After nearly changing careers, a former Society and Cutler & Co chef has rediscovered his love for cooking at an airy day-to-night diner.
When Aanya – the Jessi Singh-backed Indian fine diner that chefs Nishant Arora and Janos Roman were set to open in Collingwood – fell through, Arora was at a loss.
“Things really didn’t go to plan so we had to walk away from it,” says Arora, citing a breakdown in his and Roman’s relationship with their business partner. “I was so burnt out that I almost left the hospitality industry. I started doing a finance course.”
But an unsolicited LinkedIn message jolted the Indian-born chef back into the kitchen.
The message was from Adam Aflalo, who comes from the tech world but was on the hunt for a chef to co-found a restaurant. Over a few meetings, including a boozy dinner at Hopper Joint, they clicked. And now they’ve opened Banksia, a neighbourhood restaurant in Caulfield North, where Arora’s fine-dining cred makes a statement on Hawthorn Road.
The chef grew up in the hinterland of northern India before moving to New Zealand, where he worked at celebrated restaurants Sidart and Cassia. He went on to stage at the three-Michelin-starred Frantzen in Stockholm – “it opened my mind!” – then settled in Melbourne, serving on the opening team for Society and as a sous chef at Cutler & Co.
But he made most of a splash alongside Roman at their Aanya pop-ups, where innovative Indian cooking took centre stage at venues like The Hotel Windsor.
Arora’s goal is to create a globetrotting menu, largely powered by a binchotan-burning charcoal grill. There are several nods to his homeland. Loddon Valley lamb cutlets come with black-garlic-curry dipping sauce, while a southern-Indian-inspired coconut-and-galangal sauce accompanies John Dory.
Taking inspiration from Italy’s Puglia region is a “myth-busting” entree that Arora says challenges the preconception that seafood and cheese are strange bedfellows. Delicately sliced raw tuna is served with stracciatella and a fragrant lemon-myrtle dressing. There’s also a rice-less risotto that subs in barley and celeriac, crowned with a lion’s mane mushroom steak that’s marinated, cooked sous vide and finished on the charcoal.
Aflalo – who grew up in the area – says that while there are some great cafes around, this pocket of the south-east has long been lacking the night-time dining stakes.
But that’s not to say it’s all dinner. A dedicated “express” menu – running alongside the regular a la carte offering – makes Banksia a daytime destination as well, with dine-in and takeaway lunch options aplenty. Feeling fresh? Salads include green goddess and panzanella, with proteins to add on. Want a (made-to-order) sandwich? Go hefty with the Reuben. Its smoky beef brisket, sauerkraut and Russian dressing are all house-made.
In a prime corner site opposite Caulfield Park, where Hawthorn and Balaclava roads meet, Banksia has reimagined the former Parkside Pantry. It’s light and bright and gone are the deli fridges, replaced with an open kitchen and a stone countertop with bar seating.
When the restaurant eventually gets its liquor licence, you’ll be able to perch there with a local craft tinnie, perhaps by Huntingdale brewery Kaiju, but it’s mocktails until then.
Lunch, Wednesday-Sunday; dinner, Friday-Sunday.
98 Hawthorn Road, Caulfield North, banksiarestaurant.com
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