Words by Richard Cornish Images supplied
Ambergris has opened in Geelong bringing a touch of early 20th-century gentlemen’s club to Moorabool Street.
The old gold rush era building was built in 1856 from handmade brick with woodwork made from Tasmanian Huon pine. You’re met at the panelled oak doors by the dapper owner and maître d’ David Ellis, resplendent with his waxed moustache and rock-star cool.
You’re offered a seat in the front of the bar, made from pressed black tin topped with polished hardwood. With its emerald-backed gantry and brass trim, it has a distinct old-world air. Counteries include homemade sausages and wagyu heel korma with rice.
Out back are two dining rooms with hardwood tables set with fine stemware and solid cutlery. The smaller dining room has an open fire and the larger L-shaped dining room with a padded chesterfield couch looks out onto the green courtyard. In the kitchen is Jackson Wilde who kicked off his career at Tonka and Coda in Melbourne’s CBD. He has spent the past few years at Hotel High Plains in Dinner Plain in the snow working with wood and smoky BBQ meats and will be installing his bespoke charcoal and hardwood grill in the kitchen within a few weeks. Wilde has combed the local countryside and harbours to find the best local produce with which to create the compact menu of six entrees, five mains and three desserts.
Kick off with golden crisp croquettes, filled with a velvety bechamel enriched with Bellarine truffles and mushrooms or morsels of Moreton Bay bug skewered and scorched and dripping with butter. Western Plains pork belly gets a run, teamed up with pippies and the rich tang of XO. Look out for a dry-aged Angus Scotch fillet from O’Connors with classic potatoes dauphinoise and a lip-smackingly rich mushroom sauce. Chef Wilde has snuck on a parmie under the guise of free-range chicken breaded in crushed saladas and topped with an insanely good Napoli and topped with a cheese fondant.
Don’t stop. Keep going. For there is a luscious and decadent sticky fig pudding with butterscotch sauce and a simple, fair dinkum, apple pie. Being Geelong there is a bent towards Bellarine and Geelong wines on the list but some top tier drops from other Victorian cool climate regions.
THE DETAILS
What: Great new pub with old-style charm in the heart of Geelong
Where: 189 Moorabool Street, Geelong
When: Fri-Tue 3pm-9pm
Who: Good mates Chef Jackson Wilde and Maitre d’ and owner David Ellis
Why: A pub with an open fire, chesterfield couch and lamb shoulder or dry-aged beef
More Info: Ambergris Hotel
We wish to acknowledge the Wadawurrung people as traditional owners of this land and to pay our respects to their Elders, past and present.
