Since opening in late 2020, Goodwood’s versatile neighbourhood bar Good Gilbert has pulled some impressive young chefs: Jack Tonkin (who moved onto Brae before heading overseas), Justin Healy (who went on to open Dunfor Noodle Bar) and – since late last year – Savannah Sexton. All despite the fact it lacked a fully operational kitchen.
“It was basically just like an alcohol store [previously],” Sexton tells Broadsheet. “And the guys put in a couple of benches and slowly over time started collecting some inductions and a little electric under-bench oven and a little benchtop five-litre fryer – just little pieces that got added to the room over the first 18 months that GG was operating.”
Now, the chef gets to flex their muscles in a new open kitchen (with counter seats overlooking the action) in a newly extended dining room that’ll open to the public this week.
“It's kind of nice being back in a space that is, like, designed to function,” Sexton laughs. “Working in a new space that we were able to design with our architects has been pretty good. It feels very comfy and homey after only having cooked in it for two days.”
The restaurant (in the space previously occupied by Cru Tapas Bar & Kitchen) feels like classic Good Gilbert, with bi-fold windows, the same blue-sage colour palette and a whole lot of timber (the kitchen countertop, tables and banquettes were all built by local furniture maker Gabe Turner).
“For me, I look at it and it feels like GG through and through,” says owner Wilson Shawyer. “It feels like a real progression from next door, but just a more serious, slightly grown-up version.”
With a doorway the only pathway between the two spaces, the two rooms have retained their intimate vibe. “GG has always been a really intimate space, and what we didn't want to do was blow that wall down and have this big vast area,” says Shawyer. “I think it really needed that physical point of difference.”
The expansion has also paved the way for a new menu: one that’s more bistro-style than its snacky predecessor and ideal for lingering dinners over a bottle (or two) of wine.
“We're definitely anchored in Basque country, in Europe,” says Sexton, who worked at Brisbane’s Spanish-flavoured Alba Bar & Deli before moving to Adelaide for the Good Gilbert gig. “But as you come up to the surface, [I’m] mostly just trying to make a menu of things that are really relatable and nostalgic for a lot of Australian people, and trying to not make food so complicated, and just make it delicious and understandable.
“It’s fun riffs on stuff that you would have had at home like roast lamb and pumpkin, and just trying to keep it all as simple as possible and execute it with good techniques and a bit of French influence to elevate stuff a little.”
You might start with a bite-sized cheese and onion tart and fried chicken with Yarra Valley roe before moving onto silky corn chawanmushi (custard) with pickled morel mushrooms; rump cap tartare with caesar dressing (bacon bits and shaved parmesan); and “Good Fish Guide’s seafood platter” featuring under-utilised local fish, served with Wonder White bread.
“We’ve been working with the Good Fish Guide, which is an initiative run by the Australian Marine Conservation Society, to make sure we’re doing our part to reflect sustainability on our menu,” says Sexton.
“We’re trying to put a little highlight on by-catch fish. One of the things that happens with trawl catching is that all of the other fish get caught and swept up in the net … so for the seafood platter this week we’ve got some Yumbah abalone, some blue swimmer crab that’s been caught locally – basically any of the trim from the market fish will go into a little ceviche on the platter as well. And we’ve got our first by-catch, which will be albacore.
“And yeah, we’re serving it with Wonder White bread because it's soft and yum and kind of reminds me of sitting by the beach and eating fish and chips with my family.”
Keeping things sustainable and waste low is central to Sexton’s menu. That goes, too, for the cheese, some of which is made in-house. “For me, one of the big things about learning more about the making in the dairy industry is the whey-stage – full pun intended. So you’ll see any by-product … like [for] the zucchini salad, we hang this beautiful sheep’s yoghurt to make it into labna, and we take the whey that runs off from the labna to make the dressing.
“We’ll be doing a smoked butter, which we make in-house as well … and the whey that comes out from the smoked butter will get used to cook the potatoes. And on the cheese board I've got a nice little cloth-bound cheddar that’s just coming up to four months of age.
“A big focus of mine has always been, ‘What can we do as part of the hospitality industry to step in the right sustainable direction?’ And there are so many delicious items that go to waste, so we try to, where we can, just make tasty things out of those items.”
The theme continues with the mains, which might include passatelli (made with semolina and leftover breadcrumbs) and leek in brodo. Or that aforementioned blushing pink lamb served with pumpkin and pumpkin-seed pesto. For dessert? There’s canalés, Basque burnt cheesecake and a nostalgia-inducing Viennetta with miso caramel.
The bar menu will remain separate for now, save for the tartare with caesar dressing. But you’ll be able to order steak frites, chips and dip (add on Yarra Valley salmon roe for $25) and other snacky things. There’s also a tight late-night menu – available from 9pm till close – featuring sausage rolls and a cup of miso soup. “The oven that's been working really hard for the last year in that tiny kitchen will remain as the sausage roll hotbox,” says Sexton.
The team is also installing a walk-in wine cellar, to showcase the impressive and extensive wine list, which takes you through the Jura, Burgundy, Rhone Valley and Beaujolais to Tasmania’s Derwent Valley.
“We are more and more becoming a pretty serious wine destination, and as the wine list grows, we don't want to hide things away, we want things to be on display, which is why the kitchen is big and beautiful and open,” says Shawyer. “Likewise for the wine. We don’t want to be hiding the really cool shit from people. We want people to feel like they can go in and have a look … and it's a real lovely interactive experience.”
For Sexton, who was previously hidden behind the tiny closed kitchen, being on-show in the new open space will take some getting used to. “I think that'll probably take the most adjusting for me,” they laugh. “Also because I’ve just been, like, rocking it solo for the last year, but now with the bigger space we’ve got bigger seating capacity, so we’ve been able to bring on a really strong kitchen team, which is great. I’m looking forward to working with them more.”
Good Gilbert
135B Goodwood Road, Goodwood
Hours:
Tue to Sun 4pm–late
