snack, but I think that is not the point. There is meaning and thought here, and the theme doesn’t dull the offering. In fact, the inventiveness feels like it partly relies on the limitations presented, and the intention to be completely seasonal and sustainable.
Parcs
https://parcs.com.au
198 Little Collins Street, Melbourne
Phone +61(3)99727015
info@parcs.com.au
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