You wouldn’t expect to hike a well-trodden path at somewhere called Detour, and chef patron Damon Amos (nickname D – D-tour, get it?) certainly enjoys veering off the straight and narrow. Half the menu is plant-based, one wagyu dish is seasoned with actual gunpowder, and uncommon inclusions like black ants might arrive garnishing the salmon poached in masterstock. Emu tartare is less outré – the hand-cut flank is dark and sweet, packing heat from a sprinkling of habanero salt, sharply accessorised with charry-edged banana shallots and blobs of cured egg yolk topped with dill. Vegan options – savoury king brown mushrooms with creamy chestnut pâté, sage and sunflower seed crackers, say, or miso-pepped coal-roasted broccoli, scattered with a crisp rubble of quinoa and split peas – encourage thorough exploration of a fun, almost all-Australian wine list favouring smaller producers. Service is enthusiastic, and Amos may even appear with a dish or two – perhaps almond-studded raspberry and yuzu aquafaba meringue, frozen in liquid nitrogen and finished with basil-seed jelly. Interiors here are nicely detailed, too; a bespoke mix of refined rustic and industrial chic. Well-trodden? Not by a long shot. An adventurous diversion? Absolutely.
This review was made independently for the Gourmet Traveller Restaurant Guide. The guide’s reviewers visit unannounced and pay their way.
Gourmet Traveller Restaurant Guide
Gourmet Traveller’s restaurant guide gives a yearly snapshot at the best restaurants to eat at right now. The best-rated restaurants, as judged by the reviewers’ first-hand experience, form our national Top 50. The wine star-ratings, which range from zero to three stars are made by wine editor Max Allen on the strength of the quality of the restaurant’s wine list. View our rating key here.
