Victoria by Farmer's Daughters puts the state on plate

Shall we start with dessert? Yes, let's allow ourselves that pleasure because, for once, dessert was the course that thrilled me the most at Victoria by Farmer's Daughters, the new Fed Square restaurant from Farmer's Daughters chef Alejandro Saravia. 

It was quite simple – an apple tarte tatin ($22) with a dollop of creme fraiche – yet its heavily caramelised exterior, achieved partly with the help of Starward whisky, was such a dream of crispy, sticky goodness, I could not stop shovelling it into my face even though I was exceedingly full. Not only that, but it achieved what it set out to do: showcase the produce of Victoria in its best possible light.

Where Farmer's Daughters in nearby Exhibition Street focuses specifically on Gippsland, Victoria takes a broader approach: the cabbage is from the Dandenong Ranges, the potatoes from the Otways, the cured meats from Oakwood in Castlemaine.

This is a restaurant that, very specifically and unabashedly, hopes to serve as an ambassador for our state: from its location in Fed Square overlooking the Yarra and the ingredients proudly laid out on a table between the entrance and the main dining room to the wine list, which is 100 per cent Victorian.

It is perhaps unfair of me to have spent so much time during my meal at Victoria comparing it to its sister restaurant up the street. But it's also unavoidable, especially when you closely tie the two together by name, when the chef is the same and, in some ways, the ambition, too – that is, to celebrate the produce of this state we call home.

There is a degustation option ($85) or you can choose to dine a la carte. Both options currently feature a bowl of stracciatella ($24), dusted in rye breadcrumbs and wild garlic, with a mushroom vinaigrette. It's a nice dish, similar to many others in town, but bright and creamy and tangy in all the right ways. 

On the a la carte menu, the Snake Valley smoked eel pâté ($23) was intensely smoky, bolstered by a fine dice of sweet beetroot and slivers of pancetta. Neither of these dishes comes with anything to use for dipping or spreading; you'll need to order the Cobb Lane sourdough with cultured butter ($8) to avoid just ladling drippy cheese into your maw.

It was a side dish of Mount Zero grains ($12) that stole the show during the main course, Saravia having cooked them into a wonderfully rich savoury porridge punctuated by the bittersweet crunch of hazelnut. The grains worked as a fabulous accompaniment to a half duck ($85) from the grill section of the menu, which had a gloriously lacquered skin. 

A grilled hapuka from Port Albert ($46) was less impressive, being slightly overcooked and its fish-on-fish presentation of caviar butter sauce lacked balance.

There's a lot to love about this cooking, although it isn't quite as thrilling or nuanced as the food Saravia serves at Farmer's Daughters. Indeed, when I apply that lens, I like everything about the other restaurant better. The room here, apart from its riverfront location, could be just about anywhere in the world, its grey dividing curtains and open kitchen vaguely bland and corporate. 

Where the service at Farmer's Daughters is a high point, the staff here vacillate between peppy and bumbling, with my server on one evening behaving as if coming to the table were causing him severe pain. (My main reaction to this was empathy, not annoyance, but this was not the performance of a seasoned professional.)

And overall, the food is just slightly less special, slightly more predictable, than the fantastic meals I've had at his other restaurant.

Some of these things will be rectified by time: when I reviewed Farmer's Daughters, after all, it had been open for more than a year, which is plenty of time for a restaurant to become what it ought to be. 

In upcoming months, various regions of the state will be highlighted, beginning with Ballarat and surrounds in September.

The view of the Yarra will be lovely once the evenings lengthen, and I have no doubt that Saravia and his team will eventually grow this younger sibling into the landmark it's destined to become.

Vibe: Corporate-chic open kitchen

Go-to dish: Tarte tatin ($22)

Drinks: Short but good cocktail list; all-Victorian wine list, glass pours a little lacking

Cost: About $200 for two, excluding drinks

This review was originally published in Good Weekend magazine