JULIET ATE HERE | receipt no. 6 — etta melbourne, brunswick east
RECEIPT No. 6
Etta Dining, Brunswick East
(A NIGHT, unexpectedly familiar)
For this week’s Adventure Friday, we picked a place that’s been on our list for ages. One of those restaurants people mention when they’re talking about good places, but not just for the food.
I’d never been to Etta before, but I’ve admired its owner, Hannah Green, for a long time. I know her through my fashion job. Her energy is magnetic, her smile disarming, and there she was, dancing and floating through her restaurant like she belonged there, because she does. Etta is her house. She said it herself.
As soon as we were seated, she brought over two glasses of Jeaunaux-Robin ‘Fil de Brume’ Brut Champagne. When we thanked her, she said, “This is my house, and it’s an effervescent house.” Slay Queen Hannah.
We ordered:
Torched albacore, gordal olive and blackened citrus dressing
Roasted pumpkin, seed satay and jerusalem artichoke crisps
Golden tofu, corn and chrysanthemum
Zongzi, Victorian oyster mushroom and black bean chilli oil
Cantonese style bbq pork, farm leaves and rhubarb
Favourites? The golden tofu and the zongzi. Both unforgettable. But truly, every dish was a hit.
Halfway through, Hannah stopped by our spot at the bar to see how we were enjoying ourselves. I told her that Sam and I still talk about our dinner at Attica a year ago, it’s our benchmark. Turns out, both she and head chef Lorcán are ex-Attica. Suddenly, it made sense. The level of care, the flavours, the way it all felt, not just delicious, but designed.
Sam and I kept trying to pin Etta down. What kind of place is it, really? And we realised, that’s the point. The room, the furniture, the lighting, the people, it feels like a mix of things. It feels like how you want a good restaurant to feel. No box needed.
They describe the menu as “Melburnian.” Sam put it another way: “It’s the food you didn’t know you wanted. That you can’t make at home and you can’t find a recipe for.” Hannah’s face lit up when he said that.
Would go back in a heartbeat.
Detail: A handwritten thank you on the receipt, simple, kind, and just right.
Total: $210 plus champagne and skewers. Full hearts, full respect.
