EAT // Monster Kitchen & Bar, Canberra

Photos by Natalie Hayllar (eat read love)

Everyone is talking about Monster Kitchen and Bar, on the ground floor of the stunning new Hotel-Hotel in NewActon Nishi precinct in Canberra. With a unique mix of Middle Eastern and seasonal flavours, and using local produce where possible, Monster Kitchen & Bar is a fantastic place to dine in Canberra, whether you are a guest of Hotel-Hotel or a local wanting to enjoy a relaxed pre-movie dinner with friends (it is just upstairs from the Palace Cinema). Buzzing with local creatives and relaxed winter mini-breakers, Monster is relaxed and unpretentious with an emphasis on sharing and open plan dining. The open kitchen means you might just see Sean O'Connell cooking up a storm while you wait, and the cosy hotel lobby fireplace is always in view. Our first night as a family we opted for relaxed dining by the fire, sampling the chunky handcut chips and the Labneh with dukkah, rose and warm sourdough. Returning to our beautiful room for a cosy night cap we HAD to sample the Baccalau chuross with coconut ice-cream via room service. The kids ate most of it!   

On our second night we decided on the share menu in the dining room. As a visitor to Canberra it was lovely to enjoy a meal with one of my best friends (AKA 'Ballerina Girl'), a Canberra local and fellow foodie who has been wanting to dine at Monster for a while. We loved it all, with standout dishes of Palmer's Island mulloway, eggplant with goats curd, katsuobushi and sesame, and the melt in your mouth pulled lamb shoulder. Oh and did I mention the Mandarin soufflé? This sweet baby now holds a firm place in the soufflé hall of fame. We enjoyed our Tiger Tiger Chardonnay from Collector (local winery) while listening to the lovely story of the local Canberra family who made their dream of Hotel-Hotel and the NewActon Nishi precinct community a successful reality for all to enjoy. 

For bookings go to Hotel Hotel or call (02) 6287 6287 and be sure to mention you found it via eat read love. 

{* I was a guest of Hotel-Hotel}