Mela
- Closed
- MonClosed
- Tue5.30pm - 9.30pm
- Wed5.30pm - 9.30pm
- Thu5.30pm - 9.30pm
- Fri5.30pm - 9.30pm
- Sat5.30pm - 9.30pm
- SunClosed
A former fine-dining establishment, reborn.
In 2019, classic-yet-struggling fine-dining restaurant Number 5 was bought by Jacopo Crosti, the former head chef of the excellent (and missed) restaurant Beirut, and reopened with Enrico Calderaro as head chef. Last year, post-lockdown, it reopened as Mela with an even newer lease on life.
Sitting in a beautiful old brick building on City Rd, Mela is formal but with a welcoming warmth, serving serious food of the Michelin-starred-résumé variety. And it’s delicious. The chawanmushi topped with salmon roe, served as part of the requisite “snacks”, is delicately fishy and extremely moreish. A kingfish aged in kombu, served with fermented chilli and a sunflower seed purée, has a deep, meaty, fermented earthiness that was delicate in technique but robust in texture and flavour. The excellent venison tartare — served with olives, bone marrow and quail egg — was presented by Crosti as just-like-his-mother-used-to-make. We should all be so lucky!
The menu — available as à la carte and five- and seven-course tasting menus — is beautifully executed and well paced, weaving a narrative of flavours and textures and techniques that impressed on the tongue as much as they did on the eye. Perfect for a special occasion.
Near Mela

- Restaurant
- Bar
- Cafe
- Eats under $25
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