Henrietta

Australia has had a long love affair with charcoal chicken. With takeaway shops in virtually every suburb and “bachelor's handbag” crowned the Macquarie Dictionary people’s choice 2022 Word of the Year, the dish has cemented itself in our culinary (and literary) history. But Henrietta – a glitzy 80-seater on Chapel Street in Windsor – takes the chook shop format to a whole new level.

The Melbourne outpost for the Sydney restaurant of the same name flaunts a $2.5 million fit-out by Russell & George, the architecture firm behind Melbourne venues Society, Yakimono and Attica. While the venue's ritzy design may suggest otherwise, Henrietta’s hero is a testament to simplicity. In Lebanon, charcoal chook is typically slathered in toum (an aioli-style garlic sauce) and eaten alongside pickles and flatbread, and that’s exactly how you’ll find it here.

While the signature dish is served traditionally, liberties are taken with sides and desserts. The lamb mujadara, for instance, sees a simple Levantine dish of protein, rice and lentils given an upgrade with slow-cooked, carob-glazed lamb shoulder. The “Tiramisfouf” is Henrietta’s riff on tiramisu, made from turmeric cake soaked in Arabic coffee, ashta (a rich clotted cream), pine nut praline and chocolate dust.

To emphasise the dine-in focus, Henrietta Melbourne has a much bigger drinks offering than its Sydney counterpart. There are nine signature cocktails (the team recommends the Arak Highball, which pairs Four Pillars Rare Dry Gin with the anise-based Levantine spirit) and a lengthy wine list that includes labels from Lebanon, Turkey and Morocco.

But if you do want your chook to go, there’s a small window at the front of the venue that’s open daily. Here you can grab pita, mujadara, rice bowls and, of course, charcoal chicken and chips.