Ashe Is Khanh Nguyen’s Most Personal Menu Yet

The clang of the wok, the spit of the grill and the glow of the clay oven set the rhythm inside Ashe. Fire is the beating heart of the latest restaurant from Brent Savage and Nick Hildebrandt’s Bentley Group.

An industrial-style bar catches the glow of suspended lights, welcoming walk-ins for the full menu, pre-dinner drinks or a late-night bite as deep house hums in the background. To the left, a moody emerald-hued dining room wraps around a compact open kitchen, where towering panes of greenery frame the action behind the pass in another collaboration with longtime Bentley Group designer Pascale Gomes-McNabb.

In the kitchen, executive chef Khanh Nguyen revisits ideas forged over six years in Melbourne – echoes of his time running Sunda and Aru, distilled into something leaner, more assured and unmistakably his own.

“When I left my restaurants in Melbourne, there was a part of me that thought I ended my career,” Nguyen says. “But I feel more motivated than ever with this venue. I’ve been dying to open a restaurant like this and the time has finally come.”

A decade ago he travelled through eight Vietnamese cities, eating at more than 150 places. Those meals shape Ashe, alongside Thai and Malaysian influences. Rather than chasing strict authenticity, Nguyen uses these Southeast Asian flavours as a framework, weaving in native Australian ingredients to sharpen acidity and contrast.

Vietnam’s oc restaurants – bustling seafood joints where oysters, clams and snails arrive drenched in sauces – inspired Ashe’s shellfish plate. Nguyen gives the format an Australian accent: oysters with smoked coconut vinaigrette and native curry oil; raw Abrolhos scallops with char siu pork jowl and green nam jim; pickled mussels coated in Viet Cajun butter and banh mi pangrattato; and Yamba pippies with fragrant lemongrass sa te. It’s a convincing homage meant for two, with oysters and scallops the standouts.

Fried dumplings riff on the crisp shell of banh goi, packed with 12-hour slow-cooked oxtail in a coconut-rich rendang-style curry. They’re rich, textural and built for dragging through smoked bone marrow before a drizzle of fermented chilli.

Nguyen’s three-bite take on pho might be the cleverest thing on the menu. Beef tendon is simmered overnight in fragrant broth, frozen, shaved wafer-thin, dehydrated and fried until puffed, then draped with lightly cured, torched Stone Axe NSW Wagyu. It has the best flavour-to-size ratio of any dish this year.

Aru’s famous pâté en croute with banh mi flavours is back, albeit with a sweeter profile. It takes two days to make and now contains grilled char siu-marinated pork jowl and burnt onions, adding smoke and sweetness. Pickled daikon, carrot, cucumber, mayo and coriander come on the side.

A blackened groper cutlet owes less to Vietnam’s restaurants than Nguyen’s childhood kitchen. Despite travelling through Vietnam, he never encountered the fish-and-tomato dish his parents made at home.

“I wasn’t a huge fan of my parents’ cooking, but when I moved to Melbourne, I missed it,” he says. “This dish is so nostalgic for me.”

His version roasts marbled Yamba groper in the clay oven before lacquering it with sticky fish sauce caramel in the style of ca kho (claypot catfish), pairing it with smoked tomato jam, finger lime and ice plant for brightness.

A deeply caramelised lamb Barnsley chop carries the unmistakable perfume of the grill. It’s another nod to Nguyen’s childhood, marinated in his mum’s mix of lemongrass, sweet soy and Maggi seasoning. A glossy muntrie glaze deepens the sweetness, while a sharp green garlic sauce cuts through the richness.

Hildebrandt’s extensive wine list leans on small Australian and international producers, favouring aromatic whites designed to complement Southeast Asian flavours. Cocktails draw on the same regional influences as the kitchen.

One dessert draws on che chuoi. Crumbed and fried banana replaces the traditional slices, landing on pandan-laced tapioca pudding with butterscotch sauce, capped with a macadamia caramel disc that cracks like crème brûlée. After years spent refining his cooking across three restaurants, dishes like these suggest not a departure, but the kind of restaurant Nguyen has been working towards all along.

“When we started talking about Ashe two years ago, I already started brainstorming ideas and writing the menu,” he says. “It’s the food I’ve always wanted to cook.”

Ashe
4 Ash Street, Sydney

Hours
Mon to Fri 12pm–3pm
Sat & Sun 5pm–late

@ashe.restaurant
bentleyrestaurantgroup.com.au/ashe