From golden rosti to marmalade pudding, the food at this newly hatted bistro is ‘exemplary’

One thing I’ll say about Bistra – beyond the lovely food, special wine and poised service – is that this is a restaurant run by people who adore restaurants. You feel the love in every broad stroke and tiny gesture.

It emanates from the wonky whitewashed brick walls that frame the 30-seat dining room, housed in a charming two-storey terrace. That feeling flows through the white linen, draping just-so at the corners of each table. I reckon you’ll also notice it in the sage leaves – so crisp, so green – and the radicchio, gleaming in its perfect dressing. Surely it’s rippling through the forests of wine glasses on happy tables, amplified by wall mirrors that add a cosy, shimmery glow.

What makes Bistra more than a passion project, though, is that this homage to hospitality is delivered with clarity and intention. Of course, that’s down to the people here. Bistra (it’s a portmanteau of “bistro” and “Australia”) is owned by Henry Crawford, Joseph Ho and Alexei Taheny-Macfarlane, who have varied backgrounds in wine, agricultural science, communications and branding, as well as restaurants. They’re all front-of-house rather than kitchen people, and you can tell.

Though the food has been important since Bistra opened in the autumn of 2024, this restaurant is led from the dining floor. Rather than being a chef showcase, Bistra’s focus is the diner’s experience, allowing them to commune with extremely delicious, thoughtful accompaniment.

That modus has become particularly interesting this winter because one of Melbourne’s most accomplished chefs has taken over the kitchen. John Paul Twomey left a job as development chef at Trader House, where he oversaw 50 chefs across three restaurants. “I want to cook my own food,” he told me.

Two months into his new job, the Bistra menu is more or less as it was: seafoody snacks, one pasta, some Euro-ish mains (including a cheeky cheeseburger), a couple of steaks, a trio of tempting desserts, cheese.

Twomey has made tweaks and tightenings, and will further put his stamp on the menu as time goes on (expect offal and more southern French delights, expressed with the very best Victorian produce).

The food on a recent visit was exemplary. Golden rosti were crunchy ballast for confit albacore tuna jazzed up with black olives and a Provencal tickle of marjoram. Ricotta was rolled with blanched spinach to make dumplings; they were poached, nuzzled with burnt butter, and woken up with pecorino and sage.

Just-set snapper fillet lay on potatoes, a perfect marble sculpture on a pedestal. A side salad was an ode to leaves, and creamed silverbeet reminded that classics are so for a reason. Speaking of, the marmalade pudding was a humble, gentle treat. Can we have more cottagecore in Carlton?

People are drinking less these days but Bistra makes a strong case for wine, a beverage replete with stories, prompting banter between diner and waiter, tongue and terroir, glass and plate. Surely joy can be sensible, too, as though the Bacchanals concluded their revelries by setting the alarm for Pilates.

That’s the vibe here: a precise study of what makes restaurants wonderful, enacted every service with rigour and spirit.

This review was originally published in Good Weekend magazine.

Good Food reviews are booked anonymously and paid independently. A restaurant can’t pay for a review or inclusion in the Good Food Guide.