Sydney's Three Blue Ducks Are Opening an All-Day Diner Inside Melbourne's New Surf Park
The two-storey restaurant will have wine on tap, a charcoal grill, a garden and a big greenery-filled balcony with views of the surfers.
After years of hype, Australia's first surf park is finally set to to open this summer — and its bringing some of Sydney's top chefs with it. Urbnsurf Melbourne has teamed up with Darren Robertson, Andy Allen and Mark LaBrooy to bring the fifth instalment of their farm-to-table eatery Three Blue Ducks to our city.
"We all love Melbourne and we all surf, so when [the Urbnsurf team] met with us about this space, we felt it was well suited, and was also quite different from our other venues," says Robertson, who co-owns the current Three Blue Ducks in Sydney, Byron Bay and Brisbane.
Located around the corner from Melbourne's Tullamarine Airport, the all-day restaurant will built inside the two-hectare surfing lagoon. The two-level venue will boast high ceilings, a big open bar and an expansive, greenery-filled deck out front — so diners can watch the surfers in action.
As with other Three Blue Ducks outposts, the open kitchen will feature a woodfired pizza oven, a rotisserie grill and a charcoal pit, all helping to prepare a signature menu of sustainably and ethically sourced eats. Seasonal ingredients will be sourced from local farms, wineries, craft breweries and other artisans around Victoria. A dedicated kitchen garden will also grow herbs and native Aussie plants, including lemon myrtle and salt bush.
Three Blue Ducks Rosebery
"We'll move down to Melbourne in the coming weeks and just get to know suppliers through farmers markets and visits to the farm — then write the menu based on what we find," says Roberston.
Many of the venue's favourite dishes will make an appearance, though the exact details are still in the works. We're hoping for the the corn fritters with guacamole, fermented cabbage, herb salad, labneh and poached eggs for brekkie; and the coal-roasted lamb with parsnip purée for dinner. Other likely contenders include whole steamed fish and roasted chook served with salads, ferments and pickles.
For drinks, Sydney's Single O has again signed on for the coffee side of things. And beer, wine and kombucha will all be served on tap. The tap drinks tie in with the team's ongoing commitment to sustainability, with an onsite composting facility and limited use of plastic also in the plan.
Three Blue Ducks and Urbnsurf are due to open in summer 2019 along Airport Drive, Melbourne Tullamarine. Keep an eye on this space for updates closer to.
Top Images: Three Blue Ducks and UrbnSurf's founder Andrew Ross; Wavegarden San Sebastian by Ed Sloane (courtesy of Urbnsurf); and Three Blue Ducks Rosebery.
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