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Lilac Wine Bar is low-key but comfortable.Jason South

14.5/20

Contemporary

"Placemaking"is a jargony and somewhat cursed concept that is nonetheless helpful in considering the ways in which restaurant owners approach the utility,location and design of their venues.

It's a way of thinking about these elements holistically,beginning with the question:What do you want this location to be to the people who go there? A quiet comfort? A fantasy? A raucous party? An inspiration? A space that fosters community?

People who are good at placemaking take that question and then apply the answer to every aspect of what comes next. In the case of a restaurant,that means the building,the interior design,the drinks,the lighting,the music,the staffing and,of course,the food.

Go-to dish:Chicken mousse eclairs.Jason South

The Mulberry Group,which owns seven venues and one"regenerative agricultural farm and community space"in Victoria,is extremely good at a lot of things,but I'd argue that placemaking is its strongest suit. Mulberry Group venues tend to be distinct and wholly considered.

So it's fascinating thatits most recent venture,Lilac Wine Bar, feels like what would happen if a group of young friends with good taste found a cool space down a quiet back street in their out-of-the-way neighbourhood,filled it with stuff that might make it resemble their own eclectic but pared-back homes,and started serving the food and wine that they might want to eat and drink.

It is certainly a far cry from the soaring drama of Liminal,or the clubby,underground,tongue-in-cheek romance of Dessous. It feels DIY,in the best possible way.

Beef heart with mustard leaves,white sauce and pickles.Simon Schluter

This is no mistake,of course. When considering what was right for this neighbourhood (Cremorne) and this building (an old warehouse),Mulberry Group's founder and CEO Nathan Toleman told me that they decided to see what they could do without spending a fortune,while remaining true to the clubhouse-in-a-garage vibe that he envisioned.

Rather than hire a fancy design firm,Toleman took on the task himself,and the result is low-key but imminently comfortable,with vintage couches and Persian rugs creating a sense of homey warmth,bolstered by warm lighting,brick walls,and a record player with 1970s speakers providing the tunes.

The wine list is overseen by sommelier Richard Buck,formerly of Aru,though quite a few of the young servers on the floor are knowledgeable and enthusiastic enough to walk you through its diverse offering. It's a cool-kid list,no doubt about that,with plenty of pet-nats and orange wines,and a focus on Italy,France and Australia. But it's not so cool that you'll struggle to find something classic or friendly – in other words,the drinks are fun but approachable.

Red-wine egg on celeriac remoulade.Jason South

On the pans is Kyle Nicol,in his second head chef role after coming from Rascal in Brunswick. You can sense his excitement in this menu,a zeal that is maybe a little unfocused but all the more charming for its boisterous vitality.

Thinly sliced beef heart ($16) comes with mustard leaves,white sauce and rounds of pickle,intimating something Jewish deli-adjacent,but sloppier,sexier,more exuberant.

There are eclairs made with chicken liver mousse as the filling ($10 each),topped with a black garlic glaze so umami-rich its depth hints at Vegemite (I don't think there's actual Vegemite in the dish,and the comparison is not a criticism – attaining that level of flavour is no easy feat).

There's a homey mince on toast ($12),made with offal and tasting like something your nan served for a quick midweek meal but deeper,richer,better.

Non-meat eaters,vegan and otherwise,will find plenty to choose from,including a hearty dish of zucchini chunks with fennel and a"bolognese"made from walnuts ($28).

An egg cooked in red wine ($22) and served over celeriac remoulade has a perfectly semi-runny yolk,a dish that's fun and tasty but perhaps needs to evolve slightly to reach its full potential.

If you want one show-stopping plate for the table to share,the whole flounder ($38) – sourced locally from a fisherman named Luke – is an impressive ode to freshness,smothered in citrus butter tinged with chives.

I enjoyed the rum baba dessert ($15),appropriately soaked in a rum syrup and accompanied by diced pineapple,but it was not the classic yeasted version that gets crispy and is light and a little stretchy and absorbs the rum flavour like a sponge. Nicol's version is more cupcake-like,a divergence that works just fine … but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little disappointed. The original version is rare and has a certain textural magic that I missed.

I get the feeling that Nicol's menu and Lilac itself have some growing and settling to do – this restaurant,while quite lovely as the hot new kid,is likely to come into its own as something a little more cohesive and sturdy.