First Look: At the Potter Museum’s Cherrywood, British Nostalgia Gets a Sharp New Edge

In a city with no shortage of inventive fine diners and laid-back bistros, Cherrywood, the new venue inside the reopened Potter Museum of Art , is attempting something different. Clever dishes without being too tricksy. Polished but not too serious. And, crucially, a roast chicken dinner you drink from a teacup.

That dish – broth laced with tarragon oil and black garlic, poured tableside – sets the tone at Cherrywood, the restaurant that will occupy the museum’s restaurant space Residence for the next year.

Residence is the brainchild of Nathen Doyle ( Sunhands ) and Cameron Earl ( Carlton Wine Room ). Each year Doyle and Earl will flip the restaurant concept, hire a new head chef and let them guide what the restaurant will be. “The dream is to create a space that’s both consistent and surprising,” says Doyle. “We want to give chefs a proper platform – and a bit of a push – to do something bold.”

At Cherrywood, created by Robbie Noble (ex- Vue de Monde , ex- Clamato in Paris), the menu is steeped in memory and grounded in technique. “It’s nostalgic and a bit cheeky,” says Noble. “But it’s all rooted in good produce and proper cooking.”

The menu nods to Noble’s upbringing in northern England. Not with Yorkshire puds or beige gravy, but with dishes that feel at once familiar and left-of-centre. A devilled egg, topped with smoked eel. Skirt steak with ox tongue folded into peppercorn sauce. Sardines are soused in mezcal and paired with cucumber. Rhubarb is poached and set with geranium oil, custard ice-cream and a brandy snap that feels “like a crunchy little taco,” Noble tells Broadsheet.

And while British-forward menus tend to lean rich and hearty, he wants his to be light. “It might look rich, but we’ve built in freshness, acidity, restraint – so you can make your way through a few dishes and not need a nap.” Jasper Avent (ex- Embla , ex- The Town Mouse ) is Residence’s executive chef, and will mentor Noble and work with him in the kitchen. The smart, mostly Australian wine list is the work of Harrison Maw (ex-Embla).

The space opens at 8am Monday to Friday and at 11am on Saturdays with coffees and a cabinet full of Iris the Bakery pastries. There’s a supper menu available after 10pm and an express lunch, with minute steak and fried egg, a changing pasta or a hot tartine, in the works.

The room itself, designed in collaboration with Studio Co & Co and filled with custom pieces from Abbotsford’s Cone 11 Ceramics , feels confident but warm. There’s a tiny retail nook stocked with products from friends and collaborators including Assembly Coffee, Pep and Chop It.

“We want people to come in and have fun, order something they know, then try something they don’t,” says Earl. “We want things to feel approachable and fun.”

Residence soft-launches this weekend with dinner only, before officially opening Monday June 10.

Cherrywood at Residence
Potter Museum of Art
815 Swanston St Parkville

Cafe hours:
Mon to Fri 8am–4pm
Sat 11am–4pm

Cherrywood at Residence
Mon & Tue midday–4pm
Wed to Sat midday–11pm

@residenceatthepotter