Served chilled

The vast sums spent on the design and construction of Urbane four years ago were well
spent - the finish remains remarkably fresh and contemporary.
Picture: Mark Cranitch Source: The Australian

Some great restaurants are owned by operators with almost anonymous chefs, but this is a different sandpit: Urbane works an archly creative end of the restaurant lark in Brisbane, and a chef's profile goes with bums on seats. It's risky. Mind you, they've had some talent along for the ride. Ryan Squires (Esquire), Machin (now at Spring) and now ... someone you've never heard of. That's probably going to change.

Alejandro Cancino is an Argentine who filled his backpack at 18 and took off to see the world. The world of kitchens, that is. He worked in England for Raymond Blanc, Spain for Andoni Aduriz, Japan for Luca Fantin. He has "staged", as you must these days, at Noma. But what he really wanted was to come to Australia. And here he is, picking up the pieces left by his predecessor. So let's try again, shall we?

Urbane remains true to its name. Vast sums spent on design and construction four years ago was money well spent: the finish is remarkable and the look is still fresh, contemporary. The wine list is impressive, too.

But there's a little too much gastro-temple reverence here, a little too much stiffness, which is a pity, because the food Cancino is banging out deserves a looser approach. A relaxed attitude doesn't need to be inconsistent with service and culinary adventure.

After three years at Mugaritz, the second most influential restaurant in the world, Cancino obviously has some tricks. He's a boundary-pusher and texture-fiddler, sure, but smart enough to know Aussies are over the excesses of the mollecular era. His repertoire shows creativity and occasional genius. Long will I think about an amuse-bouche of anise-scented duck consomme in a test tube topped with a blistered, crunchy, licorice-flavoured duck tongue. Or the other amuse, a mouthful of hot, pure sweetcorn broth and a teaspoon of sweet popcorn ice cream, all presented at the table with props and conversation-starters - bark, leaves, stones - adding the "natural cuisine" context. Holy heck, I thought, the turbocharger works from low revs.

The first two dishes on the "dego" are unequivocal standouts; salty/charry octopus with ponzu dressing, avocado and eggplant purees and a mealy rye "crumb" with green strawberry. It's the chef's intercontinental CV on a plate.

The combo of raw oyster on cauliflower puree alongside lamb sweetbreads in a meaty pan juice, cooked cauliflower, raw Brussels sprout leaves and an intriguing parsley/oyster emulsion only adds to the bitter/briny intrigue: a clever flavour tapestry.

But rainbow trout with a sweetish yoghurt, quince puree and potato discs in paprika is forgettable. It's not much of a fish to begin with. And the dish rings the bell on puree overload.

Pumpkin gnocchi in a parmesan/rosemary milk with shards of truffle is homely, unintellectual, comforting. While different treatments of Jerusalem artichoke - puree, roasted pieces, dehydrated wafer and a pickled sliver - come with a tasty, boned chicken wing, more truffle and some crunchy, grainy things. I can't get too excited about it.

Lamb - a small piece, roasted superbly - gets an interesting, vividly green sugar snap sauce, baby peas and horseradish cream. This is more like it. And an apple variations "cleanser" (semi-frozen marshmallow is a revelation) is remarkable.

But the new chef's icy games with macadamia aren't much fun, despite a few other tricks: salty, mealy chocolate crumb, microwave sponge, and some mousse-like coffee cream.

It all needs a bit of editing, because there are thunderbolt moments among the less startling, and I think it bodes pretty well. It will be fascinating to go back in a year. I hope he's still there.

Urbane, 181 Mary Street, Brisbane, (07) 3229 2271 Web:
Hours: lunch Mon-Fri; dinner Mon-Sat
Typical prices: Entree and main $85; main and dessert $75; three courses $100; degustation $120
Summary: Interesting - but could lighten up a little
Rating: 3.5/5

Source: The Australian, 21 July 2012