Noma alumni have built from the ground up in Busselton, slowly introducing more exacting elements to a place surely set to become one of the state’s most celebrated restaurants.
When the head chef and gardener from Noma, the world-leading restaurant, moved to sleepy Busselton, it came with raised expectations. Would their project be equally ambitious, raising the stakes not just for the West but for all of the country? It’s fair to say no one was expecting Alberta’s.
Pickles and preserves are their own, bread is housemade, smoked eggs are gooey, greens (from Gunyulgup Farm) are fresh, and anything hot is most likely heated in an inviting hearth.
Here Ben Ing and Kirsty Marchant have taken it slow. More café than restaurant (at least for now), a chalkboard menu might feature just two plates plus sweets, propped up by infusions, teas and Five Senses coffee. But look closer, and it’s clear that every facet has been given fierce attention: the room, for example, is elegantly Nordic, shelves lined with plants, dry goods and plates collected from op-shops.
Pickles and preserves are their own, bread is housemade, smoked eggs are gooey, greens (from Gunyulgup Farm) are fresh, and anything hot is most likely heated in an inviting hearth – and that’s just for the farm plate. A cup of broth reveals layers of complexity, and a pear and almond cream tart lets the fruit bring most of the sweetness. Service, too, is elevated, and as good as it is already, recent lunches and planned dinners suggest there’s plenty, plenty more to come.
