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Lately, a new restaurant has opened above Melbourne's Embla in Melbourne named Lesa. Launched by local Melbourne restaurateurs Christian McCabe and Dave Verheul, the much-anticipated venue Lesa is located directly above their wine bar Embla.

The design by Allistar Cox Architecture features a brooding atmosphere with exposed brick, steel-framed factory-style windows, and antique lighting. The dining room has intimate wooden banquettes with black leather cushions, round European oak tables, and reclaimed farmhouse benches for larger groups. The centrepiece of Lesa's open kitchen is a large wood-fire oven encased by bottle-green tiles and a glass-fronted wine room filled with wines personally selected by McCabe.

What They Offer

Their website has a unique design where you can drag the information wherever you want on your screen, offers a four-course, produce-driven menu with a six-course option and late-week lunch sittings coming soon. The Lesa menus will change regularly. The launch menu currently features raw flounder with hazelnut, green almond, and pear leaf; chicken porridge, almond milk, and black chestnut; aged pork loin, buckwheat miso, kale, and pickled walnut; and salted bergamot meringue with koji, walnut, and quince.

The food showcases a selection of old-world techniques presented in a new-world way. McCabe's wine list reflects pours and pallets collected by McCabe since moving to Melbourne, focusing largely on minimal intervention, Australian producers, and old-world vintages.

The regular four-course menu for $78 offers lots of good veggie dishes in the first course with nuts, the second course focuses on milk and porridges, the third course is a heavy meal of meat and veggies, and the fourth course is desserts of ice cream, buttermilk, and more.

For pre-theatre bookings, they offer a two-course menu for $53.

The Wines They Serve

There is a huge list of wines at their Lesa restaurant. Lesa and Embla concentrate on organic and biodynamic wine producers and provide a wine list when you visit the bar. You can start with the Touraize Les Dix Bulles Pétillant Naturel NV, Jura, and the Bobar Chardonnay Yarra Valley ‘16, or whichever you like with the Jordy Kay Pinot Nouveau ‘17, and the Unkel Raz Wile Shiraz ‘16 Yarra Valley. The service is very efficient and friendly, and you can have fun too.

To match the more formal menu, wine guy Christian McCabe has lovingly built an extensive list over the last two years, purchasing several private cellars and importing drops from Northern Rhone and the Loire Valley. A strong Italian selection will soon complement the French, with McCabe and his sommelier Raffaele Mastrovincenzo making several buying trips to Italy. Benchmark Australian producers are also part of the mix.

By night, the room is moody and low-lit; however, lunch-goers can enjoy the sunlight that streams through large windows covering two sides of the building. The architect behind the pair's other venues, including the now-closed Town Mouse, Allistar Cox, is also involved here, working with a mix of light and dark woods, brick, and bottle-green tiles to create a sense of occasion that's enhanced by leather-backed chairs and antique tabletops dating to the 18th century.

Location

You can visit Lesa at Level 2, 122 Russell St, Melbourne, Vic. They are open Wed-Sat, 6 pm - 11 pm. Bookings are recommended. You can visit their website for more information.

Lesa is a new 50-seat restaurant that sits above the starred Embla and has been in the works since that venue opened in the CBD in 2016. Where Embla takes no bookings and encourages sharing a few plates before heading on your way, Lesa, meaning "to gather," is about pressing pause. The idea is to linger over four or six courses and a couple of bottles of wine while embracing a more formal style of dining where reservations are encouraged.