Provenance

“Local produce is very important to us, not necessarily for a food mile reason (this concept just isn’t as black and white as you would hope), but because it is so fresh.”

Smoked and seared kangaroo with Japanese fish sauce dressing, Mansfield capers, and housemade karasumi; pork short loin with marinated fermented rice, fermented lettuce, burnt garlic oil, and bacon dashi butter; and local berries and leaves from our garden.

Provenance is more than just a country hero; it's a restaurant of national importance. At its heart, the utterly unique proposition of a restaurant that channels Chef Michael Ryan’s long-term obsession with Japanese flavours and techniques, bedded in the produce of Victoria’s abundant north east.

The grand proportions of the former Bank of Australasia, built during the 1850s gold rush, provides an appropriate canvas for a menu that can turn the simplest concept – a fat, filleted anchovy served with its fried bones – into an umami-heavy revelation. Pickles and ferments feature heavily; the symbiosis between fish sauce and native meat such as wallaby and kangaroo, is thoroughly explored; while the soy-braised beef intercostal receives the unexpectedly successful triumvirate of pickled radish, daikon and grapefruit. Compellingly original, devoutly ethical, there’s really no place quite like it.

“It’s Ryan’s keen understanding of Japanese restraint and respect for the seasons that makes Provenance such a singular dining experience.”

Gourmet Traveller