Embla

Embla has given one of Melbourne's defining dining experiences: eating at its kitchen bar, since it opened five years ago. This isn't to say the other seats aren't good – they aren't, given the constant line for walk-in spots reserved for "the disorganized or those seeking some spontaneity in their lives" – but eating in the warmth of the wood-fired kitchen, watching vegetables and meat char and sparks fly, speaks to Embla's approach to both food and wine.

It's all about not messing with with the ingredients, whether it's letting soured cucumbers do their crisp, acidic thing with dill and feta, a properly cooked bavette steak heightened by fermented porcini, or a passionfruit posset demonstrating how wonderful a buddy pineapple ice can be.

The same may be said for the wine. Embla's has a fantastic wine list, compiled with humor and insight, and is one of Melbourne's early and most important proponents of natural and minimal intervention wines.

Address: 122 Russell St, Melbourne

Phone:0455 122 121

Website:embla.com.au