An ambitious nod to natives

Beetroot, cultured cream, and native pickled fennel. Picture: Dion Georgopoulos

Corella is not the kind of place you expect to open in a time of economic uncertainty.

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With a swish fit-out and a tight dining space with a really limited number of seats, plus quite a complex menu, it adds up to an ambitious plan that not every business owner would be up for just now. You have to champion the commitment.

The space is pretty. You will no doubt admire, as we do, the subtle mid-blue upholstered banquettes, delicate and fitting the small scale of this diner. The wooden wall panels are an equally fashionable gentle green, and the same stylish effort has been put into the other fittings, with a bar down the length of the restaurant and an open kitchen at the end full of focussed staff.

We're on Lonsdale Street, so it's not hard for this new eatery to be noticed, and noticed it has been. It's full and people are in and out trying to get a seat this evening but there are none spare. So it has good looks and a good location. Corella probably didn't need a schtick on top, but it has one. The hint is in the name, which tells you the place is looking to ingredients peculiar to Australia to power its menu. Not cockatoos, of course. But bush herbs, fruits, nuts and oils, in the main. And Vegemite. Which is not indigenous, but is definitely native. The Vegemite appears a little unnecessarily, in our view, in the housemade rye with cultured butter, laced with "buttermite". We're pleased it's only a little extra flavour but to be honest, we would rather it weren't here. The bread is good.

Chicken liver, onion, corella pear and brioche. Picture: Dion Georgopoulos

Chicken liver, onion and bush apple on brioche ($9 a piece) comes as little fingers of toasted brioche, with the pate piped on top. We like these little bites, which are crisp and buttery, with the right amount of sweet onion, and plenty of luxury.

We enjoy the prawn roll ($14), also. The prawn is juicy; it's been flattened and battered and fried. The fermented chilli mayo is hot and orange. The soft bun is good. These soft, simple mini-burgers have become ubiquitous, a restaurant no-brainer, and for me always welcome.

Lamb ribs ($11 a piece) with bush spice and yuzu yoghurt are dry spiced, I think with lemon pepper and mountain pepper. They're two pieces of lamb fried quite dark, with the fatty layer adding some softness. Simple and snacky. This early part of the menu is listed and priced per piece, and the pieces are small, so you do need to order one each, with the result that Corella is not cheap.

Beetroot with cultured cream, pickled fennel and native spice ($19) is a little salad of poached beetroot, sitting on the cream base with shaved fennel on top. Simple and fresh, although when you order this you want to be clear it's an entree, so works as part of an array of dishes. Corella is small-plate, varied eating.

Jerusalem artichoke spaghetti, coral mushroom and saltbush salt. Picture: Dion Georgopoulos

Carrots, honey, goat's cheese and puffed grains ($16) are good looking, sweet roasted colourful carrots with their ends intact, scattered with pumpkin, sunflower and other seeds. But for us, the look is preferable to the taste, which is wild and strong, perhaps because of a strong honey. This is probably the least successful dish for us tonight.

Native duck a l'orange, bunya nut puree, sunrise lime and "jus gras" ($44) comes as two slices of duck breast, pink and bouncy, with a really crisp skin. It's carefully presented and is pretty but we're not convinced about the flavours. The nut puree on which the duck slices are sitting is very mild, so mild that it's not adding to the dish and is like a white sauce. There's a glaze on top, but the flavours are indistinct. It feels a little like the effort to include native ingredients is getting in the way of this dish.

Artichoke spaghetti, coral mushrooms, saltbush salt ($32), although, is a favourite for us and demonstrates the inventiveness and ability in the kitchen. Jerusalem artichokes have such an earthy flavour which matches the crisp-fried coral mushrooms. This is beautifully presented again, and the taste lives up to the promise, umami, luscious, crisp, with freshmade pasta.

Head chef Nemanja Babic, owner Wes Heincke, and restaurant manager Brady Scholes. Picture: Dion Georgopoulos

The wine list is brief, fancy, and interesting. We like it.

Burnt honey mousse, milk sorbet, Nem's coco pops, macadamia and lemon myrtle oil ($16) is a mixed success. It's served as a pile of loose mousse, topped with a little pool of the oil, looking like a poached egg on top of the chocolate puffs. Looks great and tastes rich and creamy, quite luxurious, but the oil is just not for me and detracts significantly.

Corella cherry ripe coconut ice cream, white chocolate and milo snow ($16) is more successful, a square of panna cotta-like chocolate desert and a lovely quenelle of coconut ice cream.

In sum, while for us some of the indigenous ingredients detract, there are some really good things about Corella, not least its admirable ambition and focus.