Carnation Canteen charms quickly and emphatically. It starts with the former corner shop’s crisp white exterior that seems to glow as you approach in the late afternoon light, as if it’s pleased to see you.
Then there’s the serene, minimalist dining room, calming service and a deft, democratic wine list that runs the gamut from excellent (often expensive) grower Champagne to well-priced Italian house wine served by the glass or carafe. Relax, it seems to say, we’ve got this. It’s hard to disagree, even before the food starts to land.
Sticking to the minimalist leanings of the design (chef and co-owner Audrey Shaw is a former architect), the food menu at Carnation is similarly pared back with just four entrées, three mains, three desserts and
a couple of sides, including unmissable roasted and perfectly seasoned Dutch cream potatoes. Portion sizes are not huge so two hungry people could easily consume most of the list and be happy they did.
Shaw’s cooking warrants such a completist approach. Her stints at London’s River Cafe and the Mornington Peninsula’s Tedesca Osteria inform the menu’s rhythm with simple, light-touch Euro-leaning combinations of excellent ingredients. The list changes at least once a week, driven by what produce is at the height of its powers.
There might be a superb fig and chickpea salad, the jammy-sweet fruit playing beautifully with earthy, salty Spanish chickpeas, fresh mint and basil, and a cabernet-vinegar dressing. You might also get a deep pink fillet of raw bluefin tuna teamed with lemon and fresh chilli or a glorious soft cheesecake topped with batons of organic rhubarb.
A whole baby snapper is butterflied, salted and cooked, skin-side down, over charcoal and finished with lemon and olive oil while an excellent pork and fennel sausage (from Donati’s in Carlton) comes with braised borlotti beans and a radiant yellow, surprisingly, deliciously sweet pepper.
There are no culinary tricks here, just precise and careful cooking that keeps the spotlight trained on the ingredients. Even when full, both the 20-seat dining room and the backyard “bar” area that offers a selection of snacks, Carnation Canteen remains calm and confident.
Such poise comes as something of a surprise for a new restaurant that’s been consistently full since it opened. But with its clear channelling of the small neighbourhood bistros of France or the backstreets of London, Carnation Canteen takes its cues from a classic template. It knows exactly what it’s doing and is all the more charming for it.
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