There's a eatery at the Abode Hotel in Woden again and it's called No. 10 Restaurant and Bar.
It's a smart casual hotel restaurant, with large bar tables for groups breaking up the more intimate dining on the floor. One wall is covered in luxe silver patterned wall paper, there's a row of leather banquettes and floating pendant lights. Outside the large outdoor deck is still a drawcard for post work drinks and alfresco breakfast in the summer.
On the menu is a mix of small and large plates, including buttermilk fried chicken and waffles, a pickled beetroot salad with goat's curd, and roast pork jowl with kipfler potatoes and cider jus.
In the mornings, there's banana porridge and granola for the gym junkies and pork sausage with fried egg and sourdough for those who like something a bit more solid.
Joe Wagland, formerly of QT Hotel and the Avenue Hotel, is head of food and beverage.
"Our brief was always smart, casual, sophisticated yet approachable," he says. "We want really super delicious food that's close to contemporary, certainly that kind of modern edge, but approachable, not pretentious. We're very aware of where we are in Woden and our market."
Indeed, when we visit there's a big group of office workers enjoying a Friday lunch and a few drinks at a bar table up the front.
Wagland says there is also a quick option "in and out lunch" special for people who want a quick business meal - $15 gets you a chargrilled skirt steak with cafe de Paris butter and fries so you can be in and out in a flash.
Heading the kitchen is chef Duncan Winter, who has returned to Australia after seven years in the Netherlands, as the Australian embassy chef in The Hague.
It's a slightly unusual career path - at the embassy he ran a one-man kitchen serving up everything from brekkie for the ambassadors to creating elaborate banquets for Australian delegations and Dutch royals.
"Because you're in their home, albeit a very big one, a four storey mansion, we varied from cooking personal meals right through to cooking for Dutch royalty with quite involved menus," he says.
Winter says he's happy with the menu he's created for No. 10 and as the weather warms up we can expect some lighter, seasonal fare. "Moving on into summer we'll probably retweak the menu a little bit, bring on some really fresh stuff, citrussy, balanced salads, healthy stuff," he says.
The restaurant space was formerly occupied by American-style barbecue joint Smoque Woden, owned by restaurateur Grant Kells, which went bust in 2016.
No. 10 is owned by Abode Hotels and will open for breakfast, lunch and dinner seven days.
No. 10 Restaurant and Bar is at 10 Bowes Street in Phillip. See number10restaurantandbar.com
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