A more casual offering from the team behind Pilot restaurant, Such and Such has a very savvy menu, and a drinks list that’s really pushing, with a slick fit-out and service to match.
What a wild swing. The area immediately around the Canberra Theatre might be a cultural hub for the capital, but after dark it’s not exactly hoppin’. Or at least not until now. A cluster of new openings around the theatre forecourt has brought new life to the block, and right out there in front is Such and Such. Coming from the same team responsible for Pilot, it’s little wonder its arrival has brought so much interest. Pilot, which opened at the Ainslie Shops in 2018, brought some of the most ambitious dining Canberra has seen to a surprisingly low-key suburban site, and hasn’t looked back since. It’s a tasting-menu situation, though, and it’s really popular, so if the urge suddenly strikes to eat Mal Hanslow’s brilliant food, or savour Dash Rumble and Ross McQuinn’s equally brilliant brand of hospitality, it’s not usually an itch you can scratch in a hurry.
Enter Such and Such. The more casual complement to Pilot, it has an à la carte menu, bookings are much easier to come by, and there’s a couple of spots held at the sweet little bar, so you can, if you want, just attempt a walk-in on the spur of the moment. Consider the itch scratched. And just because it’s more accessible doesn’t mean it’s any less ambitious. We’re talking a very savvy menu here, people, and a drinks list that’s really pushing, with a slick, slick, slick fit-out and service to match. It’s no surprise this place just picked up New Restaurant of the Year in the SMH Good Food Guide Awards.
The selection of house cocktails is tight, but full of promise. The Such and Such Negroni, a pretty thing made with Orchard Amaro, Summer Flowers vermouth and gin, sits alongside a lavender-perfumed Aviation Station and that English garden-party classic the Black Velvet, a sour and refreshing mix of stout and sparkling wine, plus some genuinely tempting non-alc options like the Fizzy Jasmine, a jasmine tea Spritz. Beer? There’s an XPA on tap from Capital Brewing and a Stanger Danger Kolsch from Sydney’s Slow Lane, plus maybe a dozen interesting ciders and beers in tins.
Wine is clearly the chief passion for the S&S gang, though. Fizzy things? You’ve got bubbles in the form of pet nat, Champagne-style sparkling wines and others from Champagne, running all the way from the brilliant wines from Hilltops heroes Sassafras through to serious French, with some unusual fizzy bois made from riesling, sauvignon blanc, chenin blanc and other curiosities along the way.
The wine list is a very personal document. Rather than just trying to tick off all the key regions and styles, it goes long in places, heading down the rabbit hole with things that the Such guys just love for their own sake. That could be Swiss wines (something basically never seen in Australia) or whole pages given over to favourite producers (Ruggabellus from South Australia, for example). It’s enjoyable to read – and even better to drink.
You could, theoretically, just come to Such and Such for a drink. But it would take an iron will to say no to this food. And once you see the charry flatbread hitting the tables, brushed with the garlic magic of toum, or oysters from the New South Wales south coast going out with a shimmer of sherry vinegar, you’re gonna want in on that action. The school prawns, crunchy little guys fried and served with cashew nuts in something the menu calls 666 spice (you’ve been warned), are the perfect beer snack. Octopus grilled on a skewer, sweet and sour with vinegar and honey, fired up with a touch of jalapeño, is a fine thing with a Martini and/or a tequila-driven aperitivo, while pasta dishes like the outstanding rigatoni with broccoli, chilli and pistachios are good right across the wine spectrum.
If you like to share, and you’re looking for a reason to go big on wine, the guys in the kitchen have some pretty excellent options to put in front of you. It’s hard to go wrong with a hefty 500-gram dry-aged beef sirloin, from the famed O’Connor family of Victoria, cooked on the bone. But then if you want to go for a bit of a swerve, how about the duck? It’s roasted on the crown – basically the breasts cooked on the bone so they stay extra juicy – and served with the inventive twist of a quince and fish sauce caramel. Fish sauce and duck? Take our word for it: this is something you need in your life right now.
