The Farmer's Daughters Team Is Opening a New Restaurant Championing Victorian Regions

Launching in Fed Square at the end of the month, the 250-seater will feature a 3000-bottle wine library and a rotating 'region in residence' menu.
Libby Curran
July 13, 2022

Renowned chef Alejandro Saravia is a longtime champion of the Gippsland region and he's been fiercely celebrating the area's finest produce at his 80 Collins Street restaurant Farmer's Daughters for the past 18 months. Now, he and the team are extending the love further afield, with a new eatery that's set to hero the whole of Victoria and its diverse regions.

Dubbed Victoria by Farmer's Daughters, the 250-seat restaurant is gearing up to open on Thursday, July 28, in collaboration with the folks at Fed Square. Set overlooking the Yarra, it's a tasty, multi-faceted homage to the produce, people and places that make up this state we call home.

Victoria boasts not only a bar, dining room and open kitchen, but also an all-weather terrace, an interactive 'Ingredients Table' and a Victorian wine library.

The space itself celebrates our regional landscapes with an earthy colour palette splashed across interiors designed by Agents of Architecture, and a curation of homewares and art chosen to reflect a strong sense of place.

Working alongside Saravia, Head Chef David Boyle will be plating up an ever-evolving food offering set to hop right across the state's regions, offering plenty of road trip inspiration along the way. Along with an a la carte menu, a second provenance menu will operate by rotation, showcasing a different 'region in residence' at any one time, celebrating its produce, winemakers and chefs.

Expect plenty of theatrical flair as you watch ingredients being cooked over wood and charcoal, and devour share-friendly plates heroing produce like pasture-raised Summerfield lamb from the Pyrenees and whole rock lobster plucked from the waters of Apollo Bay. The custom-made, hand-carved Ingredients Table takes pride of place in the dining room — a sensory showcase of Victorian produce that'll change with the seasons.

Of course, the drinks offering serves up another hearty dose of local love, with an all-Victorian lineup of beer, wine and spirits. But you can prepare to be especially wowed by the 20-seat wine library, which doubles as an education space and houses over 3000 bottles of wine. Masterclasses and tasting events will be regular occurrences here, overlooking the river.

Find Victoria on the ground floor of the Yarra Building, Federation Square, Melbourne, from July 28. It'll open 5pm–late Thursday to Saturday, and 11.30am–5pm Sunday.

Published on July 13, 2022 by Libby Curran
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