Seek out this hidden gem in a city arcade for its unparalleled range of Chablis and red and white Burgundies, paired with a daily oyster selection and seafood-centred snacks.
Pearl has an exceptional collection of Chablis, the distinctive chardonnay style from northern Burgundy, including vintages from the grand domaines such as Vincent Dauvissat and Jean-Paul & Benoît Droin. The list also offers white and red Burgundies from such prized parcels as Puligny-Montrachet, Chassagne-Montrachet and the Corton Hill top-shelf grand-cru classifications.
Those inclined could spend hundreds – even thousands – on a single bottle, but there’s also excellence to be found in the (small) sub-$100 offering.
Wine choices by the glass are more worldly and might run to an Austrian grüner veltliner or a Yarra Valley pinot noir.
On-theme cocktails include the Pearl White Negroni of Oyster Shell gin, Suze gentian apéritif and Cocchi Americano aperitif wine.
The single-page menu is compact but indulgent, with one side for caviar (from $6 a gram) and oysters, of which there are usually half a dozen offered.
The flipside lists fancy snacks small enough that you can try a good proportion of them without overdoing things. Have the caviar sandwich, a delicate brioche stack crowned with Alaskan Malossol salmon roe and cured egg yolk, and the frilly pink mussels in a saffron-fragrant sauce of white wine and vadouvan spice blend. Everything’s designed to go great with a glass of Chablis, but if the 28-page wine menu’s too daunting, ask to try one by the glass or hit the sommelier up for a smart recommendation by the bottle.
The menu’s seafood-heavy – there’s also a Coral Sea trout ceviche with smoked pearl meat, and a poached Murray cod with warm horseradish tartare sauce – but carnivores can tuck into a parfait of confit duck livers served classic French-style with cornichons and sliced bread, or the made-to-order beef tartare. Chef Marc-Antoine Nicolaii seasons his hand-chopped fillet classically except for the tangy Japanese ponzu sauce, and the gentle kick of fermented chilli. All topped with a confit egg yolk.
Pearl amps up the indulgence with its Pearl Caviar Experience which, for $1,450 per person, delivers 100 grams each of Russian and Siberian caviars and a whole butter-poached lobster. Wine is not included; must be booked in advance.
If you’re keen to join the caviar craze sweeping major cities, you can pick up 30 grams of Russian osetra here for $195, or $155 for the Siberian version.
