Versatile, Nicholls

You're certainly not likely to stumble upon Versatile. In fact, even with the aid of the address and a GPS, it can be a little tough to find. It's located in the quaint, though poorly lit and almost eerily quiet Federation Square in Nicholls, and the lack of a street number or street-side signage are added challenges to hunting down this new fine diner.

Versatile is situated back from the street, on the second level of an elegant homestead-style building that doubles as a function centre. The expansive wooden verandah would make for glorious alfresco dining in summer, but with the temperature in the low single digits, we're gladly sitting inside tonight. Inside comprises one large, open space, but the generously spaced tables and thoughtful lighting help create intimacy. The fit-out is modern, though tastefully so, with an intriguing slate-fronted faux fireplace, a matching slate-fronted bar and crisp white furnishings.

The $60 three-course deal is hard to go past. The entrée course is probably the least impressive of the three. It's possibly my fault for choosing a 'de-constructed' pie. The dish comes in three entirely separated parts. The first is a rabbit and mushroom braise, comprising tender meat and a satisfyingly thick sauce, with a deep, rich, though rather salty flavour. Then there's a jug containing a pungent spiced wine reduction, but there's far too much of it in proportion to the rest of the meal. I'm not even sure what to do with a single stick of dry, cold puff pastry. I settle on using it us a dipping stick, as un-fine-dining as that is. A dish like this highlights why the humble pie has stood the test of time, just the way it is. It's not about just about the filling and it's not just about the pastry - it's about that something extra that comes from the perfect union of the two, and to de-construct it is to miss the point.

Brandy and her braised deconstructed rabbit and mushroom pie with a spiced wine reduction

Next, roasted root vegetables and crumbled goat's cheese enclosed in pastry form a rustic winter tart. The pastry is lovely and buttery, and is golden and flaky round the sides, but the base is a little doughy and could have used a few more minutes in the oven. The goat's cheese with these these hearty vegetables is a tried and true match, though the surrounding drizzle of beetroot reduction is oddly sweet. The dressed rocket leaves cut through it all with an acidic kick, though they're piled on a little thick.

Roasted root vegetable tart, goat's cheese, beetroot reduction

From the mains comes the dish of the night - a thick, proscuitto-wrapped beef fillet, charred to a succulent medium rare and sitting atop a mound of  ultra-smooth sweet-potato mash. The onion jam dolloped on top is caramelised to sticky/smoky/sweet perfection, and super-crisp shoestring leek 'fries' add a salty crunch. It's all melded together with a rich red wine jus.

Lost River beef fillet wrapped in prosciutto, sweet potato mash, onion jam, red wine jus, crispy leek fried

Risotto-filled cabbaged parcels is a thoughtful concept for a vegetarian main. The downside is the cabbage, which is a slightly undercooked and layered too thickly, but the risotto is creamy with an al dente bite. The parcels are swathed in a pool of sweet, zesty pumpkin and coriander purée.

Red cabbage parcel stuffed with aromatic vegetable risotto, butternut pumpkin and coriander puree

We enjoy the mains with sides of snappy, steamed broccolini and and a caulifower gratin.

Steamed broccolini; cauliflower gratin

The meal ends on a sweet note. A lovely vanilla-bean brulee is served with some soft, intensely flavoured cinnamon and rum baked apple, and a stick of buttery pistachio shortbread.

Vanilla-bean puree, rum and cinnamon baked apple, pistachio shortbread But every sweettooth's wildest fantasy has come to life in the form of a deliciously dense, fudgey triple chocolate brownie, swimming in a silky honey anglais. A  clever spoon-shaped wafer perched on top holds a scoop of smooth, refreshing macadamia ice-cream. It's utterly indulgent and utterly delicious.

Triple choc brownie, honey anglais, macadamia ice-cream

Versatile is unpretentious fine dining, serving colourful, rustic dishes based on seasonal produce that make you want to dig right in. There's room for a little fine tuning, and there might be a dish here and there (ahem, reconstructed pie) that's a little contrived, but all up, it's a really good find. And a bit more street lighting and on-road signage would make it easier to do just that.

Versatile

O'Hanlon Place, Nicholls, ACT, 2913

Ph: 6230 9333

Digress, Civic

The concept of 'fusion' food makes me a little nervous at the best of times and it's hard to conjure up two cuisines less likely to 'fuse' successfully than those of India and Italy. So it was a sense of morbid curiosity and foreboding that I descended the carpeted stairs into the underground dining room of 'Digress', an Indian/Italian-fusion restaurant and tapas/cocktail bar in Civic.

The website boasts that the Indian-Italian concept is "something never before Australia wide" which will  produce "unimaginable flavours" and will "take you in a new direction". Hmmm, so I guess it could go either way. 
In a weird way, I kind of like the stone lions and glass chilli chandelier that greet you at the entrance, but the rest of the decor doesn't do a lot to ease the mind. 

Downstairs, the purple neon lights from the adjoining tapas/cocktail bar flicker through into the also purple-themed restaurant, where fake flowers and a TV playing Bollywood movies grace the walls. Still, we can't helped be taken by the warm greeting at the door, and the charm and genuine enthusiasm of the floor staff doesn't waiver all night.
The menu offers dishes with varying degrees of fusion - some, like aloo tikki and garlic naan, are straight Indian, while others, like penne arrabbiatta, would be at home on any Italian restaurant menu. But it's the third type - the true fusion dishes - that we're here (we think, for Canberra standards, rather courageously) to try.

So on that note, we start with paneer and mozzarella fritters, which are served with a jalapeño aioli. Shaped like logs and crumbed, they're more like croquettes than fritters. Their flavour is mild, and I can't detect the roasted cumin or coriander mentioned on the menu, so the spicy aioli provides a welcome and hefty kick. The filling has a pleasantly smooth, oozing texture - more mozzarella than paneer - though the crusts could be a little more crunchy and golden.

Paneer and mozzarella croquettes

Next comes sun-dried tomato naan, which is soft and pillowy, but the tomatoes seem to be there more for the sake of adding something different than improving it, and I can't help thinking that India got it right long ago with the garlic version.

Sun-dried tomato naan

Our first main is a Digress speciality - tandoori chicken penne. Tandoori chicken has been re-invented as an ultra-creamy pasta sauce, with chicken pieces, shallots and capsicum strips. It has a rich, but balanced flavour, however it's ladled a little too heavily onto the pasta, which can't soak it up properly and is left drowning. I guess - trying to be open-minded - there's nothing inherently wrong with the concept of an Indian-style sauce on pasta, but I can't help thinking it would have been better served on plain old rice.

Tandoori chicken penne

Finally, there's the Khadai paneer pizza, which sees a traditional Indian dish de-constructed as a pizza topping - a brightly coloured combination of paprika-coated paneer, capsicum, onion, tomato and coriander. The base is good - thin and crisp with the right amount of give, and the topping is enjoyable enough, though despite what the colour of the paneer suggests, it doesn't taste particularly 'Indian'. I'd eat it again, but I wouldn't seek it out.

Khadai paneer pizza

It's easy to be cynical of a concept like Digress, and for full disclosure, I was leading the charge. I tried it because we need restaurants which are willing to try new things (who, other than Roy Choi, would have thought Korean tacos would be a winner). However, the point of fusion cooking is to take the best elements of different cuisines and create something that's even better than the sum of its parts, and with that in mind, Indian/Italian-fusion has a way to go.


Digress
11 Akuna Street, Canberra City, 2601
Ph: (02) 6248 6952