The Ace Hotel’s legendary chef has tried it all – and we’ve got his list of spots not to be missed.
Ever wanted to know where one of the country’s finest chefs goes for a drink and a snack? Well, you’re in luck, because we sat down with the talented Mitch Orr to chat ask exactly that.
If you’re not familiar with Mitch and his culinary brilliance (or his detailed Instagram recipes), he was the creative genius behind cult Sydney fave ACME (RIP: 2014–2019), where he earned a slew of accolades serving pastas and small plates that melded flavours from Italy, Japan and Southeast Asia. Now he’s busy building his new restaurant Kiln on the 18th story of Australia’s first Ace Hotel in Sydney’s Surry Hills, which everyone is gunning to try (including this very hungry writer).
The first thing Mitch points out is there’s a few boxes a venue needs to tick to be considered “chef-good”. Aside from the food, he tells us, “What makes it good is the individuality of the place, the personality, the vibe – and obviously the drinks.”
It’s not like Mitch gets much spare time these days – opening a restaurant will do that to you – but when he does, he turns his attention to what his peers are doing. “I love going to other people's venues and seeing their creative outputs and how they want to do things in terms of food and drink and service. I love being a customer. I love being a part of the industry,” says Mitch.
He treats bar snacks like apéritifs – something to get your palate excited and your mouth salivating. “It needs to be salty, moreish, full of umami, and really just get your juices flowing,” says Mitch. “But…it’s always really fried chicken at the end of the day, isn’t it? As cliche as it is. I also really love a tartare. If it's on the menu, there is a high chance I’m going to order it.”
Mitch’s success takes him all over and has allowed him to taste some of the greatest bar, pub and restaurant food in the country. So, naturally, we flicked on the interrogation lights, did our best Olivia Benson, and grilled him on all the places we should have on our itinerary.
Onwards to the city of Melbourne. Where’s Mitch taking us first? Etta (pictured). “Etta is really cool. Rosheen [Kaul] is killing it at the moment,” says Mitch. He and Rosheen teamed up recently for an episode of Mitch’s new YouTube series, Classic Bites. “Etta is tasty, so interesting, so unique. And that front space with the dedicated bar area is great. It's a nice vibe in there and a great neighbourhood spot with a fab wine list, too.”
Skipping over to Canberra, Mitch reckons Bar Rochford is just the place to retire after a long day of touristing. “Again, it's all about the natural wines and great hospitality. You go there the first time and you’ll be treated like you’ve been going there for 10 years. It’s the kind of place I wish I had in my neighbourhood so I could go once a week, sit down and order my body weight in snacks.”
And lastly, no Sydney trip is complete without a tinny at CBD staple Ramblin’ Rascals (pictured). “I just love [co-owner] Charlie Lehman. I think he’s hilarious. ”says Mitch. “Those guys have so much love for what they do and so much love for their patrons, and they want everyone to just have the best time. Sometimes (more often than not) that means it gets pretty wild, but that's part of the charm.”
With Mitch’s laundry list of stellar venues, you’ve got plenty of places to check out while you wait for him to open Kiln. Exactly what you’ll find once it does is yet to be decided, but Mitch has a few ideas cooking. “We have a beautiful wood-fired hearth that we will be cooking everything over – that’ll form a big part of the menu. Stuff that’s been grilled or slowed-cooked above the embers,” he says. “And obviously, my food takes a lot of inspiration from Japan and Southeast Asia, so we’ll sort of meld those flavours together. We’ll be super seasonal and just try to make super tasty shit.”
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