Char Dining

The last time I ate Mathew Macartney and Gavin Evans' food it was in the stately dining rooms of Eleonore's at Chateau Yering, set amid formal gardens in the Yarra Valley. This time it's in the chefs' own restaurant, a modest shopfront in Balwyn with views over a car park shadowed by a supermarket. Luckily, food can be transporting.

Despite the humble surrounds, Char is the restaurant this neighbourhood needs, with a concise contemporary menu, prices kept in check by sensible produce choices, and a canny balance between fine dining flourish and button-pushing favourites.

Cured kingfish is elegantly presented with shaved radish, dots of avocado puree and cucumber batons; the fish is sweet and succulent and the flavours marry well.

A salad of juicy late-season tomatoes and torn burrata is an easy win. Thai-style tuna on betel leaves is fresh, zesty and fun to eat.

Snacky fried chicken on the bone is straight from the KFC playbook, crunchy without and juicy within, and there's funky cut-through from sriracha chilli sauce and house-made pickles.

The namesake chargrill plus skilled, watchful cooking means fine beef is turned into excellent meals, beautifully caramelised, cooked as ordered and well-rested. Steak is simple but restaurants so often do it badly.

Everything is done right here, all the way from sourcing to saucing, respecting both animal, producer and diner.

A peanut butter parfait with yuzu curd started as a dessert special but has graduated to the menu proper. I can see why: nutty ice-cream with caramel notes, dark chocolate mousse and tart yuzu (Japanese citrus) curd are a very happy trio.

Chefs Macartney and Evans can often be seen sneaking peeks into the dining room with "Wow, I can't believe we own a restaurant!" expressions on their faces.

What they see is a room full of contented locals, embracing Char for can't-be-bothered-cooking weeknights and let's-dress-up weekends.

It's BYO for now but once a liquor licence comes through, Char's charms will shine even brighter.

Rating: Three and a half stars (out of five)