Wolfe & Molone brings the Caribbean to the 'burbs

Meet me for rabbit food and legless chicken? We must be going to six-year-old wine bar Wolfe & Molone.

A welcoming hangout with sheltered pavement tables and a cosy dining room, this south-eastern suburban star offers interesting (but not freaky) wine and fun (but not froufrou) cocktails. The unique menu melds Caribbean cuisine with Australian ingredients and a quirky narrative sensibility.

Chef Tanya Maraj grew up in England with Trinidadian and French heritage. Her grandmother Marion was an inspiration, guiding her in the vegetable garden and imbuing her with an innate Caribbean flavour thesaurus. Maraj did Michelin-star chef time in London restaurants owned by industry giants Gordon Ramsay and Pierre Gagnaire.

Escaping to Australia, she's exploring her culinary voice but is using it to sing pop not opera: her food is clever and well-rendered while also being accessible and light-hearted. Almost everything is gluten-free and there's plenty for vegetarians.

Rabbit Food is a jaunty play on the carnivore's boring insult to vegans. Beautiful carrots are melty and caramelised, piled in a big stacks-on with smoked almond ricotta and crisp flash-fried carrot tops, showing once and for all that plant-based eating can be brilliant and satisfying.

Tempura enoki is another vegan dish that also weaves in a story. Maraj was startled one night by the sight of a leafless tree silhouetted against the sky. Splayed fried enoki mushrooms, blackened with charcoal powder, are a rendering of this scene, which also recalls the bushfires of 2019-20 and the horror we didn't have time to process before tumbling into the pandemic.

The flavours speak to the Indian influence in Trinidad: the batter is made with spiced chickpea flour and cashew yoghurt plays the part of a moonlit backdrop. River mint brings a fragrant Australian forest touch.

Meat gets a look in. Strips of pig ear are served buffalo wing-style with blue cheese dressing. Bone marrow is whipped into butter with Vegemite and served with a milk bun.

Mango chow – a classic Trinidadian fruit and chilli salad – is partnered with barramundi crudo in another Caribbean-Aussie melding.

Legless Chicken is a soused and juicy rum-soaked spin on jerk-spiced chook. 

Ponche de creme is Trinidadian eggnog given the creme brulee treatment: it's luscious and rich with a surprise I won't spoil.

Owner Tanya Hanouch – yes, two Tanyas – grew up in her dad's delis in a food-obsessed family. She stuck it out in corporate IT for 18 years before tapping out to pursue her hospitality dream. Wolfe & Molone is her baby, a place for crafting perfect moments around food, wine and community.

The cuisine has shifted with the chefs who've cycled through the kitchen, a signal of the embrace of the particular gifts of her personnel. Tanya Maraj's spirited Caribbean skew is not only delicious and intriguing, it's sparking conversations in a way that's wholly aligned with the Wolfe & Molone project.