This Week in Food: A cracker of a pop-up + a restaurant perfect for the in-laws

THIS WEEK IN FOOD

MEET THE IN-LAWS – Jessi Singh is at it again, he of Horn Please and Babu Ji fame (both here and in the US), will open new restaurant Daughter in Law on June 19 in the city. He’s promising his trademark playful take on Australian-Indian cuisine, accompanied by 70 Bollywood tunes and daily DJs. There’ll be a bar menu with pappadum platters and snacks, “unauthentic” Indian-style naan pizzas, and plenty from the tandoor. daughterinlaw.com.au

OM NOM – It’s been a while since we’ve seen a good pop-up and Omnia is a cracker. It’s something of a test kitchen. LK Hospitality advisory chef Stephen Nairn will help come up with restaurant concepts for the soon to be completed, much-talked-about Capitol Grand development at the corner of Chapel St & Toorak Rd South Yarra. This elegant bistro gives him and his team the chance to introduce themselves to the neighbourhood, and come up with some of the ideas that will end up taking shape at the world-class residential project once it’s finished. Open for dinner Tues to Sat, it boasts a stunning, classic bistro menu, and I could easily have ordered anything from it. If you go, you must try the cheesy, chewy, gooey gougeres with chive cream; the pine mushroom tartlet; and I can highly recommend the aged sirloin with a gloriously rich sauce borderlaise. omniabistro.com.au

DEGUSTATION BY HESTON – A change is gonna come for Melbourne’s Dinner by Heston, come July 16, they’re going degustation only! Don’t worry, you’ll still be able to get your meat fruit and tipsy cake, but they’ll be part of a larger set menu experience. Wine Director Loic Avril is working on the matching wine flights, and of course you’ll still be able to get those quirky drinks, distillations and infusions from the bar. It’s likely to be a special occasion option for most with a price tag of $295 per person for the food.

GROUNDS FOR GREEK – This one sounds interesting … smack, bang in the heart of the city on William St is the Hellenic Museum. So if a restaurant was going to pop up on site, of course it’s going to boast authentic Greek food, as does the Grounds of Arcadia. Alongside the hearty Mediterranean meals, there are indigenous Greek wine varietals, beers and spirits. For now, it’s open for lunch from Tuesday to Friday each week, but dinners are likely to launch a little later in the year. groundsofarcadia.com.au