California-cool rooftop bar Beverly serves up never-before-seen views and glam food

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I don’t know what it’s like to be a property developer with a slate of projects worth more than $3 billion, but I assume it means you can add a rooftop bar to one of your buildings if you feel like it.

When Goldfields Group’s Marco Gattino and Lachlan Thompson pushed go on their 24-storey flagship office block in South Yarra, the top level was slated as a Friday-night hang for in-house office workers. But the plan for an in-house lounge has been shelved for a bigger dream: Beverly, a rooftop drinking and dining destination with an outlook we’ve never seen before.

Let’s start with the view because it’s extraordinary: a 270-degree tableau with the city’s skyscrapers at the centre, the coast to the south and hills to the distant north. By day, you can watch Melbourne’s weather dramas roll through. Over the river, you could just about watch a torpedo spearing the goalposts at the MCG.

Sunsets are routinely spectacular, so much so that the chefs in the open kitchen have been known to wear sunglasses as they toil. At night, you’re seated in a sea of twinkling lights.

A retractable glass roof and slide-back windows speak to an optimism that hasn’t quite been repaid since the mid-April opening, but the 190-seat venue is sure to live up to its sunny aspirations come springtime.

Beverly is for Beverly Hills, the LA neighbourhood synonymous with celebrity, glamour, rooftop spritzers and caesar salads. Our version does some California dreaming with its pastel tones, striped lounge chairs and silk pyjamas worn by the meet-and-greet staff. Melbourne customers are bringing the glam, too: I’ve already spied one feather boa and some serious sparkle.

Marketing has targeted influencers and the crowd has reflected that in these early weeks. Service rolls all day: choose a quieter time if you prefer ceviche to selfies.

Beverly’s sunsets are spectacular. Chefs in the open kitchen have been known to wear sunglasses.

Goldfields has partnered with Sydney hospitality consultant Cam Northway, whose first Melbourne project was LOTI in St Kilda. He’s brought in a crack drinks team (the cocktails are smashing; the wine list shows depth) and chef David Ball, an Englishman who trained with legendary chef Raymond Blanc.

Ball has 30 years’ experience cooking around the world, most recently at Dominique Portet Winery in the Yarra Valley. He wanted something a bit busier. If he rued that ambition when scanning the list of 460 people booked one recent Friday, he’s not telling me.

Ball’s menu tips a cap to Los Angeles in dishes such as the cobb salad ($36), a vegan version of the Californian classic which sees ingredients lined up in neat rows. This one is a striped assembly of almond feta, herbed guacamole, wood-grilled watermelon, which comes out like translucent tuna, and a spicy-sweet granola with nuts and nigella seeds.

It reminds me of feeding my kids when they were going through fussy stages of not eating food that was mixed together but, despite my personal salad PTSD, it’s a classic for a reason.

Snacks include a lobster cannoli ($12) that’s a light, crisp, two-bite spin on the ubiquitous lobster roll, and shishito peppers ($14) that are supposed to be laced with smoked olive oil and fish sauce but, to my taste, are overpoweringly vinegary.

For the signature pasta ($52), whole chargrilled marron is dramatically posed over squid-ink spaghetti tangled up with crab and a rich bisque. The flavours are gorgeous: there’s a soft symphony of onion, fennel and tomato layered into the slow-cooked shellfish sauce.

In such a busy restaurant, it’s impressive to have steaks cooked to order over a wood grill: my flat iron (250g, $65) was just-so medium-rare and with the bold texture that’s inherent in the cut.

Desserts are simple and that’s no flaw. The chocolate terrine ($21) is basically a cooked ganache, while the tiramisu ($21) is a cloud-like scoop.

A restaurant so ambitious is bound to have teething issues. The arrival experience feels clunky: potential diners must chat to security, be buzzed in and escorted to a dedicated lift that whooshes skyward.

Service is getting there: a handful of experienced professionals are doing a fair bit of mopping up for newbies, but the intention to deliver a great time seems genuine.

I love the way Ball is developing a signature flavour palette. The “Beverly seasoning” dusted over the fries ($12) includes sea salt, tarragon and dill. The herb notes are picked up in the “Beverly butter” spiked with sweet shallots and nori paste.

Both condiments are tasty, but it’s also a clever move, delivering a happy flavour ploy that will ensure Beverly sticks in the mind, not just for the view but for its culinary virtues.

This review was originally published in Good Weekend magazine