Time Out Melbourne never writes starred reviews from hosted experiences – Time Out covers restaurant and bar bills for reviews so that readers can trust our critique.
Something about Melbourne’s dining scene is that, whether self-inflicted or forced upon by customers, most tend to eventually become pigeonholed by cuisine or concept. But Vex has withstood that pressure. Vex is elusive. Is it a wine bar? Sort of. Is it a farm-to-table restaurant? It’s close.
But the talented crew have also been hosting game meat lunches on Saturdays and barbecue pop-ups on the footpath. And the menu straddles the line between Aussie comfort foods and Scandi-Med minimalism, with a touch of Austrian influence from chef Florian Ribul. In other words, the venue can’t be boxed. The jury is out on whether that works in its favour but from our perspective, it’s (mostly) a plus.
To play devil’s advocate – the menu, at first glance, is a little confusing. We love dietary inclusivity and an emphasis on produce but when roughly 40% of the globe doesn’t eat pork and likely just as many don’t love seafood, pork chop and flathead as the only two main proteins feels a tad limiting. The rest of the offering is mostly vegetable-based.
That said, the idea that menus should follow the tired format of chicken, fish, beef and sides is outdated and it's refreshing that Vex is flipping the formula on its head.
The chargrilled leeks, cooked in chicken fat and sprinkled with sunflower and caraway seed crumb, packs a satisfying savouriness as does the black garlic-glazed salsify, a root vegetable with a flavour many liken to oysters. We can testify the assessment is spot-on – and just like oysters, the salsify is brightened by a bit of sweetness and acidity from the verjus cream.
The pork, despite our earlier grumblings, is beautifully prepared with a lean cut, a light char and an earthiness from rainbow chard and a cacao-based sauce. It’s almost as if a pork mole negro got broken down and recreated in a pastoral European setting.
The large plates are well done with a clear attention to detail, though it's the snacks that earn the most wows. Pickled mussels, simple and delicate, served in a dainty metal tray. Guinea fowl, confit and shredded, dusted with shaved horseradish and served on a rye crisp. And the panisse, which may just be the best iteration we’ve had, crisp on the outside and molten on the inside with a slight tang like a warm goat's curd. Paired with a bottle of small-batch Denton Ribolla Chardonnay, we could easily work our way through a whole plate or two of them solo.
But we decide to save our bellies for something sweet. Perhaps the secret reason the menu is so light is so guests are swayed towards dessert, the sleeper hit of the menu. Based solely on buzzwords (sour cream pastry, medjool), we opt for the millefeuille-style option layered with said pastry, dates and floral bergamot curd.
Like the rest of the menu, it's subtle, sophisticated without trying too hard, and a showcase of seasonality. And like the rest of the menu, it can't neatly be boxed into any particular category. But it seems that’s what Vex does best.