Chef Adi has been playing around with new dishes, like this chocolate rice dessert. Photo: Lucy Ridge.
There’s a new restaurant opening in Kingston with a blackboard menu and plenty of creativity. Pamela Howarth is the owner of Queenies and is opening Eve just a few doors down.
If Queenies is casual and comforting, Eve will be the creative and elegant sister. Pam has given “no limits” to Chef Adrianne ‘Adi’ Davos’s creative vision. They’re hoping that Eve will have a fine-dining palate without fine-dining stuffiness, featuring Filipino-inspired dishes worthy of a Chef’s Hat.
Like Queenies, Eve will be entirely gluten-free, and there will also be a vegan degustation option, with diners choosing between steak tartare and watermelon tartare.
“I’ve worked in the kitchen on and off, doing dishes and even learning how to run sections for the past few years, and I’ve noticed that really good chefs are creative, and they don’t do well when they have to do the same thing all the time,” Pam told Region.
“It’s not inspiring.”
Eve is a chance for the kitchen team to spread their creative wings, while still maintaining the casual comfort dishes that diners have come to expect at Queenies.
The curated menu will be paired with wines and cocktails, as AJ Smith takes on duties as venue manager.
Owner Pamela Howarth sees Eve as a place for chefs like Adi to express their creativity. Photo: Lucy Ridge.
Thanks to the existing heritage charm of Kingston’s old buildings, even the unfinished interior of Eve oozes character. Weathered floorboards and high ceilings will be complemented by wallpaper and a gas fireplace, and the ‘blackboard’ menu will be cleverly projected onto the far wall. Bar stools by arched windows offer a prime location for people-watching.
Chef Adi’s menu will change regularly, but Region was treated to a sneak peek of a few early menu items. Pork Arroz Caldo features juicy pork belly with toothsome crackling, served on a bed of turmeric congee, fragrant with ginger and chilli. It’s moreish and rich.
Adi said she wanted to coach her young kitchen team in some classic techniques, showcased in the chicken ballotine dish (deboned chicken stuffed, rolled, cooked to perfection and served sliced), served with grilled baby corn and a corn jus. This chicken-and-corn comfort combination harks back to a recipe from Adi’s grandmother.
Chef Adrianne Davos will take the helm of Eve. Photo: Lucy Ridge.
For dessert, chocolate rice pudding is topped with brûléed slices of plum. Never one to take the easy way out, Adi first makes a hard caramel, then blitzes it back into a powder, which is then sprinkled onto the fruit and blowtorched for maximum flavour. With lemon balm microgreens, the whole thing feels entirely grown up (despite some nostalgic Coco-Pop flavours).
With Onizeme shutting up shop, Kingston locals will be excited to see a new blackboard-menu diner opening in their neighbourhood as Eve offers a similar vibe of ever-changing dishes showcasing the chef’s creativity.
Eve is located at 34 Giles Street between La Capanna and Silo Bakery. They will open on 13 May for lunch and dinner from Wednesday to Saturday. Queenies will have altered opening hours; check their website. Follow Queenies on Instagram, and contact Queenies for bookings.
Original Article published by Lucy Ridge on Region Canberra.
