Hare & Grace

Hare & Grace may be Melbourne's most polarising restaurant. Raymond Capaldi's food - bright, inventive, enthusiastic - shoots for the skies, but some elements can flame out like Icarus. Most dishes fly, among them an entree of heirloom carrots and stuffed olives. Exquisitely plated with nasturtiums, onion flowers and goat's curd, it exemplifies the 'bistronomy' movement's focus on natural flavours. Capaldi is known as an ideas chef and his kitchen has the skills to execute them. Otway pork belly, with sweet roasted onions and tart 'compressed orange', is crisp on top, tender underneath. Milk-fed lamb rump is another textural triumph, medium-rare with rhubarb, sheep's curd and a wrinkled sheet of translucent dehydrated potato. Desserts may push some diners beyond their comfort zone, with elements such as squid-ink grissini and basil powder called into play. But in a sometimes conservative marketplace, risk deserves applause.