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Former Carlton player Charlie Curnow still has one foot in Victoria, thanks to a hot new spot on the coast all about wood-fired meat, tacos and cocktails.
Two chefs and a football player head to LA and Mexico. Their mission? To hop between as many taco shops, food trucks and bars as possible. The upshot? A new fire-fuelled eatery in the heart of Torquay on Victoria’s Surf Coast.
Mule, which opened two weeks ago, started as a pipedream among three mates to open a fun venue that suited the beachy town. Involved are Carlton-turned-Sydney Swans forward Charlie Curnow; ex-Noma chef William Wade; and local chef Rory Benzie.
The team is delivering a tight menu of tortillas, seafood and snacks, all cooked over a roaring central wood fire.
“We all grew up having outdoor fires as kids and cooking food on them,” says two-time Coleman medallist Curnow. “The Surf Coast is a pretty cold part of the world so we wanted to create warmth; for it to feel like you’re comfortable at your friend’s place.”
While the venue is inspired by the energy of Mexico City, Australian produce is at the fore. Otway pork is marinated in adobo, the chilli and garlic-based paste, for 24 hours before being stacked on the vertical rotisserie known as a trompo and roasted over coals for three hours. Queensland wagyu is smoked over red gum then charred over the fire and plated over tortillas with stretchy Mexican oaxaca cheese and avocado. Butterflied Crystal Bay prawns hit the grill and are slathered in a chipotle and prawn butter, while fish tacos feature ling in a squid-ink batter.
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“[It’s] all the things that I like to eat when I have guests over at home,” Wade says. “Fire cooking has always been my favourite way to cook. It’s so intuitive and natural to me.”
Down the track, he and the team plan to make their own tortillas, nixtamalising and milling corn in-house.
“The space is small and we don’t have everything we need, we know that,” says Wade. “But limitations provoke creativity. We weave this energy all over the restaurant, which creates life and theatre for guests.”
Exposed brick, veneer walnut cabinetry and deep red tones bring warmth to the space, which spans a moody indoor bar and outdoor weatherproof seating. Five styles of margarita lead the roster of tequila-based cocktails.
“It’s been a super-fun project,” Curnow says. “We’re not saying we’re gurus of Mexican food, but we’ve had a crack at it.”
Dinner Thursday to Sunday (open from 3pm)
5a Zeally Bay Road, Torquay, mule.kitchen
Five other new regional Victorian openings
Swiss Mountain Hotel
Melbourne restaurateur Stavros Konis – part of long-running Richmond restaurant Salona and a former partner at Kafeneion – has a new passion project. And it’s not Greek. Around April, he and wife Alexandra took over the 1860s-built Swiss Mountain Hotel near Daylesford. “As soon as I saw it I fell in love,” Konis says. Their new menu focuses on pub classics done well, with a touch of Swiss influence as a nod to the hotel’s original owners. While the pub itself is up and running, the couple are working on restoring an old cottage for accommodation, plus adding a general store filled with local produce and an outdoor kitchen for Sunday spit roasts.
3454 Midland Highway, Blampied, swissmountainhotel.com.au
Bodega Sierra at Piper Street Wine Co.
In case you missed it, MoVida’s Frank Camorra has been cooking on and off for the past year at Kyneton bar and restaurant Piper Street Wine Co. Now, he’s taken over the menu for good, delivering classics inspired by his family’s Cordoba heritage in the south of Spain. This winter, it’s all about slow cooking with local produce: perhaps baby goat braised in a whisky sauce, or berenjenas al escabeche, a garlicky and sour eggplant dish. You’ll find Camorra himself on the pans each fortnight. On alternating Sundays, the menu switches to paella and other Spanish rice dishes served family-style from a giant pan.
70-72 Piper Street, Kyneton, piperstwineco.com
Andino
Castlemaine lost a local favourite last year with the closure of restaurant and wine bar Wild, inside the town’s old fire station. But, following a huge renovation, Andino has taken its place, bringing Latin American flair to the region. Run by two of Wild’s owners and the team behind nearby cafe Lazy Bones, Andino focuses on Chilean and Argentinian barbecued meat, mezcal and tequila drinks, and pisco-based margaritas and sours. A happy hour runs from Wednesday to Saturday (hello, $12 frozen margaritas), and on Friday and Saturday nights a late-night snack menu kicks in.
26A Templeton Street, Castlemaine, barandino.com.au
Crudo
Nick and Emma Mahlook, the couple behind Lakes Entrance restaurant Sodafish, started peddling the restaurant’s fresh pasta and sourdough across the bar a few years ago. When it started selling out they upped the ante, transforming the space downstairs into a full-blown providore and deli in January. Buy pickled vegetables, terrine and parfait from Ugoose in South Gippsland, plus dips by Tom Sarafian, and gourmet items from the likes of Fancy Hanks, Doodles Creek and Oliver Lane. Deli meats and cheeses fill made-to-order panino rolls.
Esplanade, Lakes Entrance, crudodeli.com.au
The Stanley Pub
Chef Shauna Stockwell (ex-Empire Hotel, Beechworth) returned to this High Country pub earlier this year, adding influences from her time spent living in Fiji and South-East Asia to the menu. Five-spice fried chicken, spinach paneer curry and red curry of duck are all in the mix. Live music (see: The Audreys on August 20) and other events are keeping winter red-hot.
6-12 Myrtleford-Stanley Road, Stanley, stanleypub.com.au
