Private Chef's Table Experience
A single long table, one chef working in front of you, and a menu built around what looked best at the market that morning. We seat between six and fourteen people and give the whole room to your group for the evening.
Dinner with the kitchen wide open
The chef's table sits twelve steps from the pass, close enough that you can smell the butter browning. Every plate is finished in front of you and handed over with a short explanation of where the produce came from. There is no printed menu on the night because we write it after the morning delivery arrives.
We keep the room to one booking at a time. That means you can stand up between courses, walk the kitchen, ask the chef why the snapper was cured for nine hours, and then sit back down without holding anyone up. Table time normally runs three and a half hours, though nobody has ever been asked to leave at a set hour.
See How We WorkEleven years of cooking shoulder to shoulder
Our head chef spent four years in the Basque country before coming home to Melbourne and running a forty-seat bistro in Fitzroy for the better part of a decade. The chef's table started as a Sunday experiment for friends of the kitchen. It became a permanent fixture in 2016 after the waitlist passed three months.
Butcher to plate
Whole animals arrive on Tuesday and get broken down in-house. You see the same loin at the table that you passed in the cool room on the way in.
Cellar and pairing
Roughly 400 bottles sit in the back cellar. We match glass for glass or hand you the list and let you steer, whichever suits the table.
Dietary workarounds
Vegan, gluten-free and shellfish-free versions are cooked as separate dishes rather than stripped-back copies of the main menu.
From first enquiry to the last glass
Six steps, and we handle most of them before you walk through the door. The only thing we ask is that you tell us about allergies at least four days out so the kitchen can source around them.
Send the enquiry
Tell us your date, headcount and any dietary needs. We hold the room for 48 hours while you think it over.
Set the shape
A short call with the chef locks in course count, pace and whether you would like the wine pairing built in or left open.
Market list
We write the actual dishes once the fish and produce arrive. You get the menu as a text the morning of the booking.
Arrival and aperitif
Doors open 30 minutes before the first plate. Bubbles and a small snack are waiting at the table while everyone settles.
The sitting itself
Seven courses over roughly three and a half hours. The chef talks through each one but keeps the gaps short.
Last round and out
A final sweet and a chat at the pass. Taxis can be called and we will keep the courtyard open if the weather is kind.
Three ways to book the table
All prices are per seat and include service. Wine pairing is listed separately so you can decide on the night.
Six Seat Table
Ten Seat Table with Wine
Whole Room, Fourteen Seats
Inside the room
A look at the space, the pass and a handful of plates that have come off it in the past year.
The main table, set for a booked party of ten
Plating happens twelve steps from your seat
Snapper cured nine hours, finished with blood orange
Roughly 400 bottles behind the kitchen wall
Burnt honey tart, a fixture since the first sitting
The courtyard stays open after the last course
Questions we get before most bookings
If yours is not here, call us and the answer is usually yes.
Ask a QuestionTell us who is coming
Send your date, headcount and any dietary notes. The chef reads every enquiry personally and replies within one business day. If you are working to a tight window, call the restaurant and ask for the booking desk.